In the days before everyone had a phone to keep them entertained at dinner, parents had to come up with creative ways to keep the kids occupied.

TikToker @lolwutalan recalls one of the ways that his dad kept him entertained at restaurants when he was a kid and he shows it off for the viewers.

The video starts out with him at In and Out Burger, holding a straw. He says, “Here’s a trick that my dad taught me when I was younger when sitting at a table.”

He goes on to explain, “So, you take a straw…And you open the straw carefully. Some straws are better than other straws.”

While doing this he is pressing the straw wrapper down on the table in order to open it up.

As the wrapper moves down the straw, he says, “You kind of want to get this crinkled up in here. Almost there, close enough. You take it out and you get this thing right?”

The straw wrapper is squished down so it is about an inch long and he sets it on the table.

Finally, he shows off his trick, saying, “You get a little bit of water and then you drip it, and watch the magic happen.” As he carefully drips the water from his straw onto the wrapper, it starts to expand out. “It’s a little worm!” he says with a big smile.

I remember seeing this done as a kid! It is a lot of fun and easy enough that kids can do it on their own. This is a great thing to try (and keep the kids off their phones for a few minutes!

Take a look at the full video to see how it works for yourself.

@lolwutalan

Waiting for your dinner means you’ve gotta keep the kids entertained. #dadtok #dinnertime #innout #burgers #straw #partytrick #worm

♬ original sound – alan

The people in the comments seemed to really enjoy this trick, let’s take a look.

This person’s dad taught it to her too.

This commenter was surprised that it did anything.

These two people love that this tradition is still a live and well.

Sometimes it is the simple things in life that can be so entertaining.

Now that you’ve read that story, check out this one about a delivery driver who took a $400 grocery order back because she wasn’t given a tip.