A teenage boy hospitalized, left with severe burns after trying the viral honeycomb challenge from ‘Squid Game’
The increasing concerns over the impact of Netflix’s hit show ‘Squid Game’ on global viewers are valid.
After more than a month of release, Netflix’s hit survival series ‘Squid Game’ still remains the most popular TV show in the world. ‘Squid Game’ introduces the global viewers to the deadly variations of traditional Korean children’s games, such as “Red light, green light”, “Sugar honeycomb”, “Tug Of War”, “Marbles”,… However, the worldwide popularity of ‘Squid Game’ and these games have led to unfortunate consequences.
The sugar honeycomb candy, known as dalgona in Korean, is one of the famous street foods and games in Korea. In this game, players have to separate the shape on the sugar honeycomb without breaking it. The fun and imitability of this game has turned it into a viral challenge on social media with many viewers attempting to try it at home. However, this game recently caused an Australian teenage boy to suffer from a tragic accident.
Recently, as reported by the Daily Mail, a 14-year-old boy living in Sydney, Australia was severely injured while trying to recreate the honeycomb challenge from ‘Squid Game’. Aiden Higgie copied a recipe for making dalgona on TikTok. However, the mixture suddenly exploded after he took it out of the microwave. The reason was because the plastic cup Aiden used could not withstand the overheating of the boiling mixture of sugar candy.
The dangerously hot substance then fired down Aiden‘s arms and legs. “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”, Aiden’s mother shared.
Aiden was diagnosed with first-degree burns on his hands, severe third-degree burns and nerve damage on his legs. The doctor said that Aiden would have to do skin grafts. At the hospital where Aiden is being treated, several other children had to come in for treatment after attempting the sugar honeycomb challenge.
This dangerous accident has shown that ‘Squid Game’ actually has more impact on viewers, instead of merely entertainment. Search volume for keywords related to deadly games also skyrocketed with the popularity of the series. Recently, a New York school banned students from mimicking ‘Squid Game’ because of the violence and potential shooting risk that the show could pose to American students.
