The ‘Hot Water Challenge’ Is Still A Thing

There’s a brand new internet challenge called the “Hot Water Challenge” and it involves either throwing boiling water on someone or having someone drink boiling hot water through a straw. Recently a 15-year-old ended up with second-degree burns on his back, chest, and face after a friend looked up the challenge on YouTube and poured boiling water on him as a joke. But it actually started back in July 2017. In August 2017, an eight-year-old girl named Ki’ari Pope died as a result of injuries she endured after she was challenged to drink boiling water through a straw. And in August of that same year, Jamoneisha Merritt, an 11-year-old girl from the Bronx, was burned on over 85% of her body after boiling water was poured on her at a sleepover. In the case of Pope, she died months after she was first challenged to drink boiling water after she was admitted to the hospital for breathing problems. It’s not entirely clear who first started this challenge, or why it began in the first place. But it’s been popular among kids for at least two summers now. Doing this challenge is extremely dangerous, and if you ever get a burn that blisters you should see a medical professional.