From Tide Pod Challenge to the Condom Challenge: Here are some of the hazardous ones that became a rage

Over the past few years, we have witnessed many bizarre challenges become a viral rage. While some aim at spreading awareness about illness, others are just for fun. But there are some that can prove to be extremely dangerous. These potentially fatal challenges, which went viral, saw many of its participants being rushed to the emergency rooms or seeking medical help. After Hrs takes a look at some of these perilous dares and we would like to state the obvious — Don’t try this at home.

Tide Pod Challenge

This is the latest challenge trending online and raising concerns due to its disturbing results. What’s a Tide Pod, you ask? It’s a little rounded packet containing laundry detergent by Tide. And the challenge lies in... wait for it... eating it! The resulting videos are put up on social media to gather likes. The results are horrifying. According to CBS News, Tide laundry detergent pods contain ethanol, polymers and hydrogen peroxide, which are extremely toxic if consumed. Many of those who have taken up this challenge have landed in the hospital.

THE DUCT TAPE CHALLENGE

This no-brainer task appears to have come straight out of a movie. Your so-called friends wrap you in duct tape like a mummy and bind you either to a pole or a wall. And all you have to do is break free. Here’s a gentle reminder — anyone who challenges you to it or assists you for this challenge, is clearly not your friend! A teen, who attempted this challenge, ended up having a fall, hitting his head on concrete, crushing his eye socket and landing up with a brain aneurysm.

THE CHOKING GAME

Also known by other names like hangman, flatline, blackout, knockout challenge and the fainting game, this one’s deadly. It involves one choking his/herself or someone doing it for you with the intention of getting “a rush of euphoria” as one regains consciousness. Medical experts opine that any type of asphyxiation, even if it’s temporary, may cause strokes, seizures, retinal damage, brain damage, or even death. This challenge saw many teens losing their lives.

THE CONDOM CHALLENGE

There are two of this kind — the less dangerous one became viral in 2015. The challenge here is not doing the obvious with the product but rather something foolish like filling a condom with water like a balloon and dropping on someone’s head. Usually, this results in the water-filled condom enveloping the person’s head. Putting an airtight seal covering the nose and the mouth is clearly dangerous. Now for the original and more dangerous Condom Challenge. It originated in 2006 and we really wished it died then and there itself. But unfortunately, it went viral in 2013 and made us go WTF! Here, participants would have to insert a latex condom in their nostril, snort it into the nasal cavity and back through the throat, and get pulled out of the mouth. This challenge has high choking potential...

THE CINNAMON CHALLENGE

This went viral between 2012 to 2014. It involves eating a spoonful of ground cinnamon under 60 seconds without drinking any liquid. Sounds easy but it’s quite difficult and dagerous at the same time. Cinnamon is quite strong and trying to gulp it down can cause choking, throat irritation, breathing trouble and even collapsed lungs. People who attempted this end up coughing, gagging and emanating a cloud of orange smoke. The Cinnamon Challenge saw many teens in the hospital. A mother in Kentucky lost her son due to cinnamon-related asphyxia.

THE SALT AND ICE CHALLENGE

Here, participants pour salt on their bodies, usually the arms and place ice over it. This causes a burning sensation and those who withstand the pain for the longest time, win the challenge. A lot of participants have got second and third-degree burns, sending them rushing to seek medical help.

THE FIRE CHALLENGE

In 2014, this challenge caught like fire. This involves pouring flammable liquids to one’s bare body, then setting the liquids aflame, while the video is being recorded. Now how dumb is that? The danger include participants running in panic without dousing the flames first, allowing the oxygen to cause the flames to spread more easily. Participants can end up inhaling superheated air, which can then damage the lungs. Firefighters, police officers and the media in the US have spoken out against this challenge, which saw many teens injured badly.

GHOST PEPPER CHALLENGE

This is another viral internet food challenge that went wrong on many occasions. It involves eating and swallowing a ghost chili pepper or Bhoot jolokia. Within a short span of eating it, extreme heat, burning sensation and profuse sweating is experienced by the challenger. At an eating contest involving ghost peppers, a man suffered great damage as the doctors found his throat was torn and his left lung had collapsed. In September 2016, five school kids in Ohio were hospitalised after participating in this challenge. There were many such instances.