'Skibidi toilet' has come to Fortnite. What the heck is it?

Do you like video games? Have you ever wanted to control Indiana Jones as he faces off against a sentient banana, or to lay siege to Eminem's underground lair? Then, dear player, Fortnite is up your alley.

Still not enticed? What if I told you that as of Wednesday night, you can purchase a backpack for your avatar, and not just any backpack -- a skibidi toilet one.

OK, so now you're more confused. After all, skibidi -- Gen Alpha slang -- has caused much head-scratching over the last year or so.

But the term has only gained steam since early 2023, and its arrival on Fortnite, a last-man-standing battle royale with 500 million user accounts and 110 million monthly players, will only increase that. The much memed, much analyzed coinage might deserve a closer look.

Good luck, future historians.

Skibi-what?

Skibidi toilet, skibidi Ohio rizz -- it may all be Greek to you, but the term and its variants have become part of younger generations' vernacular. Life moves fast on social media, but skibidi appears to be here to stay.

Where did it come from? Deep inhale ...

The term originated from the first episode of the popular "Skibidi Toilet" YouTube series, featuring a poorly animated head popping up out of a toilet and singing nonsense words -- including skibidi -- to the tune of a mash-up of the songs "Give It to Me" by Timbaland featuring Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake, and "Dom Dom Yes Yes" by Bulgarian singer Biser King.

Exhale.

A compilation video of the first four episodes of the skibidi universe -- just over a minute total in length -- has been viewed on YouTube more than 50 million times. The skibidi narrative, with more than 70 episodes, is going strong, with loose plot lines of a conflict between musical toilets and beings with electronics, like cameras and speakers, for heads.

I beg your pardon?

Not necessary, for soon we will all be well acquainted with the skibidi-verse. The term became so popular that it is now commodified. Walmart sells the "Skibidi Toilet Mystery Surprise Toilet Set Official Merchandise" for $35, and Variety reported this year that director Michael Bay was in talks to develop television and film spinoffs.

Skibidi is, in essence, a nonsense word with alternating uses -- it can mean good, bad or silly, depending on the context -- but industries are taking its appeal seriously.

Why did Fortnite get involved with skibidi?

On Tuesday, Fortnite's official account on the social platform X posted a cryptic message that seemed to all but confirm the collaboration: a toilet emoji, a plunger emoji and a camera emoji above the date of Dec. 18, 2024.

The Fortnite shop, where players can purchase virtual items including characters and dance moves, refreshes daily at 8 pm Eastern. At that time Wednesday, a skibidi toilet backpack, known as "back bling" to players, plunger pick axes and a "Plungerman" avatar were indeed available for purchase.

Earlier in the day, HypeX, a popular social media account that posts about Fortnite, revealed supposed leaked images of a skibidi toilet backpack in Fortnite.

Reactions have been mixed.

One person commented under Fortnite's post: "What in the alternate timeline is happening."

And in response to HypeX's post: "Yeah worst skin of all time, brain rot for days."

Fortnite releases fun skins all the time.

Fortnite has often delighted its players with unexpected partnerships. Celebrities, including Billie Eilish, often release so-called skins, or outfits that players can wear to battle, and they range from fearsome to wacky.

A skibidi item pack would, admittedly, be one of the more esoteric collaborations for the game.

Typically, Fortnite has released playable characters in the mold of widely known athletes, musicians and anime series. This year, a new map of where players do battle was released, with locations including the Spaghetti Grotto, where Eminem was a boss, and The Dogg Pound, where Snoop Dogg reigned. Avatars of both rappers were available for purchase in the item shop, as was one of rapper Juice WRLD.

Past collaborations have featured Ariana Grande, Travis Scott, Lionel Messi and a slew of characters from popular anime series, including "Dragon Ball Z" and "Naruto."

Why is Gen Alpha slang so weird?

Generational slang comes and goes, with a handful of each age group's buzzwords persisting over the years.

Recently, there has been an especially confusing mix of slang coming into use. So much so that Oxford University Press, the publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary, chose a word in 2024 that nodded to this phenomenon.

The Word of the Year was "brain rot," which is how young people on social media sometimes describe the deterioration of the mental state, mainly owed to silly online content.