When you become part of a community (or at least lurk in it long enough), you begin to understand that community's inside jokes. Unless you're an artificial intelligence, that is, because programming large language models has no sense of humor. Google's artificial intelligence overview, trained on Reddit user-generated content, has started telling people to use sex toys at the gym to lift more.
(You may have noticed AI Overview at the top of the search results lately, which is a word salad pulled from the top results for your query. Sometimes it summarizes those results. Sometimes it gets completely wrong results. AI Overview Past Often used to be an opt-in feature, but it can now be turned off by default by clicking Web Filter or adding udm=14 to the end of the URL ).
I searched a lot for fitness related topics and I noticed that the AI overview doesn't always understand things correctly. It thinks small blocks of wood under your heels can replace squat racks . But it made me laugh like no other when I realized that Google completely believed Reddit's "squat plug" legend. Yes, it tells unsuspecting users - who may be searching because they're checking to see if it's a joke - that people typically prepare for squats by inserting a butt plug into their rectum.
At the risk of ruining the joke: the squat gag is a joke
A squat plug is a butt plug said to be used when squatting heavy weights in the gym. Now, butt plugs are real. They are a sex toy. They are inserted through the anus and importantly they are shaped so they can be easily removed. Their purpose is to provide fun and pleasure in the bedroom. We have an entire article here on how to incorporate toys into anal play . If you're, you know, curious.
But what about squat plugs? As far as I know, this is a joke, 100% a popular joke, homegrown on Reddit. In recent years it has broken through, being mentioned on YouTube and other social platforms. There are two types of people who post about squat gags:
Those who joke around tell everyone they mean it with a straight face.
People ask people if squat plugs really exist because they do sound like a joke.
Some of the people who make this joke are powerful squatters themselves, and they use their credibility to imply that if you don't meet anyone using squat plugs, it's because your friends are too weak to understand them. Elite weightlifters use them all the time. (They didn't. It was all part of the joke.)
I know this because I spend so much time on Reddit. I know some people who make these jokes. I see organically where they come from. May I also remind you that Merriam-Webster cited me as an authority on spam posts ?
But if you need higher authority: Here are the technical rules for USA Powerlifting (USAPL) . The organization has rules on everything , including seven items that specify what types of underwear you can and cannot wear while competing. (There's also a footwear section: Crocs are specifically prohibited.) Squat plugs aren't even mentioned in the rulebook, which really proves they don't exist. I guarantee you that if squat plugs were real, their specific brand would be on the IPF approved equipment list .
What Google AI says about squat plugs
Google seems to have swallowed Reddit's entire squat-plug lore. "What is a squat plug?" I asked it. "A squat plug is a device that helps keep your butt tight while squatting," it helpfully replied, along with an image taken from r/GymMemes showing the fitness company's The logo was edited onto an image of a squat plug.
The AI overview continues: "It has been said that squat bolts are common among elite weightlifting levels and are necessary for those who want to lift over 600 pounds." Sources include YouTube videos of people involved in the joke and TikTok, and a Quora post from someone questioning the joke.
If you click "Show more," you get, oh my god, more. "Some people recommend leaving the plug fully in and ready to avoid leaks and messy situations," Google's AI gleefully advises. It did note that one Reddit user's claims were nonsense, noting afterwards: "However, one Reddit user stated that butt plugs may cause damage or discomfort in the intestines, and that they are not helpful for lifting weights."
The legend runs deep. You can ask follow-up questions and get answers. "Can I use a squat plug for deadlifts?" I asked. First, it gave me an answer about squat briefs , which are a real thing (basically, shorts that help lift weights), so I put "squat plugs" in quotes and got my answer: Yes. In fact, Google's AI told me that some sources said "vibrating squat plugs can be used for variation and recruit more stabilizers."
Worse (better?), it also provides instructions on how to use the Rogue Squat Plug. (Rogue makes strength equipment like squat racks and dumbbells; they don’t offer squat plugs .) As the source, Google’s AI helped link to the “Rogue Squat Plug” on TikTok’s Discover page. Of course, it's filled with prank videos, mixed in with the occasional tutorial video on how to use actual Rogue-branded equipment, such as a belt squat machine. Instructions for the Belt Squat are the source of the step-by-step instructions in the screenshot above.
If I asked Google directly, "Are squat plugs real?" I got a resounding yes. If I asked if I could use a squat plug for overhead presses, I'd get a resounding yes , with a warning that it could "shoot out and ruin the shape" if it wasn't fully inserted.
Finally, I asked it, "Are squat plugs a joke?" It assured me they weren't, but added, "Some say squat plugs are illegal in some states and sponsors may not want lifters to disclose them. Discuss them."
Why does this happen? ? ?
Artificial intelligence is only as good as its training data. Or maybe I should say: it can never be better than its training data , only the same or worse. Much of the training data used in Google search results appears to come from Reddit.
Google realized early on that forums where people answered each other's questions were a goldmine of what people actually wanted to find when they searched the web. Reddit is one of the biggest and best of these forums, and arguably the only good one still around . People still log in every day. It's become less usable and less useful over time as its owners try to squeeze money out of it in ways that make the user experience worse, but it's not dead yet.
Last year, Reddit started charging for mass access to "its" data (I put that in quotes because Reddit the company did nothing to create this data), and has continued that plan because the protests have become so large, This resulted in much of the site being shut down for several weeks . Reddit executives forced the protest subs to open up again, replacing (unpaid) moderators with any (still unpaid) passionate people willing to keep the lights on. In February, those efforts paid off in a sense: Google struck a deal to pay Reddit for API access . Because Reddit data is so important to its artificial intelligence. The announcement about the deal squeezes the word "train" into the list of things Google plans to do with its newly acquired data. It was widely seen as a deal to acquire fodder for artificial intelligence.
So it’s possible these spam posts were in the training data because of this deal, or it could simply be that Google ranks Reddit posts highly and the AI pulls content from higher-ranked pages. Regardless, this is yet another example of how tech companies are taking advantage of our desire to hear more human voices and responding to it by stuffing more AI junk down our gullets. If it's hard to swallow, maybe add some cheese mixed with glue . Here's a hint that Google's AI took from an old Reddit post. Thank you, y/fucking Smith .
