"It's Called a Stink Gogga": SA Woman Tries Zimbabwe Smelly Bug With Her Domestic Worker

• TikTok creator @merciagouws filmed herself attempting a Zimbabwean food challenge with her domestic worker, Emma
• The bug, known in Afrikaans as a 'stink gogga,' is a cultural delicacy in Zimbabwe, costing just $1 a cup
• South Africans flooded the comments with laughter and surprise, with some admitting their own families eat the bugs too

A South African woman's attempt to eat a stink bug with her Zimbabwean domestic worker has left the internet in stitches.

TikTok creator @merciagouws shared the clip on 7 August 2026, and it quickly gained traction online as viewers watched her navigate one of Zimbabwe's most beloved cultural snacks.

In the video, Emma, the domestic worker, holds out a bag of stink bugs and encourages her employer to give one a try. The bugs, known in Afrikaans as a "stink gogga," are collected from trees in Zimbabwe, boiled in salted water, and eaten whole, head, legs, and all. Emma explained that a cup sells for around $1, roughly R0.05, though many families simply harvest them straight from the trees.

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A cultural divide over a tiny bug

The back-and-forth between the two women captures something genuinely funny about cross-cultural food moments. While Emma insisted the bugs are a nutritious delicacy, even claiming the black variety has medicinal qualities, her employer was visibly horrified by the smell alone. The Afrikaner woman made the comparison herself: South Africa has biltong, Zimbabwe has stink bugs. Both are beloved. Both are baffling to outsiders.

After much hesitation, she finally popped one in, and the reaction was everything viewers had hoped for. She made it clear she would not be going back for seconds, joking that she needed to cut the video short to visit the bathroom. Emma, completely unbothered, ate hers without a second thought.

Mzansi loves the stink bug challenge

South Africans in the comments section of the TikTok page had a lot to say:

@x_marras_x wrote:

"You eat everything the head, the poop hole, everything 😂😂"

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@𓆰𓆪 said:

"It doesn't leave stinky stink in your mouth? 😭😹"

@Linah Sello commented:

"We eat biltong in South Africa 🤣"

@NICKY simply called it:

"Fear Factor 😂😂"

@kgomotso more shared:

"My grandmother eats them too, it smells horrible in Mpumalanga Hoedspruit."

@Gatham wa Nwali noted:

"We eat this in South Africa."

Watch the clip and see the moment she finally takes the bite below:

More on unusual animals and bugs

• Briefly News recently reported on a woman who thought she had an allergic reaction, only to discover the real cause was something living in her home.
• A Mzansi man ranked South Africa's deadliest animals, and the results left viewers stunned.
• Sizwe Dhlomo went to extreme lengths over a tiny problem in his studio window, leaving South Africans talking about how far he was willing to go.

Source: Briefly News