Am I living in a madhouse?

[Delbert]

Read in my newspaper today that teenagers are setting themselves alight as some sort of dare. They apparently pour oil over themselves and set it alight! In fact the article continues and reports that emergency crews are warning parents to ensure that young people are made aware of the dangers!!!

 

I'm sorry, but it's too much for me.

 

[Phi for All]

Is this suicide, or is it a dare with provisions for putting oneself out? If they fire themselves and then dive in a pool so they can upload it to yootoob, then it's really no different than trainspotting, or bungee jumping, or any other dare that snatches one from potential death at the last second.

 

Ignorance requires challenges too. Just because you don't know any better doesn't mean you don't want to do important things.

[dimreepr]

Phi, you and I have very different memories of trainspotting.

[imatfaal]

Frankly as long as it is the fuel burning quickly and you smother before you get much transfer of heat then it isn't that bad; and I am sure the press report are miracles of hyperbole - it is probably lighter fluid on a coat sleeve and as long as it is wool not nylon you are fine. I have done fire club juggling acts and fire breathing that looks a lot worse that it is - the whole point is controlled danger. Like a huge number of teenage games it is highly dangerous if you get it wrong or are hesitant - but if you know the trick and act with speed and certainty then most of the time you are ok. Yet another hazardous teenage shibboleth - isn't the first won't be the last; we used to ride on the outside of tube trains hanging off the back door... stupid, highly dangerous, and mind-bogglingly exciting

[swansont]

1. Do you have a link?

 

2. Why would anyone want to pot trains?

[iNow]

More likely, this is similar to the recent stories suggesting that huge numbers of teens were "getting drunk by soaking tampons with vodka and lodging them up their various holes." It turned into this huge media-sensationalized viral story that when researched more closely turned out to be like one single report of one single idiot kid doing this one single time...

[Phi for All]

Phi, you and I have very different memories of trainspotting.

 

Not sure what happened there. Combination of spellcheck, googling definitions, and neglectful editing.

 

I was trying to refer to train track dares, jumping in front of a train and jumping away at the last second. Maybe something you do while on heroin, but definitely not called trainspotting.

I have done fire club juggling acts and fire breathing that looks a lot worse that it is - the whole point is controlled danger.

 

That's not on your resume!

 

I agree though, if it's controlled, and you're using good science practices, the danger is minimal. I'm reminded of the Mythbuster's episode where the guys stuck their hands in molten lead, protected only by wetting them in water first.

[TheGeckomancer]

Read in my newspaper today that teenagers are setting themselves alight as some sort of dare. They apparently pour oil over themselves and set it alight! In fact the article continues and reports that emergency crews are warning parents to ensure that young people are made aware of the dangers!!!

 

I'm sorry, but it's too much for me.

 

 

 

As sources were not cited, I have a hard time believing this. Maybe one or 2 kids were stupid enough to do this on a dare, MAYBE, but everyone else will be smart enough to learn from that. More than likely, this story is inflated beyond all reason. And it was some kids setting there coat sleeve on fire, I did it all the time as a wannabe pyro kid who thought he was cool.

[hypervalent_iodine]

Frankly as long as it is the fuel burning quickly and you smother before you get much transfer of heat then it isn't that bad; and I am sure the press report are miracles of hyperbole - it is probably lighter fluid on a coat sleeve and as long as it is wool not nylon you are fine. I have done fire club juggling acts and fire breathing that looks a lot worse that it is - the whole point is controlled danger. Like a huge number of teenage games it is highly dangerous if you get it wrong or are hesitant - but if you know the trick and act with speed and certainty then most of the time you are ok. Yet another hazardous teenage shibboleth - isn't the first won't be the last; we used to ride on the outside of tube trains hanging off the back door... stupid, highly dangerous, and mind-bogglingly exciting

 

I knew of a guy who once attempted fire breathing while drunk, having not done it before. Instead of spitting out the fuel, he inhaled it and burnt the inside of his lungs quite badly. A good lesson in what not to do when intoxicated.

[Moontanman]

I do fire cupping, I use alcohol...

[Phi for All]

I knew of a guy who once attempted fire breathing while drunk, having not done it before. Instead of spitting out the fuel, he inhaled it and burnt the inside of his lungs quite badly. A good lesson in what not to do when intoxicated.

 

See, if they taught fire-breathing in public schools, you wouldn't get so many rookie mistakes. The Inhale Beforehand Rule also applies to blowguns.

[Bill Angel]

This fellow has pretty good technique.

He provides entertainment during the Christmas to New Years period in downtown Baltimore.

[Phi for All]

Baltimore public schools probably have that in the core curriculum.

 

The technique does assume all the fuel will be burned away before it falls back down on the guy, right? He doesn't do that into the wind, does he?

[Delta1212]

Frankly as long as it is the fuel burning quickly and you smother before you get much transfer of heat then it isn't that bad; and I am sure the press report are miracles of hyperbole - it is probably lighter fluid on a coat sleeve and as long as it is wool not nylon you are fine. I have done fire club juggling acts and fire breathing that looks a lot worse that it is - the whole point is controlled danger. Like a huge number of teenage games it is highly dangerous if you get it wrong or are hesitant - but if you know the trick and act with speed and certainty then most of the time you are ok. Yet another hazardous teenage shibboleth - isn't the first won't be the last; we used to ride on the outside of tube trains hanging off the back door... stupid, highly dangerous, and mind-bogglingly exciting

I think it was hyperbolic nonsense, but then the article had an embedded combination video of people doing it and... Yeah, it was a dozen+ videos of mostly young guys dowsing their chests (mostly, a few people did just their arms or a hand) in fluid, igniting it and then either jumping in a pool or turning on a shower or smacking themselves until it went out.

 

A couple of them looked like full on human torches.

[imatfaal]

 

That's not on your resume!

 

I agree though, if it's controlled, and you're using good science practices, the danger is minimal. I'm reminded of the Mythbuster's episode where the guys stuck their hands in molten lead, protected only by wetting them in water first.

 

Actually it is on my resume - not that I have actually sent out a copy for years now; but when you do have to be interviewed for jobs it is very useful to have some mindless distractions on which you can easily chat about for 5 mins. The fact that I learnt as a street performer whilst living in Palermo because my father was in the Ospedale recovering from a holiday heart attack - will normally tick all "are we sure this guy isn't a boring salaryman-drone" boxes.

 

Back on the point - being able/unable or unwilling to do something that looks dangerous and frightening separates young men (and according to reports more and more young women) into US and THEM; it seems a huge amount of our time at that age is spent doing this - many years later I struggle to remember why. And the molten lead sounds cool - will have to yootoob that episode.

[swansont]

 

See, if they taught fire-breathing in public schools, you wouldn't get so many rookie mistakes. The Inhale Beforehand Rule also applies to blowguns.

 

Most anything that requires blowing, I would suspect. Blowing up a balloon, for instance, probably doesn't work well without inhaling beforehand. Blowing a bubble with bubble gum, too. Soap bubbles.

[Delbert]

On the other hand, perhaps setting fire to oneself isn't quite as questionable as the TV program I watched the other day. It was an old recording of a music hall variety show. One act involved an apple on the head of the requisite lady assistant being shot at with a crossbow!!! Something I can only describe as absolute lunacy.

 

Although, whether that is more dangerous than setting fire to oneself, is probably debateable.

[imatfaal]

On the other hand, perhaps setting fire to oneself isn't quite as questionable as the TV program I watched the other day. It was an old recording of a music hall variety show. One act involved an apple on the head of the requisite lady assistant being shot at with a crossbow!!! Something I can only describe as absolute lunacy.

 

Although, whether that is more dangerous than setting fire to oneself, is probably debateable.

 

That one is normally faked I am afraid. It is a spring loaded quarrel/bolt that either hinges down or shoots backwards out of the target/backstop - most of those sort of tricks are including the knife throwing stuff; the real cleverness is in the misdirection and legerdemain which stops you spotting the removal/change of the quarrel on the bow or palming a knife from the hand whilst pretending to throw it

[Phi for All]

Back on the point - being able/unable or unwilling to do something that looks dangerous and frightening separates young men (and according to reports more and more young women) into US and THEM; it seems a huge amount of our time at that age is spent doing this - many years later I struggle to remember why.

This is a very human trait. We've always done this in response to the unknown. Once you THEMs do something we can relate to, you become US. We have a bond that makes US trust you now. I'd like to think our "tests" become more reasonable as we age.

 

And the molten lead sounds cool - will have to yootoob that episode.

 

The Leidenfrost Effect. Not sure if it would be effective against lighter fluid, though.

[Delbert]

 

That one is normally faked I am afraid. It is a spring loaded quarrel/bolt that either hinges down or shoots backwards out of the target/backstop - most of those sort of tricks are including the knife throwing stuff; the real cleverness is in the misdirection and legerdemain which stops you spotting the removal/change of the quarrel on the bow or palming a knife from the hand whilst pretending to throw it

Perhaps it was. So how was this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcZe1_nbQfY one done?

[swansont]

Since a link is apparently not forthcoming, Google has shown this is known as the fire challenge.

 

From http://www.mynews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2015/10/5/teen_burned_pine_hills.html

 

"The "fire challenge" spiked in popularity about a year ago. Since then, hundreds of videos have been posted online showing young people taking the so-called challenge, along with "fire challenge gone bad" compilation videos.

In most of the videos, the person participating usually becomes panicked and typically turns on a shower or jumps into a pool to put out the flames.

The "fire challenge" is similar to other online dare videos, like the "cinnamon challenge," in which people attempt to eat a spoonful of cinnamon and usually end up coughing and in desperate need of water. There's also the "salt and ice challenge," in which people pour salt on their skin and then rub ice over it, which burns the skin.

Most of these challenges are dangerous, and all for just an attempt to get a lot of views on social media."

Googling 'teen dare fire challenge' yields 214,000 results, but most of the early-page hits link to two incidents: on in Florida in early October of this year and in Orange County California in August last year, so how widespread this is isn't immediately apparent.

[dimreepr]

Perhaps it was. So how was this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcZe1_nbQfY one done?

 

 

I don't really think a 'trick' was needed in that case, the first shot had a huge margin of error for, almost, anyone with enough practice and the second didn't really depend on anything but a careful set-up.

[Delta1212]

Found the video that was linked in the article I originally saw: https://youtube.com/watch?v=TpJ7q2gEj6E&feature=youtu.be

[dimreepr]

Most of these challenges are dangerous, and all for just an attempt to get a lot of views on social media."

 

 

In my day sometimes the audience was just one.

 

When I was a teenager being ‘dared’ was seen as a challenge to your manhood and one only refused when it was almost certain injury/death; that almost never happened, because a) The refusal always ended with “you do it” and so b) You only dared when you're confident you can do it and so c) You only dared when you thought they wouldn’t.

[Delbert]

Found the video that was linked in the article I originally saw:

I've decided, I am living in a madhouse.

 

 

When I was a teenager being ‘dared’ was seen as a challenge to your manhood and one only refused when it was almost certain injury/death; that almost never happened, because a) The refusal always ended with “you do it” and so b) You only dared when you're confident you can do it and so c) You only dared when you thought they wouldn’t.

Yes, I can recall some of my contemporises at the time attempting what I would call acts of lunacy - I further recall I just stood and watched them!

 

Indeed, there's one occasion I can recall that possibly can't be conveyed here because of what's involved. Suffice to say it could've involved danger to others.