A TikTok ‘science’ trick lets people stick a chair to the wall but their landlords are about to hit them with a brutal surprise

The viral wall friction trick is dominating social media feeds right now, where content creators stick everything from pencils to large wooden chairs directly onto their walls using simple science. This whole phenomenon started trending in early December 2025 as creators reacted in total astonishment to the simple physics behind the trick, decorating their homes with completely unexpected pieces of art.

The secret to this trick is friction, which is the force that opposes motion between two surfaces. When you firmly press the flat side of an object up against a wall, the friction created by that pressure actually generates heat. This heat temporarily warms and softens the wall’s outermost surface layer just enough to form a weak, temporary seal. That subtle seal is what holds your object up on the wall. This viral TikTok trend is honestly pretty cool, unlike some that are on the opposite end of the spectrum.

Creators are testing every item they can find, pushing the limits of what this friction seal can hold. One wall friction pro, @jenuinelyidk, racked up 13.4 million views on a clip showing off her sticky haul. She managed to affix a small bottle of lotion, a chocolate bar, and a huge carton of Goldfish crackers to her wall. As a grand finale, she even managed to stick a child-sized wooden chair to the wall.

It’s not some social media magic or clever editing, but it’s actually physics in action

The initial reaction from viewers was pure disbelief. Many commenters thought the whole thing was a prank until they actually tried it themselves and saw the results. User @shesautomatic called the results “Modern Art,” and @boredandinheat agreed, saying, “It’s beautiful.” Another user, @willow, said they couldn’t believe it worked, writing, “I can’t believe that it worked. This cracked me up so much.”

Despite the obvious thrill of turning your living room into a temporary science experiment, here’s the inevitable downside you need to worry about if you’re renting: wall damage. Experimenting with wall friction often damages the paint job. Even @boredandinheat admitted in her post caption, “Scuffed my walls a little bit with this one, but.. can’t stop won’t stop.” This is awful for your security deposit if you’re trying to move out soon.

TikToker @andreamarie429 managed to get pencils and a plastic tape dispenser to stick to her wall after learning the trick. She asked her followers, “What did you do tonight?” before continuing her caption with the brutal punchline: “Because I lost some of my security deposit.” A commenter quickly chimed in, noting, “Great, Andrea, now I’m not getting my deposit either.”

Despite the warnings about losing money, the trend continues to boom because people are clearly addicted to the novelty of making science work for them. User @carleybrk, whose video got 2.3 million views, wrote that they now have “so many things stuck to my wall right now.”

Still, a lot of people remain skeptical and worried about the risks. Reactions included people feeling like they were being “gaslighting me,” or contemplating the risk by saying, “If I get up, and risk another mark on the wall and this doesn’t work.” Others admitted they were fighting the urge to try it, thinking, “I’m not this gullible I’m not this gullible I’m not this gullible….”

This whole situation proves that sometimes the simplest science tricks are the ones that cause the most chaos, both in your social media feed and on your walls. And if you ignore the potential paintjob damage, this trend is harmless, especially when you compare it to other questionable trends that got viral on TikTok recently.