A woman bought cute fall-themed melamine plates, then turned to a content creator with one question: ‘Is this a piss plate?’

Liam Layton’s entire on-screen presence revolves around health, healthy food, and a good dose of humor. His most recent viral video was his reaction and attempts to answer a woman’s questions about the composition of her new “cute” fall-themed plates. Between his Instagram (the_plant_slant) and TikTok (theplantslant) posts, Layton got over 3 million views.

The video starts with Layton watching an unnamed woman talking about the purchase, saying she looked up “melamine” after learning she couldn’t microwave the plates. Cutting between her video and his, Layton tells her that melamine is “a type of durable plastic used to make all sorts of stuff, including kitchen items.” When she says she learned it was made of urea and formaldehyde, she asks, “Is this a piss plate?” In horror, she notes, “Piss and the sh-t they put in dead people.”

With amusement, Layton clarifies the science behind the material. Sharing screenshots of each item, he tells her that urea exists in urine only because it’s a byproduct of the body breaking down protein, and that formaldehyde has plenty of other uses and even exists in the human body. He notes that since the plates are heat resistant rather than heat proof, microwaving them can cause them to warp and potentially leach chemicals into food.

It is all just chemistry

According to Cutr, melamine is a nitrogen-rich compound made by heating urea into crystals, which are then combined with formaldehyde to produce a strong, heat-resistant resin. The resin is molded under heat and pressure to create the sturdy products seen in many homes and restaurants. Melamine foam is also the material in the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, which went viral as a windshield cleaning hack.

The online reaction has otherwise been split between humor and frustration. Several commenters who said they had scientific backgrounds were annoyed at the overreaction to a process many people don’t understand. One chemical engineer said the “fastest way” to annoy them was when people freaked out about things like mercury in vaccines or chemicals in food. A second commenter joked about “‘piss’ skincare,” noting that urea is a common ingredient there.

Another commenter pointed out that by the time “polymerization happens to create melamine, there’s no formaldehyde left in it.” Others kept it light, with one user writing, “Just because something is chemically apart of something, it’s doesn’t mean it’s what it is from. they not harvesting pee to make plates, promise.” Another user quipped, “If you Google something and can’t understand the info you get, urine trouble.”