A Connecticut child has been hospitalized with severe burns after trying a popular TikTok challenge.
The East Haven Fire Department is warning residents about the dangers of the ‘whoosh bottle experiment’ after a 12-year-old boy in the area tried it at home and ended up in the Bridgeport Hospital Burn Center, according to Patch.
The experiment involves swirling isopropyl alcohol inside a large water cooler-sized water bottle, pouring the alcohol out, and then dropping a lit match inside — which creates a large blue flame and a ‘woosh’ sound.
East Haven Fire Department responded to a call from a boy aged 12 who was in Bridgeport Hospital Burn Center.. He was trying the “woosh experiment” he discovered on TikTok. (photo from another TikTok user’s video)
According to the New Haven Register, fire crews responded to the call on Tuesday night and the child was taken first to Yale Children’s Hospital in New Haven, then transferred to the Bridgeport Hospital Burn Center.
The fire department learned that the child, who has not been identified, had learned about the ‘woosh bottle experiment’ on TikTok.
Fire Chief Matt Marcarelli said: ‘This could easily have led to a fatality as well as a major fire in the house. Alcohol is a volatile flammable liquid and can act as an accelerant.’
East Haven Fire Marshal Charles Miller also warned parents to ‘take a few minutes to talk to your children about the dangers of playing with ignitable liquids and matches and monitor what they are watching. This experiment when done incorrectly can cause severe burns that can permanently scar an individual.’
You need to swirl isopropyl alcohol in a large, water-cooler-sized water container, then pour the alcohol out and drop a match inside.. This creates large, blue flames and makes a “woosh” sound. (photos from another TikTok user’s video)
In a controlled environment, professionals can perform the experiment. (photo from another TikTok user’s video)
The experiment is meant to show combustion, and is sometimes performed by teachers in a classroom setting.
There are many videos of educators and scientists doing the stunt on YouTube.
Once the alcohol is poured into the glass, it’s melted and coated the interior, the flame is lit at the top.
It forms a circle around the bottle’s inside, slowly moving from the top to the bottom. When it gets to the bottom, it flickers briefly before going out.
However, playing with fire or flammable liquids is dangerous. TikTok has begun to delete videos from the experiment.
“We are aware that the school science experiment could be safely conducted with appropriate precautions. However, any videos lacking visible safety measures will no longer be available on our platform,” a spokesperson explained.
“We work also to add caution labels for videos taken in a controlled environment, although they are not ineligible to be recommended into People’s For You Feeds.