Science is unflinching. It has to be, because it deals in numbers and absolutes. As in the absolute truth of a chair in a hotel room. Because although it may look clean, a little science experiment gets to the truth.
Charlie (@olivercharlesmitchell) travels a lot. And he always brings his little blacklight with him.
Lately, in a series of 13 (and counting) TikTok reviews, he takes viewers on little tours of fluids and horrors.
In a 17-second video that’s been viewed 138,200 times, he puts Houston and travelers to that city on notice. “I don’t have time for a full review here,” he says with an eerie smile.
He continues, “PSA from Houston: whatever you do, do not sit in the hotel chairs.” Then he turns the lights out in his hotel room and trains the beam of his blacklight on a pair of chairs.
Both chairs have stained arms and worn out looking cushions, but it’s the first one’s stained seat that really forces the imagination into an unwilling speculatory game. The stain looks like a wet zone at the edge of the cushion. The camera next lingers on the second chair, showing strange blobs. Then the video ends.
The comments section came alive with horrified reactions and gross observations.
The shudders continue as others weighed in, “I worked in housekeeping while I was in high school. We never once cleaned any cloth furniture. Nor was there any kind of schedule of getting them cleaned,” said Amanda208.
“Ask a cop about hotel rooms. This is the least of your worries,” interjected Disco.
Multiple users offered a solution for this scene: they order extra sheets and drape it over cloth furniture.
One user tried to reframe the mysterious glowing spots on the chairs. They claimed that a query to artificial intelligence suggested that the glowing spots could simply be cleaning product residue, noting that some have brighteners that glow blue or white.
Things that glow under blacklight include bananas, some laundry detergents, tonic water, and scorpions. But it’s a safe bet that the chairs featured in Charlie’s video aren’t covered in scorpion tracks. Because as police procedurals have taught us, blood and other bodily fluids also glow under the blacklight.
“Fluorescent substance is absorbing the ultraviolet light then re-emitting it almost instantaneously. However, during the process, some energy gets lost. So the emitted light has a longer wavelength than the absorbed radiation, making this light visible, causing the material to appear to glow,” explains ThoughtCo.
But what to do if you find yourself in a situation like Charlie’s? Well, extra (clean) sheets are always an option. But so is a sleep sack. Typically a sheet-weight envelope travelers can use as a layer of protection between themselves, and what the hotel cleaning staff may have missed. They’re also often lightweight so they’re easy to pack, and easy to rinse out should the need ever arise.
Though Charlie’s blacklight might offer cold comfort, a sleep sack might help you sleep tight. Or at least sleep tidy.
BoardingArea reached out to Charlie via TikTok direct message and with a comment on the video. We will update this if he gets back to us.
@olivercharlesmitchell Houston we have a problem #travel #blacklight ♬ original sound – Charlie
