Things got out of hand at the Firefly Comic Convention, one of the biggest pop culture events in Guangzhou, China.
A group of cosplayers decided to set up near the entrance to sell water, lemon slices and, in some cases, cola, but there was one peculiarity: they soaked their feet in the buckets containing the liquid they served.
Each cup cost 50 yuan, approximately 7 dollars.
The young women had a sign next to the stand that warned: “This is for entertainment purposes only”, but no one paid attention to that line. Dozens of people began lining up in front of the girls to buy what they considered an elixir, and several videos show some drinking directly from the tubs or crouching beneath the cosplayers’ feet to collect the drops falling from them.
The “foot juice” trend didn’t originate there: it had started in May 2026 in California, with a Hatsune Miku cosplayer who sold out her stock in less than an hour.
But in Guangzhou, the criticism over hygiene was so strong that the organizers dismantled the stand, expelled the participants and banned this type of activity forever.