CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — P.E.I. has oodles of potholes, but ramen noodles may provide drivers with a remedy, says a group of Island YouTubers.
The Island Boyz YouTube channel published a five-minute video on June 9 that currently has almost 4,000 views. It documents their attempt to fix a Charlottetown pothole using instant ramen noodles.
The channel’s three members – Jeremie Willis, Hani Mayaleh and Jaryd Burt – are all from P.E.I. The video was, of course, meant as a joke, but they were impressed by the ramen’s results.
The idea came from a recent internet trend. Other videos have showcased how to fix objects using ramen noodles, typically items like porcelain sinks and glass bowls.
“What’s something simple and relatable that we could fix?” Willis asked.
They brainstormed ideas while driving around the streets of Charlottetown. Then, they hit a pothole.
“How about we actually fix these potholes with this?” Mayaleh said.
“We’re doing it.” Willis replied.
The idea began as a joke, but they soon started buying the necessary supplies.
“We were all like, ‘We’re actually doing this,’” Burt said.
Their homemade concoction consisted mainly of water, glue and crushed bags of Mr. Noodles. It cost about $10 total.
“We put the sauce in there just for effect,” Willis joked. “Give it a little flavour. If you want a snack for later, just eat the pothole.”
They chose a pothole in Charlottetown’s West Royalty industrial park. When the work day ended, they got to work.
They mixed the gooey noodles together, caked them into the pothole, then left it to settle for 30 minutes. Once it was dry, they smoothed it out with tools and sandpaper, then spray painted it black.
“It actually looked like freshly paved pavement,” Willis said.
Mayaleh was skeptical whether it would work. He decided to slowly drive over it a couple of times with his car.
Sure enough, the pasted pasta held its form.
“We want to be bigger than Anne of Green Gables,” Willis said. “Cruise boats come to see us.”
-Jeremie Willis
The video is currently their most popular upload. Other content on the channel includes prank videos and vlogs.
“We mostly do things that we think will be funny,” Willis said.
They sometimes follow internet trends, but they like to find their own way, Burt said.
“We kind of put our own little Island twist to it.”
Making videos is just part time for them, but they’re working to grow their community and their brand. They want to put P.E.I. on the map for YouTube users.
“We want to be bigger than Anne of Green Gables,” Willis said. “Cruise boats come to see us.”
The "boyz" do what they can to keep things safe while filming, try not to upset anybody and to clean up after themselves. That’s why, a couple of days later, they decided to remove the ramen from the pothole. They feared birds or animals might get sick trying to eat the spray-painted noodles.
“The Island’s basically like our playground, so we like to keep it clean," Burt said.
They joked about getting in touch with Premier Dennis King to discuss an affordable funding plan and fix P.E.I.’s pothole problem once and for all.
“Max $300 should fix the entire Island,” Willis said. “That could get you a thousand packs of Mr. Noodles.”
“(And) plenty of glue,” Mayaleh said.