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In the last few months, the internet has fallen under the spell of an old, sleepy dog and his psychic bones. It’s called having a bones or a no-bones day, and it’s something some people take very seriously.

The trend started on TikTok with Jonathan Graziano and his 13-year-old pug, Noodle. It’s a simple enough concept with a 50-50 split on what the outcomes could be. 

When Graziano lets go of Noodle after pulling him up from sleeping, if Noodle lands on his feet and stays standing, it’s a bones day. If Noodle doesn’t catch himself and immediately slumps into his dog bed, the day is considered a no-bones day.

Even for a skeptic, it is a little convincing when good fortune just happens to keep falling on bones days.”

Graziano started posting bones videos as early as Aug. 13, but the trend started after a Sept. 22 TikTok gained over 3.8 million views and over 697,000 likes. Since then, checking Noodle’s bones has been a near-daily occurrence for many.

Many bones forecasts have gotten millions of views, and the phenomena has spread all over the internet. Noodle even made an appearance on the TODAY Show Oct. 18.

There is no necessarily good or bad thing about either day. A bones day denotes a day for extravagance, for spending money on frivolous things and taking risks. A no-bones day means it’s a day for rest and self-care.

Not everyone fully believes in Noodle’s predictions. He is just a pug. But human minds are designed to pick out patterns and coincidences. Even for a skeptic, it is a little convincing when good fortune just happens to keep falling on bones days.

Choosing whether to take Noodle’s input seriously comes down to belief. How much do we want something else to take responsibility for our lives?”

How can this sleepy pug’s bones understand how we, as a society, are feeling on any given day?

Humans are constantly looking for someone or something to take responsibility away from us and deal with the uncertainty that comes with modern life. We don’t want to make our own decisions or come to terms with bad situations, so we project that onto something else.

Humans have been guilty of this for a long time. Religion can be thought of in this way. When there’s an almighty force dictating everything, it doesn’t matter if something bad happens. It’s just what the universe or Noodle the pug intended.

Astrology is also connected to humans’ refusal to take responsibility. The placement of the planets the day you were born has nothing to do with modern life, but it’s fun to entertain the idea. As with every belief system, some people take astrology very seriously and others don’t at all.

At Colorado State University, there’s no shortage of people who believe in Noodle and his bones. Not only are students using social media more than older generations, but many freshmen are facing full independence for the very first time. In the face of so much uncertainty and freedom, looking to a pug for guidance can be helpful, no matter how silly it may seem.

I talked to 19 CSU students, and five said that while they enjoy watching Noodle’s videos, they don’t really care about what the results mean. 

Another five students said that they take Noodle’s predictions very seriously and use it to dictate their days. Examples include only wearing jeans and spending extra money on a latte on bones days or skipping that 9 a.m. lecture and procrastinating doing homework on no-bones days.

However, nine students, the majority of those polled, said that they somewhat trust Noodle’s forecast, but they don’t use it to dictate their day. They might attribute a bad test score to a no-bones day, but they don’t go out of their way to follow Noodle’s instructions for the day.

Choosing whether to take Noodle’s input seriously comes down to belief. How much do we want something else to take responsibility for our lives? And how much are we willing to trust a pug to help make those choices?

Reach Dillon Gross at letters@collegian.com or on Twitter @dillongrosss.