A content creator is going viral on TikTok after highlighting a bizarre trend that sounds almost too strange to be real: some boxes of Goodles pasta and other dried goods are coming with mysterious Schuylkill notes.

TikTok user @dandydemon says the phenomenon seems most common on the East Coast, especially in Pennsylvania. “Somebody posted about finding a schizophrenic note in their Goodles mac and cheese,” she says in her viral clip. “And it turns out that this is a much bigger issue than anybody could’ve anticipated.”

The notes—which are typically small, handwritten slips covered in symbols, cryptic phrases, and conspiracy-laden buzzwords—have also reportedly appeared in other packaged foods. “There’s really no point in deciphering this,” she adds, showing a screenshot of one of the messages. “If you have gotten a note, please let me know.”

@dandydemon This is freaking me out. Dried goods enjoyers in Pennsylvania watch out #pasta #schuylkillcounty #pennsylvania ♬ original sound – IG: dandy.demon

As of Friday, her video had garnered more than 820,100 views, with viewers commenting on the strange discovery.

Wait… what’s going on here? 

The Schuylkill notes are not a new phenomenon—but that doesn’t make them any less bizarre. The conspiracy-filled slips of paper, which have been appearing in food packaging and public places, mainly in Pennsylvania, as early as 2015. 

They got their name from Schuylkill County, where they seem to have started. The notes themselves are quite unusual, filled with odd phrases, abbreviations, and references to conspiracy theories, secret societies, and occasionally public figures such as Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Oprah. People have found them in all kinds of places—sealed food, beauty products, even stuck to trees along hiking trails.

Authorities have noticed, too. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other federal agencies have investigated some of these tampering cases, though it’s unclear what’s come of that. Most of the notes make very little sense, leaving anyone who finds them more confused than anything else.

The connection to Goodles mac and cheese hit social media recently when someone on Reddit in the r/whatisit subreddit shared a note they found in a box. Since then, Reddit, in particular, has become a treasure trove of people sharing their own finds, suggesting this isn’t some weird fluke.

That doesn’t mean internet sleuths are any closer to finding out what the notes mean—or how they made their way into some Goodles boxes. The notes still remain a strange, unexplained phenomenon, leaving people to guess where they put them and why they show up in such random spots.

Commenters try to make sense of the strange Goodles notes

Viewers who watched @dandydemon’s video were quick to push back on calling the notes “schizophrenic,” instead pointing out that they’re what the internet knows them as—Schuylkill notes—and insisting they can actually be deciphered.

One viewer laughed, “‘It’s a bunch of nonsense!’ And it quite literally lists a bunch of dog whistles,” while another said, “What do you mean can’t you read it? It’s clear as day and not difficult to discern. CIA, DOD, Musk, Torches of Liberty. It’s like top 100 buzzwords from 4chan lol.”

A third jumped in, “You guys, it’s easy to read. It’s telling you all the signs and symbols secret societies use. It even tells you which symbol and [which] society uses it. Did no one take the time to read it?” Another agreed, “Babes… It’s legible. You can read it if you try.”

Some commenters focused on the food tampering side of things, expressing concern for safety. 

“Oh yeah, those things,” one said. “It’s a known issue. Personally, I hope they find the person. It just feels invasive and unhygienic that they’re getting these things inside the packaging.” 

Another explained the mechanics, “It’s targeting those items specifically because you can clip the note into the box without opening it. They aren’t airtight sealed at the grocery store because they are dry goods.”

Others shared their own experiences or hopes of finding a note. 

“Found one in a packet of candy [in] July of last year, made absolutely no sense,” one person wrote. “Google image searched it and found they were also being nailed to trees in parks?” 

Another recalled, “I found a note like this folded in the pocket of a jacket from a thrift store here in Pennsylvania in like 2018! I think I took a picture of it, but I’ll have to really dig through my photos.” 

A third chimed in, “I would do anything to get a Schuylkill note.”

The Daily Dot has reached out to @dandydemon via TikTok for more information.

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The post “I would do anything to get one”: Schuylkill notes resurface after years of strange appearances in box of Goodles pasta appeared first on The Daily Dot.

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