Bones vs No Bones Days… What Does it Mean?

If you are an active TikTok user and watcher, odds are you have heard of the recent phenomenon of a Bones vs No Bones Day. But if you have not heard about it, here’s what you’re missing out on. 

In the recent weeks, TikTok user @jongraz and his 13-year-old pug Noodle have taken the world by storm. Each day, Jonathan plays a game that he calls “No Bones” and in his own words: “this is a game where we find out if [his] 13-year-old pug woke up with bones, and as a result, what kind of day we are going to have”. Jonathan began uploading videos of Noodle’s bones (or lack thereof) since August of 2021 and now has over 3 million followers and 28 million likes on TikTok. 

If you are new here, you are probably very confused about this whole idea of a dog not having bones, so let’s recap. Firstly, if Noodle decides it is a bones day, that means when Jonathan picks him up out of his fluffy little pug bed, he will remain standing… because he has bones. Contrarily, if Jonathan picks him up and he does not remain standing, but instead plops back down into his bed, it is a no bones day. 

So the dog has bones… what does it mean? If Noodle decides that it is a bones day, that means it is time for us to be productive! Bones days mean we get out of bed, put our nice clothes on, get stuff done and treat your self. Additionally, Bones days are thought of to be synonymous with good days.

But, Jonathan stated on the Today Show that he wants to change the narrative on No bones days, they’re not bad! If they’re not bad, then what are they? No bones days, basically, give us permission to be lazy. On a no bones day, it’s okay to stay in our sweatpants, binge-watch 25 episodes of your favorite netlfix show, and eat the ice cream you’ve had in your freezer for the last two months. No bones days are days for self care and relaxation. 

Noodle the pug is kind of like the Punxsutwney Phil of the 21st century (the groundhog in charge of determining whether spring is coming or winter will persist for six more weeks). Instead of a yearly decision, Noodle decides the fate of millions every day. Jonathan, thank you for sharing Noodle with us! You both are a national treasure. 

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