Honeycomb challenge: Teen suffers severe nerve damage while trying out TikTok trend
NOTE: MEAWW is only reporting on this dangerous trend, and under no circumstance do we encourage anyone to try it. In fact, we advise all our readers not to. If, however, you have an impressionable mind and easily succumb to suggestions, then please stop reading now.
A teenager in Sydney, Australia, has suffered severe burns on his hand and nerve damage after he attempted to make the Squid Game-inspired honeycomb candy. He placed the ingredients in a plastic cup which was not safe for microwave and on removing it, the cup exploded in his hands causing the hot liquid to spill on his hand while the rest of it trickled down his leg. Aiden Higgie is recovering well from his injuries but he will have to spend another year with his leg in a pressure plaster.
Even though TikTok is full of fun challenges to keep boredom at a distance, not every trend is worth giving a try. For example, the 'Slap a Teacher' challenge requires a student to walk up to their teacher or school staff member and slap them and run before they can face the consequences.There has been a hike in incidents of students indulging in a series of Squid Game-inspired games on the school playground. A Belgian school issued a notice to parents as children were seen recreating the 'Red Light Green Light' format from the show, where they exchanged bullets for punches. The Frozen Honey challenge too has experts sounding off a red flag against the trend after TikTokers claimed that it caused excessive bowel movements. TikTok's fire challenge which requires people to draw a shape on the mirror with a flammable liquid and then set it on fire left Oregon girl Destini Crane, 13, with severe burn wounds.
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What is the Squid Game-inspired Honeycomb challenge?
The honeycomb challenge requires people to make a thin sheet of honeycomb and then carve out a shape out of it using just a pin. To complete the challenge successfully, the honeycomb needs to be completely intact, if it breaks, the challenge remains incomplete. Teenagers across the world who have watched the show are trying to attempt this challenge just like Aiden did. A spike has been reported about terms like 'honeycomb recipe' and 'honeycomb challenge' being searched on Google.
Aiden tried to make a honeycomb using one of the recipes he found on TikTok and combined water, bicarbonate soda with sugar in a plastic cup. The liquid spilled on him after the cup exploded and his mother told an outlet, "It boiled up to a ridiculous temperature, and when he took the cup out it exploded in his hand." She added, "It has burnt his hand, and because it was sugar and plastic melted together, it has run down his leg from his knee down to his shin and it stuck and kept on burning and burning and burning. It was like toffee and burnt right through to the nerves." Aiden suffered first-degree deep burns and severe nerve damage for which doctors feared he would need a skin graft.
"It's shocking that such a simple act, like making honeycomb, could have such serious consequences," Aiden's mother Helen said. Aiden said he wanted to participate in the trend after seeing it "all over the internet" and some of his friends had already done it. He is now urging others to not try it and if they do, they should do it under the supervision of their parents.