The list, posted by Philly resident Kyra Shiomos, has garnered over 500,000 views.
Some things that would send non-Philadelphians into a coma: the Mummer’s parade, sausages from the parking lot of the South Philly Home Depot, and the sheer concept of Center City Sips.
Those are from a now-viral list posted to TikTok in two parts by Kyra Shiomos, a 25-year-old IT specialist who moved to the city five years ago for college at Temple University and stuck around.
Inspired by the “things that would kill a Victorian-era child” meme, Shiomos’ videos list the uniquely Philly phenomena that stump our out-of-town friends.
Other bits of Philly that made the final cut for Shiomos? The Positive Movement drumline led by Philly Elmo, pronouncing the Schuylkill Expressway and being forced to drive on it, and the brigades of dirt bikers who drive across Center City and the summer, which she called “the closest thing a Philadelphian will ever experience to an earthquake.”
The videos have been viewed more than 518,000 times, and have been received with a kind of confrontational support that — ironically — also feels distinctly Philadelphian.
“Not a single miss,” commented Penny Gsell (aka local food and lifestyle influencer @pennyinphilly) under the first video.
“I can’t tell if you’re hating or just taking talking shit. It’s not making sense,” wrote another TikTok user under the second half of Shiomos’ list. “Are you for Philly or against it?”
“Like most Philadelphians, I have a love/hate relationship with the city but I’m also never leaving,” Shiomos replied in the comments, to the tune of a few likes.
The creator called herself a “scroller” only, but felt compelled to speak her truth after she saw a couple of other Philadelphia-specific lists circulate on TikTok, like one that riffed on the Pat’s and Geno’s rivalry and another that shouts out Gritty.
Shiomos felt those videos didn’t capture the city’s delightful messiness. She said she put together her roundups in about 20 minutes.
Shiomos admitted that she “wasn’t surprised” by the positive reception, but did get some flak for skipping what her audience called the basics: trying to navigate Kelly Drive, stumbling upon the Naked Bike Ride, and our sports fans.
“Philadelphians have a pretty good sense of humor about their city, so long as you’re not too hard on it,” she said.
Other Pennsylvania TikTok users have been getting in on the fun. Pittsburghers think yinz and the Mattress Factory Museum would make out-of-towners faint, and one woman from Delco is certain the Greenridge Carnival and their turkey bowls would make anyone else comatose.
As for Shiomos, she said it’s time to go back to scrolling.
“I probably wouldn’t make a very good influencer,” she said. “You need a bit, and Philly is my only bit. A lot of other people have that.”