A TikToker who posts videos of himself kicking a rock down the street has millions of people tuning in every day to see its progress. Twenty-two-year-old Luke Lorraine wants to turn the rock into a perfect sphere.
On November 17, Lorraine, who’s from Connecticut, uploaded a video of himself kicking a rock across some pavement. The caption during the 14-second clip read, “Kicking a rock while I walk until it turns into a sphere: day 1.”
Lorraine noted in the TikTok, which has now been viewed over 17.9 million times, the distance the rock had been kicked, the material it had been kicked on, and the level of “rolling craziness” as he tries to control the rock.
He’s been including these “rock updates” in all of his daily videos and now has over 394,000 followers.
Lorraine told Insider he got the idea from the bassist in his band Wavy McGrady, who told him rocks turn into spheres over time when they’re consistently rolling on hard surfaces.
“I was walking to a class a couple weeks after he told me that and just started kicking a rock, and liked it, and wanted to kick it back to my car. So I picked it up and kept it with me,” Lorraine said.
He started filming himself kicking the rock so he could keep track of its progress day-to-day and share updates with friends. “Then, I woke up, and the followers and likes were flooding in and have been since!” he said.
Some comments reacting to the TikTok videos expressed doubt the rock would ever become spherical. One user posted, “U gon be kicking that rock for 4.2 million years bro,” in a comment that was liked over 36,000 times. “Babe wake up, new Sisyphus just dropped,” said a top comment that’s been liked 13,000 times.
However, other comments seemed more hopeful. “Here before it’s a sphere,” wrote one user who received over 6,600 likes.
According to Lorraine and his viral TikToks, the rock formation appears to be changing and becoming more spherical.
Between videos of kicking rocks, Lorraine also uploads updates offering a “sphere rating” for the rock, which started at two out of 10 on day one. So far, Lorraine said he’s kicked the rock a total distance of 17.1 miles, and the most recent “sphere rating” clocked in at a six out of ten on day 19.
Throughout the series, people have worried that Lorraine might lose the rock down a drain, or that the rock will wear away before it becomes round.
“My soul left my body when I saw the drain,” a comment said on day 17 . “It’s getting so small bro I’m scared,” another comment said.
Lorraine said he has “no clue” how long it will take him to kick the rock into a sphere, but he’ll go for as long as it takes. Plus, he enjoys his daily walks.
“I recommend anyone finding a rock and just kicking it while they walk because it’s good to get moving, clear the mind, and there’s no limit to it,” he said.
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