We know that plenty of groups and societies have their own secret signs, but what happens when someone uses one of them by mistake?
That’s apparently what happened to one bewildered couple who started attracting increasing amounts of attention, but couldn’t figure out why.
The wife, called Linda, said she and her husband were away on holiday when they began noticing other people acting a “little extra nice [sic]” towards them.
In a TikTok video, she explained that she had bought them both matching swimsuits because she “thought it was cute”.
The swimming costumes were decorated with pineapples which, for many of us, might seem like just a nice beachwear design.
However, for those in the know, the tropical fruit is apparently also a symbol used by people who are interested in swinging.
According to Eye Spy detective agency, if a pineapple is placed on the porch or mailbox of a house it indicates a swinger party is going on inside. In addition, swingers identify each other in public by wearing clothes and other items featuring the pattern.
Linda and her husband clearly worked it out eventually (she didn’t explain how), but in the caption to her TikTok post she said: “Ooops no one told me.”
The clip racked up more than 2.6 million views in just four days as viewers delighted in the unfortunate mishap.
“Let’s take pineapples back! Let swingers use something else!” one commentator wrote.
Another agreed, saying: “I feel like they should pick something a little more obscure, pineapple stuff is too cute.”
Others suggested that the signal was, in fact, more nuanced, with one writing: “Isn’t it when a pineapple is upside down? (It means what everyone here is thinking of.) Otherwise it’s just a pretty fruit.”
In fact, Eye Spy states that a pineapple is turned upside down “when a person is in search of a swinger party”. Originally, the site claims, people would turn the fruit upside down in their shopping trolleys when they were on the lookout for a good time (so be careful next time you do the weekly shop…)
Responding to one comment, Linda said she “really want[ed] to look into the reason” behind the emblem.
One person replied that it’s because the fruit used to be a sign of “wealth/hospitality.” Another person said they were familiar with this meaning but had no idea this had since developed a swinging dimension.
“I thought [they] meant hospitality,” the TikToker wrote. “I worked for 10 years at an assisted living facility and everything was pineapples.”
Meanwhile, other users who are themselves part of the swinging lifestyle said the signal was “more of a joke.”
“We certainly don’t assume and definitely don’t approach random [pineapple wearers],” one wrote.
Another joked to Linda: “You both knew, quit playing.”
But, she insisted, with two laughing emojis: “I wish!”
We wonder what pattern she and her hubby will go for next time…
