Who Is This Hoverboard Diver and What Is She Selling?

The internet is fascinated with a peculiar clip of a girl riding her hoverboard around a pool on Christmas Day. She falls off. The hoverboard goes swimming. She dives in after it. This has to be some sort of viral marketing bullshit, right?

Yet, despite the thousands of Instagrams, tens of thousands of retweets, and hundreds of thousands of Facebook views, it’s entirely unclear what this anonymous girl might be selling. The 90s-era watermark on the security camera looks fake. Her little dance to the water’s edge in a desperate attempt to save her stupid hoverboard seems choreographed. The fact that the video appears to original from a YouTube account with only one upload. It all screams FAKE.

But what if it isn’t? What if some poor girl in suburban America destroyed her Christmas gift just hours after unwrapping it? What if she loved that gift so much she was willing to do trying to save it? What if, for once, the internet wasn’t trying to trick us?

I don’t care if it’s fake. I want to commend this viral hoverboard diver for her bravery in the face of common sense and applaud her successful rescue. There’s little doubt in my mind that the gadget is totally fried. But frankly, it’s better that way. Hoverboards are dangerous.