In the past we've highlighted a number of credulous reporters in the Chinese media taking satirical articles on face value and generally making fools out of themselves. So it was with no small amount of trepidation that I approached this story about an alleged craze among Japanese teens of licking each other's eyeballs. On the one hand, this is the kind of insane, WTF news that blogs are built upon. On the other, it has to be fake right? Right?! 
 
 After eye patches suddenly took off among middle school students in Japan, teachers were confused but ultimately decided it was just another weird fashion craze. However, a post by a middle school teacher, originally shared on Naver Matome and translated by Japan Crush, describes the disturbing trend behind the patches: 
 
 After class one day, I went into the equipment store in the gymnasium to tidy up. The door had been left open, and when I looked inside, a male pupil and a female pupil had their faces close together and were kind of fumbling around. Could it be bullying? I wondered, but when I had a good look, the boy was licking the girl’s eye! Surprised, a shouted “What are you doing? Stop it at once!” and the two of them were so shocked they jumped apart. The girl burst into tears, and the boy just went bright red and was shaken up. At any rate, to try to calm them down I took them to the janitor’s room and listened to their story. 
 
 On questioning, the two students revealed that eyeball licking is basically like second base - what you graduate to after Frenching. 
 
 Mr. Y immediately told the school staff the story. A classroom assembly for the year 6 students was held, and when each homeroom teacher questioned the students, it was revealed that a surprising one third of the kids had done “eyeball licking”, or had had their eyeballs licked. 
 
 Lest you think this is just cod moralising from a squicked out adult, eyeball licking is a great way of spreading trachoma (eye chlamydia) and conjunctivitis/pink-eye. 
 
 One potential inspiration for the eyeball licking trend is this video from Japanese band Born, in which the lead singer gets his eyeball licked by a knife-wielding woman (around 3:35, warning video contains terrible emo rock): 
 
 Don't lick each other's eyeballs kids. ||||| Doctors worry that oculolinctus could damage eyesight. (Dimitri Vervitsiotis/Getty Images) 
 
 A new trend among Japanese teenagers called oculolinctus, also known as "eyeball licking," or "worming," is currently sweeping across the internet in videos and photos. 
 
 The bizarre trend has started popping up on Youtube, Tumblr and Twitter. The practice, in which teens show affection by licking their partner's eyeballs, may have started with a scene in a music video released last year from the Japanese band Born, which features a dramatic slow-motion scene of oculolinctus. 
 
 But experts are concerned that even if oculolinctius is done sparingly or on a dare, it could have very real consequences. Dr. Robert Cykiert, an associate professor in the department of ophthalmology at the New York University Langone Medical Center, said the surface of a healthy eye is normal mostly sterile, while the mouth is filled with bacteria and food particles. 
 
 "When you get licked on the eye, you're transferring dangerous bacteria to the eye," said Cykiert. "It's a very dangerous trend, to say the least." 
 
 Cykiert said transferring bacteria to the eye leaves people with a higher risk of contracting conjunctivitis or, more seriously, a corneal ulcer. 
 
 "[People] may have scarring of the cornea that can be permanent depending on the bacteria in germs … it may cause a perforation or hole to develop," said Cykiert, who has had to give some patients with corneal ulcers a cornea transplant. 
 
 While Cykiert said he hasn't seen evidence of "eyeball licking" in the U.S., he warns that teens should be wary of trying out the trend to prove their adoration as they can permanently damage their sight. 
 
 Instead, Cykiert suggests, "sticking with hand holding and kissing, stuff that's been around for millions of years."
– The hot new thing amongst Japanese teens? Licking each others' eyeballs. Also known as "oculolinctus" and "worming," it's a sexual thing, and was probably inspired by a music video clip (it's at 3:30; you know you want to look), reports ABC News. Apparently, an increasing number of Japanese middle schoolers were showing up at school wearing eye patches, and no one knew why—until a teacher finally caught two young lovers in the act. After the school quizzed the entire sixth grade, he learned a third had participated in eyeball licking, and he shared the news on a Japanese social media site, Shanghaiist reports. The reason for the eye-patches? Eyeball licking is a great way to get pinkeye. "When you get licked on the eye, you’re transferring dangerous bacteria to the eye," an ophthalmologist tells ABC. "It’s a very dangerous trend, to say the least."