The latest subway self-defense hack to surface on social media involves using a sock and a can of beans.
“You get your can of Goya and you put them inside the sock and, girl, you swing like you have never swung in your life, ’cause now you’re fighting for your life,” recommended a straphanger known on TikTok as @talibandominicano in a video that garnered over 320,000 views and 45,000 likes.
“Ladies, take note … this can really save your life,” he said.
“That move’s been working since the ‘80s,” one person commented.
Others suggested using items like rolls of quarters, D batteries, or a billiard ball for self-defense.
“My bag is already heavy, now I gotta carry a can of beans?!” one woman commented. “The things we have to do in order to stay safe,” she added with a crying emoji.
Last year, an influencer advised NYC women to carry spray paint for self-defense amid a series of unprovoked attacks.
In other videos, a TikToker brought a small fire extinguisher onto the train, referencing the tragic murder of Debrina Kawam, who was burned alive on the subway on Dec. 22.
“Who else is becoming increasingly paranoid while taking the MTA subway?” he wrote in one video. “Tired of carrying Goya beans and [Nike] Dri-FIT socks and fire extinguisher,” he said in another. “I need to hustle harder to buy a car.”
In the final days of 2024 and early 2025, five people were attacked underground and a 45-year-old rider was thrown onto the tracks in Chelsea.
