There’s eccentric car modding, and then there’s whatever this is.
In Shenyang, China, a man turned his $70,000 Li Auto L9 electric SUV into a moving aquarium by filling the transparent space over the engine with live fish and crustaceans. Yes, real animals. Yes, inside the hood. No, not a prank. The DIY “tank” sat between the vinyl wrap and a protective plastic layer, sloshing around above the motor while the man cruised city streets like it was completely normal.
He told reporters the idea came to him during a fishing trip when he forgot to bring a bucket. So instead of going home, he poured the catch of the day into the hood of his car. The result was a rolling seafood display that quickly went viral on Douyin and Weibo, with onlookers filming fish paddling behind plastic as the sun beat down on the hood.
Driver Turns Car Hood Into Fish Tank, Sparks Outrage
People freaked. Animal lovers called it torture on wheels. Some said it looked like the fish were being slow-cooked in real time. Others compared it to trapping live animals in a plastic bag and leaving them on a hot sidewalk. Whatever it was meant to be, it ended up as a viral lesson in what not to do. Ever.
The modified SUV caught the attention of Liaoning’s traffic police, who pulled it off the streets for breaking safety laws and posing a hazard. They haven’t said whether the driver got a fine, but they didn’t mince words. Aquarium hoods have no business on the road.
The man, identified in local reports as Mr. Liu, said he never meant to “make a scene.” He even told others not to try it themselves. But once the videos started spreading, the backlash was immediate. The SUV’s luxury features didn’t matter anymore. All anyone saw was fish gasping for air in a boiling hood bubble.
This wasn’t an ad campaign. It wasn’t performance art. Just one man, an “inspiring” fishing trip, and a dumb decision that made the whole internet stop and ask: why?
Let’s hope the fish were rescued. And that no one else gets any ideas.
The post This Man Turned His Car Hood Into an Aquarium—and Then Left the Fish To Die appeared first on VICE.
