Buzz
As someone who lifts weights, understands strength, and debunks viral nonsense, I first learned about this challenge from a friend who sent me a video with the note, “Please debunk.” But the trick works if you’re clever—you actually can prevent a stronger person from lifting you by placing your hand under their chin.
Just to clarify, this isn’t a self-defense move. The idea is simple: You (the smaller person) ask a friend or partner (the larger, stronger person) to try lifting you by placing their hands under your armpits. If they’re strong enough and you’re light enough, it should be easy.
Here’s the catch: You tell them to do it with your hand under their chin. This is what it looks like:
I tried this trick on my husband years ago, before it became a viral sensation and before the chin detail was added. I’m pretty sure I first saw it on a kids' science show when I was young, probably 3-2-1 Contact. It’s a simple trick. He was completely confused as I 'activated gravity' and made it impossible for him to pick me up.
We gave the viral version of the challenge a shot, discussing the process as we went along. It worked just as effectively as in the videos, except now he knows the secret. As they say, never repeat a magic trick, or your audience will catch on.
How the trick works
It’s ridiculously simple: Things become harder to lift the further away they are from you, and easier when they’re close. You’re essentially making him stand about a foot away from you.
Imagine lifting a heavy box that was just delivered. You’d pull it close to your body and hold it tightly as you lifted. Chances are you do the same when lifting a child. A baby can be held at arm’s length, but a four-year-old you’ll probably want to pull in close.
Watch the video above and observe the gap between the two partners' bodies. When he's lifting her easily, their bodies are in contact. But when she places her fingers under his chin, he can’t get close enough. This is because the finger-on-chin position forces her upper arm to stay parallel to the floor, with her elbow touching his chest if he tries to pull her closer. This creates an upper-arm-length distance between their torsos.
Details and variations
If you want to pull off this trick without using the chin technique, I’ve found it works to simply say, 'OK, pick me up,' while placing his hands under your armpits. Then, put your hands on top of his forearms. This feels completely natural but also prevents him from getting close. This is how I first confused my husband.
That said, I really like the chin trick. In some versions I’ve seen, you tilt your patsy’s chin upwards with your hand. This makes it harder for them to gauge how close they are to you (since they can’t see it), and serves as a nice distraction. Also, if they manage to get their body closer—by shifting sideways, for example—you can just 'lose' contact with their chin and call it a fail, forcing them to start over.
What if you're the stronger person in this scenario? Your trick is to reduce the distance between your bodies in any way you can. Bending your knees and getting as far underneath the person as possible will help. This gives you extra leverage and makes them reach lower to keep their hand on your chin. In total, this buys you a few inches, and you might still be able to pick them up.
Here's one last tip: If you're the smaller person and really want to give this a go, but your partner isn't strong enough to lift you, try offering a small jump to get off the ground. I do this with my 7-year-old every time I pick her up, and it works wonders. If they can just barely lift you with that little boost, try jumping again when you use the fingers-on-chin trick. That extra height will effectively cancel out their advantage.
