X

'Oh no, our table, it's broken' on TikTok: What it is, why it's trending

An old clip gets a new life.

Abrar Al-Heeti Technology Reporter
Abrar Al-Heeti is a technology reporter for CNET, with an interest in phones, streaming, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. She's also worked for CNET's video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.
Expertise Abrar has spent her career at CNET analyzing tech trends while also writing news, reviews and commentaries across mobile, streaming and online culture. Credentials
  • Named a Tech Media Trailblazer by the Consumer Technology Association in 2019, a winner of SPJ NorCal's Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2022 and has three times been a finalist in the LA Press Club's National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards.
Abrar Al-Heeti
2 min read
Screenshots of people trying not to smile at "Oh no, our table" audio on TikTok

New TikTok challenge: Try not to laugh.

Screenshot by Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET

In addition to creating new trends, TikTok has a way of reviving older content, too. Such is the case with one of the most popular sounds on the social video app right now, in which glass shatters and a child says, "Oh no! Our table! It's broken!"

Where did this sound come from and how are people on TikTok using it? Here's everything to know.

What's the original video?

The sound originates from a video which was apparently featured on ABC television show America's Funniest Home Videos. It shows a child stacking bricks on a glass table (who knows why), which then shatters under the weight. Startled, the boy springs away from the table, looking on in dismay as he says the now iconic line: "Oh no! Our table! It's broken!"

Here's a clip of the original:

According to Know Your Meme, the clip aired on America's Funniest Home Videos in February 2016, and was uploaded to the show's YouTube and Vine accounts. On Vine, the clip garnered more than 970,000 loops and 19,800 likes.

The video started becoming popular on TikTok in December 2020, but really picked up steam in July 2021 after the original video was uploaded by user @chefsbrim. The sound pulled from that clip has been used in more than 632,000 videos on the platform.

How are people using the sound?

In September, some TikTok users started posting videos of themselves moving parts of their face, like their temple or dimple, to the sounds of the clip. For example:

Most recently, TikTokers have turned the sound into a challenge in which they try to record over the audio without laughing. Most people aren't successful, bursting into laughter once the boy in the original video starts talking.

@imnotyournicegirl

It’s hard yallll it’s the little boy bruh #fyp#viral

♬ oh no our table - mama chef
@miantwins

I guess we know who has no emotions @brycehall @nate_wyatt

♬ oh no our table - mama chef

Some users have also uploaded their own videos of broken items along with the sound.

One clip that's perfectly timed with the audio shows a dog crashing into and shattering a glass table.

And a video from @tooffarie shows her using a laptop that's falling apart but somehow still works.

If you're still not sure why this is a trend, some TikTok users aren't quite sure either. As one person put it in a comment, "My humor is as broken as that table."