Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age

'Ask an Axolotl' is TikTok's sweet, comforting viral ditty

It's catchy.
By  on 
screenshots of tiktoks of people singing the axolotl song
Credit: Screenshots: TikTok / @idroppedmyspaghetti / @doctor_waffle / @datzwhaticallmusic

Before this week, I couldn't pronounce "axolotl," let alone sing it. But a viral TikTok song called "Ask an Axolotl" has changed everything.

In case you missed it, TikTokker @doctor_waffle posted a video with an adorable song about an axolotl — a pinkish salamander-looking amphibian — and a penguin. Doctor Waffle (LOL, great name) accompanies the song with cute scenes involving a plastic axolotl and penguin. The TikTok and song follow the adventures of an axolotl doing different activities around a doll house, with the penguin interrupting. 

This kind of video is a staple of Doctor Waffle's page, but this particular song went quite viral, racking up about 16 million views within a few days of it being posted.

Give it a look and listen.

Cute, right? "Ask an Axolotl" is catchy and sweet, and it quickly found its audience on TikTok.

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TikTok user @idroppedmyspaghetti noted that the song kept him from crashing out, which seems to be a popular sentiment on the app.

Or there was @thechromaticmusicteacher covering it.

And, wonderfully, @datzwhaticallmusic had their student choir sing it. Doctor Waffle even commented on the TikTok, calling it "SO cool!"

Look around TikTok, and you'll see many folks enjoying the song. It is especially calming if you're feeling anxious and certainly catchy enough to remember. As commenters have pointed out, it's gentle parenting at its finest.

Mashable reached out to Doctor Waffle for comment and will update the story if we receive a response.

But for now, it's neat to know that people around the world have not only discovered what an axolotl is, but they're also happily singing about it being on their front stairs.

Topics TikTok

close-up of man's face
Tim Marcin

Tim Marcin is an Associate Editor on the culture team at Mashable, where he mostly digs into the weird parts of the internet. You'll also see some coverage of memes, tech, sports, and the occasional hot take. You can find him posting endlessly about Buffalo wings on the website formerly known as Twitter at @timmarcin.


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