In early 2025, an AI-generated ballerina with a cappuccino cup for a head racked up more than 55 million TikTok views. Known as Ballerina Cappuccina , the character sings in a deep, computer-generated male voice that mixes Italian words with gibberish.

She’s one of the leading stars of "Italian brain rot," a viral meme trend made up of surreal characters, absurdist music and storylines that don’t make sense to most adults.

The term "brain rot" itself was Oxford’s 2024 Word of the Year, defined as the dulling of one’s mind through the overconsumption of trivial or unchallenging content.

What is ‘brain rot’?

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The Italian brain-rot craze began with Tralalero Tralala, a shark wearing Nike sneakers on its fins. Other creations quickly followed: a crocodile-headed airplane call

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