Posted on 01/10/2014 12:19:39 AM PST by beaversmom
A trick where boiling water is thrown in the air to instantly turn into snow in the bitingly cold US weather became a viral hit this week, as metereologists and TV reporters illustrated just how freezing it is in the polar vortex.
But now it seems Americans are feeling the backlash of the stunt after trying it themselves in the -30 degree weather.
The LA Times found that at least 50 people on social media complained that they or their friends were scalded by hot water on Monday and Tuesday. Others have posted photos of their injuries on Instagram, and some have even mentioned visits to Accident and Emergency to receive treatment for their burns. St Louis Children's Hospital in Missouri said on Tuesday it had treated two children for burns after trying the trick.
One person tweeted: “I just threw a pot of boiling water into the air to see if it would freeze and all I did was burn myself #Floridaproblems”.
Another wrote: “So my brother decides to be cool and throw boiling water in the air and watch it freeze and ends up in the hospital with a 3rd degree burn.”
And they weren’t alone, with another saying: “While attempting to freeze boiling water, I managed to burn myself with the water instead of it freezing #fail”
Some said the boiling water had blown back on to them in the wind.
Kirsty Pembleton from Oaktown tweeted a picture of a sore looking burn on her hand, adding: “So we tried to do one of those boiling water videos we have seen all day and we ended up at the ER”.
Matt Pearce, the reporter from the LA Times who collated the tweets, said: “I think we’ve all learned a very important lesson today.”
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
How do you get a THIRD degree burn from this?
First, Second, Yeah, I can see that.
But a body part pretty much has to be submersed in boiling water for long moments , or subjected to superheated pressurized steam to get a third degree, unless I am remembering my Boy Scout first aid merit badge training wrong.
I see it frequently on F.R., it means the poster is about to attribute something to you that you never said nor even implied.
People will infer what they will, no matter if it's true or not.
Gee, and it looks like SO much fun! sheesh...
I'd prefer that to more 'warning labels'. In another thread I lamented the fact that by some accounts lighters should have a warning label, "Caution: Danger of fire when operated.", or something to that effect.
I recall now: It was the thread about the gal that heated up her car with a charcoal fire beneath her engine (and consequent logical effects).
Tune in next week for “Playing with fire !”
Thanks for the recommendation!
Yeah, I’m not doing that one either.
Use of “So...” on FR:
Not so bad here IMHO. I see it as a verbal tic, like ‘ya know’ or a teenager’s ‘like’, but used when the speaker wants to say “listen up, I’m about to say something important” - and with almost every sentence and totlally superfluous. Here, the people in the story were tweeting it!
“Is the use of the word “so” to begin sentences not a feature of your dialect?”
It is, and wish it wasn’t. Maybe it’s localized. Interesting.
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