TQE’s FYP: Don’t Talk to Girls Between 3 to 5 P.M.

“I can’t interfere. It’s a canon event.”

Have you ever heard the term canon? Canon refers to material accepted as being part of the genuine, original story as opposed to, say, fanfiction. The original canon refers to the unchangeable, set-in-stone series of events that occur within a plot, whereas everything else might be dreamed up by fans or extrapolated. Basically, what you need to know for this trend is that something that’s a “canon event” cannot be interfered with.

TikTok creators are using this phrase — “I can’t interfere, it’s a canon event” — within the context of seeing someone go through an experience that’s cringe-worthy, embarrassing, hard, or more. Generally, you’ll see the whole post go “When you see someone doing xyz. (I can’t interfere, it’s a canon event.)” Many of the comments will say “I’ve been through the same thing” or “I had no idea other people did this too.” Relatability to a tee. The audio below simply must be included.

Don’t talk to a woman between 3 and 5 P.M.

Honestly, this one strikes true for me (a 25-year-old woman) because it is so accurate. I cease to exist within my body when the hour of 3 P.M. rolls around, and eventually collect myself around 5 P.M. That time period is for mindless scrolling (which comes in handy for this oh-so-serviceful column), being half-asleep but unable to nap, or wasting time in some other form then feeling guilty about it later.

While the afternoon slump isn't a new concept—our circadian rhythms are wired to eventually “crash” at some point during the day, especially if you’re reliant on that morning cup o’ joe—TikTokers insist that this phenomenon especially affects women. Boyfriends are making posts about their girlfriends’ experiences. Girls are joking about canceling plans because they occur after 3 P.M. It’s like Cinderella but, you know, the middle of the day.

Another supposedly classic female experience? Painting your room teal. I personally was in the embarrassing “scribbling song lyrics all over my wall in 9th grade” camp, but if I hadn’t been, I probably would have been on the teal train. Bonus points to the below video for nicely meshing two TikTok trends in one video—likely the reason it’s at 538k views and counting.

This week’s CapCut meme features Bill Hader doing a nonchalant cha-cha.

There’s nearly always a CapCut meme making the rounds because they’re relatively easy trends for creators to jump on. You just have to download the app and slap on one of these “visual filters” rather than ideating, planning, styling, and filming a whole video yourself. Of course, the accompanying text has to be snappy too.

For this meme, the best situations or lines to share are all about contrast. One popular video says “the inside of my brain when—” while another talks about throwing caution to the wind.

Songs to jam to and songs to post to:

For more trending audios—especially songs blowing up on Instagram and Reels—check out our Spotify playlist curated just for you.

Trending Products

• Fomin Antibacterial Paper Soap Sheets ($15) — Parents are loving paper soap for kids, which operates similarly to a laundry detergent sheet (if you’ve used those). Paper soap is disposable, mess-free, and lightweight, making it easy to cart around and clean up messes, and tiny hands, on the go. At the size of a lip gloss, it’s also popular to keep in your purse as opposed to hand sanitizer which could leak.
• Dibs Beauty Status Stick ($36) — One creator calls this highlighter the “holy grail of hot girl summer” and promises it smells like cake batter. Watch out, though! You’ll want to snap this makeup up quickly, as it frequently sells out across all three of its shades.‍
• Dr. Scholl’s Shoes Time Off Sneaker ($70) — Hot girl walks may have been trendy for the past few years, but the girlies are starting to realize that they need supportive sneaks. It turns out that ankle support is even trendier nowadays, with these classic white walking shoes going majorly viral across everyones’ FYP pages.