TikTok creators say they're leaving money, toilet paper, and soap in bathrooms in a reversal of the 'devious licks' school-stealing trend

  • TikTok creators are posting about leaving "angelic yields" like toilet paper in bathrooms.

  • The meme is a direct response to the "devious lick" trend that took off earlier this month.

  • For the "devious lick" trend, students stole equipment from school property to go viral.

  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

This month, as American students settled into the new school year, some were going viral on TikTok for alleging they stole school equipment ranging from soap dispensers to projectors.

Now, some creators are trying to atone for those sins with memes about giving back to public bathrooms via "angelic yields," leaving toilet paper, soap, and doormats.

The new trend is a direct response to the "devious lick" meme that swept the short-form video app recently. School administrators across the US begged students to stop participating in the trend, threatening disciplinary action. TikTok told Insider that it was removing the #deviouslick hashtag and redirecting related searches, given that the behavior violated its community guidelines.

An "angelic yield" is the antithesis of a "devious lick."

@ssalladd

licked this tv some time ago, decided to make up for it by giving it back to the community 🙏👼 #angelicyield #lick

♬ Smiling All Day Long - Upbeat Happy Music

'Angelic yields' emerged on TikTok in the immediate wake of backlash against the 'devious lick' challenge

Posts about "angelic yields" began to surface on TikTok over the weekend of September 19, well into the backlash cycle from schools around the "devious licks" challenge.

According to Urban Dictionary, a "lick" is a "successful type of theft which results in an acceptable, impressive and rewarding payday." "Devious licks" (sometimes called "diabolical licks") became the default terminology to refer to the kinds of thefts that were going viral on TikTok.

It's not clear exactly who started the "angelic yield" trend on TikTok, but it appears to have been popularized by TikTok user @j.uher7, who only has one public video on their account. On Friday, they posted an "angelic yield" video showing them placing a roll of toilet paper on the back of what appears to be a public toilet seat while smooth jazz plays in the background.

"Just hit the most angelic yield," the on-screen caption on the video reads, while the video's caption says, "no more devious licks around here."

@j.uher7

No more devious licks around here👼😇#fyp

♬ Smiling All Day Long - Upbeat Happy Music

Since then, the trend has exploded on TikTok. "Angelic yield" videos are typically set to the track "Smiling All Day Long" from an artist listed as Upbeat Happy Music. The audio has been used to date on TikTok in over 4,700 videos, and the hashtag #angelicyield has been viewed over 29.4 million times.

The meme has also expanded beyond replacing toilet paper in bathroom stalls. "Angelic yield" videos show TikTok users placing money, soap, coffee makers, and doormats (among other home-decor items) into bathroom stalls and near rows of sinks.

It's unclear if those participating in the trend are students and whether the bathrooms they're leveling up belong to their schools. Still, people are hypothesizing that beleaguered school administrators would likely be happy to see students giving rather than taking.

And of course, the kids still have jokes.

"This is probably a high school principal," one comment with 70,100 likes on @j.uher7's early "angelic yield" video reads.

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