Nickolas Conrad, a 15 year-old from Arkansas was jolted awake in the middle of the night. His neck felt like it was on fire. “I felt this really bad burning on my neck and when I woke up and I started screaming and crying. It was the worst pain of my life.” While his neck wasn’t actually on fire, it was being badly burned: friends who were staying over boiled-up some water in the microwave and then crept over and poured it on him. What were they thinking?
What they did to Nickolas was an insane new prank — not that pouring boiling water on someone can really be called a prank — known as the “hot water challenge.” Incredibly, this wasn’t they first time these friends had burned him; they once assaulted him with a cigarette lighter! As for this latest incident, they didn’t realize the water was so hot, but Nickolas has had enough. “I just want them to leave me alone. They’re not my friends anymore and they’re not going to be.”
One particularly disturbing thing about the “hot water challenge” is that it’s spreading like wildfire on the internet. Nickolas was hardly the first victim and his case is far from the worst. For example, an 11 year-old girl named Jamoneisha Merrit was burned on her face, chest, back, and shoulders when some friends threw boiling water at her.
For an 8 year-old Florida girl, this “game” had even worse consequences. In this version of the “hot water challenge,” the girl’s cousins dared her to drink boiling water through a straw. Unfortunately, she accepted the dare and died after enduring several months of agony. Her aunt, Diane Johnson, wants everyone to know about this deadly new trend. “Parents, talk to your kids about these challenges. Don’t just give them your phone and let them go by. Watch what they are doing.”
What do you have to say about this dangerous new fad? Let us know in the comments at Facebook. Don’t forget to like and share: the more responsible adults who know about this, the better!
