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Every Bag Of Takis On The Market, Tasted And Ranked

Dig if you will the picture: you’ve walked into a convenience store, grabbed your favorite drink, and now it’s time to load up on snacks. You do a quick scan of the chip aisle when your eyes lock on Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. A classic! Grab ’em!

BUT WAIT! What’s that right next to them? Takis Fuego?

Now you’re dealing with a dilemma. Do you go for that combination of cheddar and spice or reach for the snack that crackles on your tongue with a zesty blend of citrusy lime and chili powder? Which will it be?

If you’re a person of good taste, you’re going Takis every time. The flavor of Takis Fuego just tastes… more harmonious. The spicy powdery cheddar of Cheetos has its moments, don’t get us wrong, but what Takis offers are flavors that layer together into something more than the sum of its parts. It’s a near-perfect spicy snack that offers legitimate levels of heat, a nice audible crunch, and a zesty semi-sour lift on the backend that seems to almost squeeze the taste buds and leaves your mouth watering for more.

In celebration of all things Takis, we’ve decided to round up every Takis product we could find for the ultimate roundup. From Fuego to Nitro, chips, to nuts, popcorn to meat sticks to… more chips — we’ve tasted every Takis product and ranked them from worst to most delicious.

14. Takis Fuego Meatsticks

Takis Ranking
Dane Rivera

Price: $9.42

Tasting Notes:

Made by Cattleman Cuts, these Fuego-flavored meatsticks are absolutely FOUL.

That’s right, we’re busting out the all-caps for this one. This is hands down the worst spicy snack I’ve ever tasted. It’s sour, salty, and spicy in all the worst ways and… it tastes like death. Really, there are no redeeming qualities to this thing, it tastes like the lowest quality jerky you’ll ever eat with a truly awful texture and a smell that makes it difficult to even take a single bite.

I’m not sure if this is an official Takis branded product. It uses all the Takis Fuego marketing but it says on the package “Inspired By The Intesity Of Takis Fuego.” Not “made in collaboration,” or anything like that.

I love Takis, but this is truly the worst thing I’ve ever eaten from a gas station convenience store. That’s saying something.

The Bottom Line:

Do not eat this under any circumstances. Not fit for human consumption.

13. Takis Fuego Chippz

Takis Ranking
Dane Rivera

Price: $3.49

Tasting Notes:

Takis Fuego Chippz take a good thing — the Takis Fuego flavor — and apply it to one of the most basic potato chips I’ve ever eaten. It’s not that the Chippz are bad, it’s that they’re so mediocre that almost any other chip option in any other flavor is better than this. The potato chip it’s built on is stale with a dull cardboard texture and a serious lack of flavor. That familiar Fuego burn is there on the backend, but I’m not getting much of the lime and the potato-flavor just makes the whole experience dull on the taste buds.

The Bottom Line:

It’s a fine idea but Takis should stick to what it does best: corn chips.

12. Takis Guacamole

Takis Ranking
Dane Rivera

Price: $3.48

Tasting Notes:

I have a few friends who swear by this Taki flavor variety but it’s just not working for me. It has a very artificial guacamole flavor, it’s sort of vegetal but lacks that buttery complexity that makes guacamole so special. It’s a little hard for me to eat this without wishing I just had a regular bag of Takis Fuego and an avocado so I could make my own guacamole.

After all, a good guacamole is incredibly easy to make you only need a ripe avocado, some lime, salt, and black pepper. You’re better off making your own than buying this.

The Bottom Line:

Takis and guacamole is a winning combination but this artificial rendition is seriously lacking.

11. Takis Fuego Waves

Takis Ranking
Dane Rivera

Price: $2.19

Tasting Notes:

Takis Chippz are straight-up bad but the Waves take things up a step offering a better texture and balance of flavors. The Waves have a more pronounced lime flavor than the Chippz and hold the spicy powder much better, delivering a heavier dose of that familiar Fuego flavor. They’re still a bit stale and could do with a heavier helping of chili powder but these are definitely worth a pick-up if you’re curious.

The Bottom Line:

A fine Ruffles-style chip with that familiar Fuego flavor.

10. Takis Kettlez Jalapeno Typhoon

Takis Ranking
Dane Rivera

Price: $2.98

Tasting Notes:

Takis Kettlez line is pretty solid. My main gripe with the Chippz and Waves was the stale potato-chip flavor, by using a kettle cook method Takis remedies that lack of flavor with something that tastes wonderfully caramelized. It has a much thicker cut than the Chippz and Waves but this Jalapeño Typhoon flavor comes across as a bit too weak.

If you can’t handle heat but you want a bit of a burn on your kettle-style chips, this is the pick for you. Alas, as a Takis fan, I know the brand is capable of better.

The Bottom Line:

Takis does kettle-style chips pretty damn well but this is easily the weakest iteration on the form.

9. Takis Fuego Popcornopolis

Takis Ranking
Dane Rivera

Price: $69.99 (Pack of 12)

Tasting Notes:

Made in collaboration with Popcornopolis, this is a simple Takis Fuego take on popcorn and it works as well as you’d expect it to. It’s light a fluffy with that familiar citrus and spice flavor combination. Unlike most Takis products, the heat hits your tastebuds first with the lime flavor acting as a sort of aftertaste. After the first few bites, it’s going to taste a bit weird, there is something slightly off about the combination of popcorn and lime to my palate… but a few handfuls in, I was sufficiently addicted.

It definitely grows on you once your tastebuds adjust to the idea of lime-spiked popcorn.

The Bottom Line:

The first few tastes of this spicy and citrus-flavored popcorn might taste a bit off but give it time, it grows on you in the best way.

10. Takis Kettlez Habanero Fury

Takis Ranking
Dane Rivera

Price: $2.98

Tasting Notes:

I’m a bit torn on these, on the one hand, I like them a lot, but with a name like “Habanero Fury” I’m expecting a strong level of heat and this just doesn’t have it. It leans much more on the bright flavors of habanero but it doesn’t taste nearly as spicy as Takis stock Fuego flavor. Like the Jalapeño Typhoon, that caramelized potato flavor is delicious, but it leaves me wanting for heat. A bit of a burn develops in the back of the throat after a few chips, but nothing that even the most spicy-averse couldn’t handle.

The Bottom Line:

Tasty, but if you’re expecting intense heat from the use of habanero, it’s just not here.

7. Takis Hot Nuts Fuego

Takis Ranking
Dane Rivera

Price: $1.98

Tasting Notes:

I’m almost certain that this product was made solely so Takis could call something “Hot Nuts.” It’s a horrifying image but you know what? These tastes pretty f*cking great. The peanuts are coated in a light layer of corn tossed in the Fuego chili powder and result in a more subtle and nutty take on the familiar flavor. Takis could’ve simply dusted some peanuts in chili powder like so many other brands, but by coating them, it presents something that is truly unique to the brand and definitely worth a pickup if you’re a fan of spicy nut snacks.

It may be blasphemous, but I’d totally add some of these into a Spicy Chex Mix for the perfect hybrid snack.

The Bottom Line:

Spicy corn-coated nuts for those occasions when regular spicy nuts just aren’t enough.

6. Takis Nitro

Takis Ranking
Dane Rivera

Price: $2.33

Tasting Notes:

Now, this is what I’m talking about! Takis Nitro combines the bright flavors and strong pronounced spicy kick of habanero peppers and infuses it into the Takis rolled corn chip form factor. It’s incredibly spicy, with a strong almost cough-inducing heat that hits the back of the throat as soon as you take a single bite. Takis Nitro is the flavor for people who want more of what Fuego offers, more heat, more citrus, more EVERYTHING.

Having said that, I think it comes across as a bit too overwhelming. More isn’t always better, and the Takis Nitro is just too much. If for some reason you’re trying to lessen the number of chips you eat this might be a good option because a small handful is enough to satisfy. But if you’re looking to kill a whole bag, this is going to overwhelm you a bit too quickly.

The Bottom Line:

Too much of a good thing.

5. Takis Crunchy Fajita

Takis Ranking
Dane Rivera

Price: $2.59

Tasting Notes:

Takis Fajita dials things back for a more subtle flavor than what Nitro offers. The name “Fajita” may lead you to believe this flavor packs some vegetal bell pepper and onion notes, but it doesn’t (what a missed opportunity!), instead, it offers a more subtle take on spicy flavors than what you’d expect out of Fuego. It’s a bit more balanced, spice isn’t the star of the show here, it’s merely a feature of the flavor.

The heat slowly builds here, it never gets to levels that are mouthwatering or uncomfortable, and it totally lacks that spicy finish that Takis is famous for.

The Bottom Line:

A milder and more balanced version of that famous Fuego flavor with less heat and no citrus zest.

4. Takis Blue Heat

Takis Ranking
Dane Rivera

Price: $3.48

Tasting Notes:

There is something seriously disturbing about eating a blue-powdered corn chip, but Takis Blue Heat truly offers something that fans of spicy chips would want: that famous Takis heat without the lime. Crunchy Fajita took out that bright lime finish that makes Takis easy to pick out from a blind line-up but offered a milder flavor, Blue Heat goes the other way, it brings the heat.

Blue Heat comes across as slightly spicier than Takis OG Fuego flavor and is a bit drier on the throat, but I wouldn’t say it’s radically spicier. That dryness makes it a bit less palatable, but if you’re looking for a truly spicy snack that sends you into a coughing fit, this is going to get the job done.

The Bottom Line:

That strong spicy kick of Takis Fuego without the bright citrusy lime finish.

3. Takis Kettlez Fuego

Takis Ranking
Dane Rivera

Price: $2.98

Tasting Notes:

There is a reason most of the Takis products are reinterpretations of the Fuego flavor — it’s the reason Takis are so beloved. The Kettlez Fuego brings the famous combination of intense heat and bright citrus to the kettle chip form factor and it’s delicious. The caramelized potato has an almost onion-esque flavor to it which pairs perfectly with the intense heat of Fuego.

What I desperately want is a Nitro version of this chip so that I can squeeze fresh lime over it for a more natural result. But until that product is made, this is the next best thing.

The Bottom Line:

Easily the best Kettlez flavor.

2. Takis Stix Fuego

Takis Ranking
Dane Rivera

Price: $4.69

Tasting Notes:

Maybe I’m ranking this a bit too high but ever since first trying the Takis Stix, which was for this article (I would’ve never tried them otherwise) I’ve been obsessed. The Stix aren’t all that different from regular Takis, they’re made of corn but the distribution of flavors here is totally different. Instead of a pronounced corn chip flavor and texture, the Stix have a very faint corn flavor, allowing the blend of spicy chili powder and lime to take center stage.

Part of me loving this so much is that it’s a subtle change-up of the OG Takis flavor, but it’s different enough that it comes across as exciting for seasoned Takis fans.

The Bottom Line:

If you’ve been passing these up because they seem redundant, I strongly encourage you to give them a try. On some days these are even better than OG Takis Fuego.

1. Takis Fuego

Takis Ranking
Dane Rivera

Price: $4.98 (Fiesta Size)

Tasting Notes:

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone but the best Takis product is the OG Fuego flavor. It just doesn’t get better than this when we’re talking Takis. On first taste, you’re hit with a nice sustained burn on the tongue that builds as you eat chip after chip.

What makes Takis superior to Hot Cheetos is the way the chili pepper powder embeds itself into the rolled tortilla’s folds, offering up an uneven delivery of spicy notes. That sounds like a bad thing but it’s not, it makes each bite a surprise with a shifting balance of spice and zesty lime notes that constantly teeter-totters between the two extremes.

The Bottom Line:

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Takis Fuego is the flavor that started it all for a reason and it remains the best iteration of the Fuego flavor.

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DeVante Parker Called Out The NFL For Failing To Stop The Game After He Suffered A Head Injury On Monday Night Football

The NFL updated its policy on handling players with head injuries this season after the debacle with Tua Tagovailoa in which the Dolphins quarterback was allowed to return to a game earlier this season after a what was clear to everyone watching to be a head injury. Now, players flagged by the neurotrauma consultants who are supposed to watch every play for signs of a head injury must come out of the game for evaluation, and those who show signs of “gross motor instability” are immediately ruled out for the rest of the game.

However, the league’s new policy failed on Monday Night Football in a significant way after DeVante Parker was tackled, landing headfirst on the turf and was clearly wobbly and struggling to walk straight after getting up. No one from the NFL called down to instruct the officials or team doctors to remove Parker from the field, and he tried to line up for the next play. His teammate, Nelson Agholor, recognized Parker wasn’t right and literally jumped up and down waving his arms as the Patriots were getting ready to snap the ball, demanding play be stopped so Parker could be taken off the field.

It was an awful look for the league, and Parker rightfully called out the NFL (while thanking Agholor) for failing to apply the protocol to protect him.

The NFL and NFLPA have launched an investigation into why play wasn’t stopped and what led to the failure of the system, because it was apparent to everyone, including the ESPN booth, that Parker wasn’t walking right after the hit and needed medical attention. Thankfully Agholor was adamant about getting his teammate off the field and was able to get play stopped, but for a league that has already had one major protocol failure this year with head injuries, there needs to be a significant discussion internally about how to better watch for these situations.

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Vladimir Putin’s Increasingly Messy War Has All Of Russia Feeling The Squeeze, And Somehow, ‘There’s No Paper’ Anywhere

Vladimir Putin likes his champagne, as shown in the above 2014 photo that shows him attending the Sochi Paralympic Games. He also recently fondled a glass while attempting to justify his attacks on energy sources in Ukraine, which is not a fun thing for civilians to have to deal with during the dead of winter after having their homes invaded. Yet Putin is not known for prioritizing too well during the acts of war, especially when he’s so focused on his own Botox supply. Word on the street is that he might actually flee Russia, which is really something.

As well, Putin has left his own country’s economy in a shambles, and that goes from everything to Netflix (among other major corporations) pulling out of the country to, uh, fancy paper. Actually, there’s apparently “no paper” to be found, according to one of the most prestigious museums in Russia. Via The Daily Beast, things are not fantastic, and although the museum remains open for now, that might not be the case for long. This paper issue might sound trivial, yet it speaks the depths of Putin’s at-home disaster:

The State Tretyakov Gallery has stopped giving museum visitors beautifully printed tickets and suddenly shifted to flimsy paper receipts because they say “there;s no paper in the country.” The local news outlet Podyom reached out to the art museum after visitors reported the apparent downgrade. A representative of the museum was quoted explaining that the decision was made because “just like everywhere, … there’s no paper in the country. This does not depend on the Tretyakov Gallery. Paper is problematic everywhere, not only here.”

From there, where does one even consider how impossible it must be to buy toilet paper for one’s family in Russia? Putin might not care, given that he has people to help clean up after he (allegedly) poops all over himself while falling down stairs. Yes, I’m making light of the situation, but it sounds like things won’t be getting any better in Russia (let alone in Ukraine) anytime soon. Putin still has his champagne, though.

(Via The Daily Beast)

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What Is Diddy And Yung Miami’s Relationship Status?

This past weekend, Diddy damn near broke the internet by announcing that he had just had a daughter. “I’m so blessed to welcome my baby girl Love Sean Combs to the world,” he tweeted. And while some fans felt like he was referencing a new album, most people immediately turned their attention to Yung Miami of City Girls, who has been linked to Diddy in a relationship since she posted a photo of them holding hands at a posh birthday party last year.

Baby or not, Diddy’s tweet prompted hip-hop’s answer to Helen Lovejoy, DJ Akademiks, to reference Yung Miami as Diddy’s side chick. “Diddy different… my N**** done f*cked around and had a side baby on his harem of side chicks,” Akademiks said. As audacious as dude is, it might’ve just triggered both Diddy and Yung Miami to better explain their relationship status.

“Yung Miami is not my side chick,” Diddy tweeted, breaking from his general reluctance to speak about personal matters.”Never has been, never will be. She’s very important and special to me, and I don’t play about my Shawty Wop. I don’t discuss things on the internet and I will not start today.

Yung Miami also had a response for Akademiks, which err… illuminated, the status of her relationship with Diddy. “I’M NOBODY SIDE BITCH LETS JUST MAKE THIS CLEAR ON THIS GOOD MONDAY! I don’t come 2nd to no bitch!” she tweeted.

So how do you declare that you’re in a committed relationship without really saying it in as many words? See above.

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Norman Reedus Is The Latest Fantastic Addition To The Already Spectacular-Sounding ‘John Wick’ Spinoff ‘Ballerina’

There’s a fourth John Wick movie en route, but that’s not all: There’s also a spinoff in the offing, name of Ballerina, and it keeps getting better and better. First off, it stars Ana de Armas. It also features Angelica Huston and Oscar-nominee Catalina Sandino Moreno, as well as returning Wick vets Ian McShane and Lance Reddick. (Plus there’s at least some Keanu.) Now it’s adding someone from another many-tentacled franchise.

As per Deadline, no less than Norman Reedus, Daryl Dixon himself, will be joining Ballerina, which stars de Armas as (that’s right) a ballerina who’s also an assassin, out for revenge upon those who killed her family. (The character was already seen before, in the Wick threequel Parabellum, but she was played by the actress Unity Phelan.) It’s not known which character Reedus will play, as is still the case with Huston.

Since becoming a name thanks to The Walking Dead, Reedus has largely kept to the zombie franchise. Ballerina will be one of his highest-profile steps outside of the zombie-verse. He’s still busy with the series, with a Daryl Dixon spinoff in the works, about which he’s been cryptic. He also almost died while making the Walking Dead series finale, so he should be excited to jump on a franchise all about shooting lots and lots and lots of people with guns.

(Via Deadline)

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Diddy Clears The Air About All Those Yung Miami Rumors: ‘She’s Very Important And Special To Me’

After Yung Miami and Akademiks mixed it up on Twitter over Diddy’s possible album announcement, Diddy himself chimed in to clear the air, although he says doesn’t “discuss things on the internet.” Diddy denied thinking of Yung Miami as a “side chick” after Akademiks characterized her that way, calling her “important” and “special.”

“[Yung Miami] is not my side chick,” he wrote. “Never has been, never will be. She’s very important and special to me, and I don’t play about my Shawty Wop. I don’t discuss things on the internet and I will not start today.”

Diddy and Yung Miami’s relationship has been the subject of much speculation online after the two began spending a lot of time together last summer. Ever since the City Girl posted a photo of the two holding hands at Quality Control CEO Pierre Thomas’ birthday party, fans couldn’t help but wonder about the couple — who were both more than happy to encourage the gossip in subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways.

However, over the weekend, Diddy unexpectedly announced the arrival of a “baby girl” on Twitter, prompting many of those fans to pick at Yung Miami over being played by Diddy. Others, however, believed that the announcement was his rather dramatic way of exulting over finishing the album he’s been promising for the past year or so. Apparently, Akademiks fell into the former camp (because when has Akademiks ever passed up a chance to be a raging misogynist?), and tweeted, “Diddy different… my N**** done f*cked around and had a side baby on his harem of side chicks.” This prompted Miami to clapback, “I’M NOBODY SIDE B*TCH LETS JUST MAKE THIS CLEAR ON THIS GOOD MONDAY! I don’t come 2nd to no b*tch!”

Now, with Diddy weighing in and clearing the air, perhaps that’ll turn down the derogatory remarks about Miami, whatever her title or role in his life really is.

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‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ Is Projected To Make All Of The Money, Of Course

James Cameron is on track to do it again. The first weekend box office projections are in for Avatar: The Way of Water, and just like its predecessor, the film is on track to make freaking ton of money. Going into the promotional tour for the long-awaited sequel, Cameron has been candid that The Way of Water needs to crush it at the box office or else he’ll end the franchise with Avatar 3.

However, the writer/director has been more confident in recent weeks that the gargantuan film won’t “fall on its ass,” and the numbers appear to be on his side. Via Deadline:

The sequel to the James Cameron directed 3x Oscar winning 3D sci-fi movie arrives with a global outlook of $525M in what is Disney’s widest global release ever at 52K screens, surpassing Avengers: Endgame. Broken out that’s $175M on the high end in U.S./Canada and $350M overseas. Some tracking has Avatar: The Way of Water at $150M and if the movie arrives at the low level, it’s not the end of the world.

To be clear, over half a billion dollars in global box office in just the first weekend is a heck a lot of money, and yet, not a record. Spider-Man: No Way Home blasted its projections and brought in $600 million even with the Omicron variant raging. The Way of Water is looking at much more favorable conditions, so it’ll be interesting to see if Cameron can snatch the box office crown from Marvel.

Early reviews have been almost unanimously praising the sequel’s 3D visuals, which are best experienced on the big screen. In fact, Uproxx‘s Mike Ryan went so far to say “these movies basically only exist for their theatrical run.”

(Via Deadline)

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‘Wednesday’ Took Just Three Weeks To Join Some Very Elite Company On Netflix

Even though Wednesday has only been out for three Wednesdays (ha!), the series is on track to become one of the most-watched shows on Netflix, sitting comfortably among some of the streamer’s most-loved shows (aka Stranger Things and Squid Game).

In just a short amount of time, the series has shot ahead of Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, and then ran a few more laps. After 28 days on Netflix, Monster racked up 856.2 million hours, while Wednesday has already cruised past 1 billion after just three weeks. It seems silly to compare a real-life murderer to a fictional evil child, but that’s where we are at.

While Wednesday has been dominating Netflix’s Top 10 over the past month, the series is still 352.1 million hours (!!) behind Stranger Things season four, which began its reign over the summer. It’s pretty unlikely that Tim Burton’s series will surpass Twitter’s favorite television show, but you never know. It’s also important to remember that while Stranger Things season four contained several movies worth of content over 13 hours, Wednesday only runs for just over 6 hours, as a normal television show should.

Of course, neither shows are comparable to Squid Game, the global sensation that had 1.65 billion views in the first month. Maybe Wednesday should create some intricate but deadly challenges in its upcoming season to try to appeal to people who are into that stuff. As it turns out, there are millions of them.

(Via Variety)

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New Zealand will be the first country to effectively ban smoking. Here’s their plan to do it.

The dangers of tobacco are well-known throughout the world but no country has been so bold as to try and stamp it out completely, until now. New Zealand passed a new law on Tuesday, December 13, that would phase out smoking throughout the country. The bill was passed by Parliament by a 76 to 43 margin.

The new law would make it illegal to sell tobacco to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, for their entire lives. So, theoretically, by 2050, a 40-year-old will be too young to buy cigarettes. The goal is to effectively ban tobacco products by 2025.

Advocates for the law say that it will improve the country’s health and reduce the astronomical cost that smoking has on the country’s health system. New Zealand has universal healthcare and provides services to its citizens for free or at a reduced cost. So, the cost of smoking is shared among all its residents whether they smoke or not.


Currently, 8% of New Zealand residents smoke daily, which is half the number who smoked a decade ago. However, the percentage is considerably higher among the Indigenous Māori population, of which about 20% are smokers.

“Thousands of people will live longer, healthier lives and the health system will be $5 billion (US$3.25 billion) better off from not needing to treat the illnesses caused by smoking, such as numerous types of cancer, heart attacks, strokes, amputations,” Associate Health Minister Dr. Ayesha Verrall said in a statement.

“We want to make sure young people never start smoking so we will make it an offense to sell or supply smoked tobacco products to new cohorts of youth. People aged 14 when the law comes into effect will never be able to legally purchase tobacco. Smoking rates are plummeting,” she added. “Our goal of being smoke-free by 2025 is within reach.”

The bill is a big win for public health, but it has rankled those who believe that tobacco should be a personal choice that isn’t made for people by the state. “No one wants to see people smoke, but the reality is, some will and Labour’s nanny state prohibition is going to cause problems,” the libertarian ACT party’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Velden said, according to the BBC. Van Velden believes that the ban will create a black market for tobacco and have unintended consequences.

Further, if someone is banned from buying cigarettes they can just ask someone older to purchase a pack for them.

The bill does not affect those who use vape products, which make up about 6% of New Zealand’s population.

The new law will reduce the number of stores authorized to sell tobacco products from about 6,000 down to 600. The legal amount of nicotine will also be dramatically reduced in products to make them less addictive.

Whether one sees the new bill as a massive piece of government overreach or a law that was a long time coming, it will no doubt have a positive effect on public health.

“There is no good reason to allow a product to be sold that kills half the people that use it,” Verrall told lawmakers in Parliament. “And I can tell you that we will end this in the future, as we pass this legislation.”

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A ‘death box’ may sound morbid, but it’s actually a priceless gift for your loved ones

“Do you have a death box?” my friend asked me out of the blue one day.

I’m sorry? A death box? Like … a casket?

“No, a box of paperwork for when you die,” she said. “You need one, trust me. It’s the best thing ever. I’ve given one to all of my immediate family members.”

“It’s not actually called a ‘death box,'” she added as she pulled up a website on her phone. “It’s called a Nokbox. Have you ever heard of it?”

I had not. And how the heck did we start talking about me dying?

As she began to explain and show me what the Nokbox was, I understood why she was so adamant about me needing one. She was right. I did need one. We all need one.


Anyone who has ever managed someone’s affairs or experienced an unexpected passing of a loved one knows that grief isn’t the only thing you have to process when someone dies. We live in an era of legalities and paperwork and official channels and bureaucracy, and that doesn’t end when our life on Earth does. In fact, it’s a big part of what we leave behind, as annoying as it is.

For instance, do your loved ones have access to your banking information? Credit card accounts? Social media profiles? Most of us would say no, as there’s not much of a need for that when we’re here. But what if we suddenly weren’t? How would our loved ones know how to wrap things up for us?

A Nokbox—short for “next of kin box”—is an organizational system that helps those left behind avoid having to hunt through your files and electronics to close out accounts, notify lenders and other logistical tasks once you have passed away. You could create your own, of course, but the Nokbox does all the basic setup for you. (And no, this isn’t an ad. I just greatly appreciate having things organized for me.)

The Nokbox was created by a teacher and real estate agent from Colorado after her father passed away in 2021 and she realized how much of a scavenger hunt it was to find everything needed to handle his affairs. Even though he left a will, figuring out passwords for his bank accounts, credit cards and investments meant hours of guesswork for the family. And what they experienced is painfully common.

As my friend explains, “After having some friends lose loved ones, I witnessed the grief coupled with immense stress that came along with trying to deal with the many tangible details left behind—what bills were there to pay and to whom, where were keys, where was a will if there was one, what were the passwords, etc.”

Gifting a Nokbox to family members means they all have the same organizational system and know what to look for in the event one of them passes away. “It’s the best gift you can give from the other side to your grieving family,” she adds.

The Nokbox comes in a few different choices, from the Nokbox Lite, which includes all of the instructions and labels you need but without any boxes or folders, to the Nokbox Fireproof, which includes everything you need in a fireproof file box.

No one wants to think about their own death, but everyone would benefit from preparing for the inevitable and enabling loved ones to grieve their passing with as few practical frustrations as possible. Imagine giving someone a gift that will save their loved ones hours of time and frustration in the midst of their time of grief. A “death box” might not seem like a very merry gift, but it truly is a priceless one. For the person who is hard to shop for or who seems to have everything, a Nokbox could be the perfect present, even if it raises an eyebrow or two.