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darnold1975

Most Dangerous Internet Challenges Part 2 

“The screen is a window through which one sees a virtual world. The challenge is to make that world look real, act real, sound real, feel real.”

-Ivan Sutherland

Now Let’s Continue…

Bird Box Challenge

The Bird Box Challenge was inspired by the movie Bird Box starring Sandra Bullock. The goal is to complete everyday tasks blindfolded. They go for as long as 24 hours with little success. This was happening so much that one of the streaming giants, Netflix, issued a statement: “Can’t believe I have to say this, but: PLEASE DO NOT HURT YOURSELVES WITH THIS BIRD BOX CHALLENGE. We don’t know how this started, and we appreciate the love, but Boy and Girl have just one wish for 2019, and it is that you not to end up in the hospital due to memes.” And as teens always do, a 17-year-old girl had a car wreck from trying to drive blindfolded where she hit another car, a light pole and a sound barrier. And she hasn’t been the last. 

To me this one could’ve been fairly innocent as long as people didn’t get too crazy. But driving  blindfolded? There is a reason for not allowing blind people to drive. And then all of a sudden, a girl who put a beanie over her eyes says, “I can do this!” Ok dummy by yourself is one thing. But she had a passenger who was like, “Don’t worry. I’ll tell you when you get close to something.” Did her agreeing passenger fall asleep or was she thrown onto the floorboard upside down?

One chip Challenge

This is one that I’ve personally noticed being more noticeable. I can’t tell you how many of the one chip challenge videos I have watched. In the earlier blog I wrote about the Scoville Heat Units scale that is used to show how spicy an item is. The challenge required participants to eat the Paqui chip and then see how long they could go without food or water. The One Chip Challenge has a spice level between 2,200,00 to 2, 300, 000 SHU (brainy.com, 2023). The chips sold individually came wrapped in foil in a coffin shaped box at a price of $10. Poison control centers warned that the concentrated amount could cause allergic reactions, trouble breathing, irregular heartbeats, heart attacks and strokes. 

On September 1, 2023, a 10th Grader died after doing this challenge. The autopsy found that he had a heart attack which was due to the high concentrate of chili pepper extract coupled with a congenital heart defect that led to his death. As a result, the chip company collaborated with retailers to have it removed from their shelves. And the One Chip Challenge is no more. Congenital heart defect or not, I would’ve had one for sure if you threw that level of spice on me.

Tide Pod Challenge

I’m still shaking my head about this one. However, while working in the field of addiction I saw people go to extremes to get high or drunk. And, yes, there was a client so desperate to drink that she drank Tide with Bleach. One camera and one pooper later and the lining of her digestive tract was burned. But the majority of the people doing the challenge were not alcoholics. They were kids and teens.

In my younger days those who were my audience were only a handful of people. Today, kids have access to the internet which is viewed by billions of people. But equally as guilty are the media who glorify stupidity. The challenge requires the person to hold or chew a Tide Pod and then spit it out. Ingesting or inhalation of the detergent include difficulty breathing requiring intubation, seizures, excessive vomiting and death.

Nyquil Chicken Challenge

I was the kid that when it came to medicine time before bed I ran and hid. In the late seventies and early eighties most of the medications administered to children were not tailored to kids’ taste buds. And since Nyquil was first made in 1966 there has not been, in my opinion, a big push for making the medication delicious. I always imagined that I was being fed snake venom by my parents. So, this idea of Nyquil Chicken was likewise never a temptation.

“Nyquil Chicken” or “Sleepy Chicken” involves boiling, sauteing or marinating chicken in the green cough syrup. One of the things that happens with medications or substances is that when you heat it the properties change. Once these things change from a liquid to a gas it can irritate the membranes of the air way potentially damaging the lungs. When consumed, the medication is concentrated and unequally distributed. The harmful side effects when taken at a greater dosage than the recommended dose can also be deadly.

I hope you have enjoyed reading and watching the videos of some of these ridiculous internet challenges. Some of these that I’m writing about I didn’t know were even in the universe. I’m learning so much while researching this topic. And I can tell you that it’s been a “honey hole” of information. Keep reading as there is one more blog in this series of some of the most dangerous internet challenges available to all who find it fun to seek death in an effort to become the next social media phenom.

***Don’t forget to watch the video!***

#Thispuzzledlife

darnold1975

Most Dangerous Internet Challenges

“The internet is a dangerous place. If you are not careful it will consume you and rob you of your happiness.”

-Germany Kent

Light the charcoal. Sprinkle the sage. Negative energy go away. Today I want to talk about something that continues to make its mark while constantly evolving. Internet/Social Media Challenges can be fun and inspiring. However, there are challenges that are dangerous and even fatal. I can’t cover them all. I can, however, bring into focus several of the dangerous challenges that have circulated the internet. I cannot fit all these on one blog so this will be a series. Some of the videos I have posted are probably over exaggerated and make for some good laughs. For those who have suffered injuries and death, the humor of the videos quickly disappears.

First of all, I want us to look back at when internet challenges first began. The earliest examples that I can find begin around 2001 with the debut of the Cinnamon Challenge and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The Cinnamon challenge was a video of someone trying to eat a spoonful of dry cinnamon in under 60 seconds which went viral. Cellulose fibers in cinnamon are considered responsible for triggering allergic hypersensitivity reactions which make for an extremely uncomfortable experience. The chemical coumarin which is found in cinnamon is moderately toxic to both the liver and kidneys if taken in large quantities. This challenge peaked on YouTube in January 2012. Twitter reported that at its peak the videos reached around 70,000 per day. 

The challenge came with dangers that were ignored by its impulsive teens which included: Lung infections, Choking, Gagging, Burning, Itching, Allergic reactions, Vomiting, Pneumonia, Inflammation and scarring of lungs, Collapsed lungs

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was not considered dangerous, mostly due to raising money for ALS research. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was seen as safe because it raised funds for ALS research. And gained notoriety on the coat tails of rising platforms  like YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. However, any type of action that is done without knowing the possible risks involved can have some damaging effects. And teens don’t weigh the consequences. They just act and hope for the best. I can honestly say that I speak from personal experience and include myself.

Planking

Planking itself is not dangerous because you are trying to mimic a piece of wood. However, when the challenge escalates to dangerous or risky behaviors such as on top of dangerous animals, or on top of a chimney can make this seemingly safe activity dangerous.

Hot Pepper Challenge

This is one of those challenges that I was never curious about trying. Capsaicinoids is a class of compounds  that make pepper taste hot. Over time a rating scale based on the amount of heat in a product are measured in Scoville units. The level of heat that’s in a bell pepper is my level of heat tolerance at an amazing 0 Scoville units. And when I want to go all rogue on the spicy side of life, I will venture into common black pepper.

 We all know people that can tolerate spicy foods. And these people leave me flabbergasted at their tolerance. I would rather have my toenails pulled off with pliers than have to eat something spicy. But there are times when we deal with the spice in order to eat the food we like, crawfish. I am the big baby at the table that will be wiping snot and complaining about the heat.

The Hot Pepper Challenge, to me, is absolutely ridiculous. Call me whatever you want. I can’t stand getting burned in any way. I am the biggest whiny ass when I get sunburned so hot peppers can “suck it” in my world. A quick internet search about the Scoville unit level that is considered dangerous is not listed. However, anything around the  1 million Scoville units can cause significant discomfort. One million Scoville units, for example, is like the Ghost Pepper. To put this into perspective, the jalapeno pepper ranges from 2,500 to 8,000 Scoville Heat Units.

In extreme “super-hot” peppers in this category have been known to cause potentially dangerous side effects like vomiting, gagging, passing out or acute stroke. Check out the videos to see how quickly a dare goes to instant regret.

I hope some of the information you’ve read helps you to understand how potentially dangerous internet challenges are. Unbelievably, it gets even more dangerous. In the next couple of blogs I will talk about the other internet challenges that are much worse on the scale of danger. Thank you for reading! Please pass along this information to friends, family and co-workers to bring awareness. Take what you can use and leave the rest. Subscribe to my blog and never miss another post.

***Don’t forget to watch the video!***

#Thispuzzledlife