‘Kinda genius and evil at the same time’: Woman orders LEGO set from Target for birthday. Then she realizes she got bamboozled
A strange and frustrating trend has started popping up online: people buying LEGO sets, but upon opening them, finding something completely unexpected inside. Instead of the bricks, they’re finding something… edible.
In one recent viral case, the mix-up ruined a woman’s birthday gift. A TikTok video posted by Lindsay (@lindsayharlak) has gotten more than 2.8 million views after she called out both Target and LEGO for what she found inside a sealed LEGO box that was meant to be a present.
What Did She Find Inside the Lego Box?
“Um, Target and LEGO, we ordered this for my birthday, and I opened it, and it was noodles,” she says, showing the Christmas wreath LEGO set box to the camera.
She flips the camera toward a table covered in small plastic bags. Instead of LEGO pieces, each bag contains conchiglie noodles.
“Straight up noodles. I got package one,” she says, holding up a torn, empty bag. “Nothing even here. Just completely slit.”
She then shows what appears to be a full pasta package that was left inside the box along with the smaller bags.
“Oh yeah. Full box of pasta,” she says. “Target, LEGO, SOS.”
In the caption, Lindsay tags both companies and asks for answers.
“@LEGO @target I would like some answer to this birthday gift shenanigans!” she wrote. “Pretty sure someone broke into my gift!! Has anyone else had this happen to them?!?”
Does This Happen Often?
As bizarre as it sounds, Lindsay’s experience doesn’t appear to be a one-off. Reports of LEGO sets being swapped with noodles have surfaced across multiple platforms over the past year.
On Reddit, users have shared photos of opening LEGO boxes to find fusilli pasta instead of bricks. On Facebook, one person claimed they received penne in place of their set. Another TikTok video from Germany showed yet another box filled with fusilli.
The most common theory centers on return fraud. People believe someone buys the LEGO set, carefully removes the pieces, replaces them with pasta of similar weight, and then reseals the box before returning it. While LEGO says it does not accept open sets, commenters speculate that some returns slip through if the box looks intact enough.
At the moment, there are no public statements addressing what appears to be a repeated issue. The Mary Sue has reached out to LEGO via email for comment but has not yet received a response.
Commenters Can’t Help But Find It Ingenious
In the comments section, some commenters came up with theories as to what happened, and others found the situation entertaining.
“Someone bought it, took the pieces and returned it with noodles,” theorised one person. “Kinda genius and evil at the same time.”
Another admitted their mind went somewhere else entirely at first. “My brain didn’t even think refund fraud,” they wrote. “I legitimately thought ‘HOW ARE THERE NOODLES IN THE LEGO FACTORY!?’”
Others focused on the phrasing itself. “‘Str8 up noodlez’ is what I’m gonna say now when I’ve been bamboozled,” one commenter joked.
Some shared similar experiences elsewhere. “Dude I got noodled by Amazon too,” one person wrote, attaching a photo of a Star Wars LEGO box with pasta inside.
@lindsayharlak @LEGO @target I would like some answer to this birthday gift shenanigans ?! Pretty sure someone broke into my gift!! Has anyone else had this happen to them?!? ##lego##target##scammed##viral##foryoupage ♬ original sound – Lindsay Harlak
Several commenters aimed their frustration at retailers rather than scammers. “Why are stores not checking returns before giving people the damn money,” one person asked.
“Haha, somebody got a refund and a LEGO wreath for free,” another joked.
The Mary Sue has also reached out to Lindsay via TikTok messages to see if she’s received a replacement or an explanation since posting the video.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
