Teens consuming laundry detergent pods in viral 'challenge'

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/teens-consuming-laundry-detergent-pods-viral-challenge-170012390--abc-news-topstories.html

Another item soon to locked up at grocery stores etc...!???

When I was going to school, someone in the class behind me unintentionally committed suicide by doing something just as crazy. (No laundry detergent pods involved, but something "going around" that was equally dangerous.)

It was the first death of a schoolmate for any of us, and it hit all of us pretty hard, whether we "knew" the girl who died or not.

As with what the schoolmate in my school did, this kind of "tempting fate" kind of thing can not only kill, it can also inflict lifetime, lasting, damage. (Had our schoolmate survived, her injured brain would have never been the same...not ever...for all the rest of her life.)

I hope this detergent pod thing can be extinguished ASAP. I would hate to see other kids die, or possibly be permanently damaged for the rest of their lives.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/13/2018 06:29PM by Tevai.

Another deadly thing is the cinnamon challenge, where you choke to death, somewhat different from the fluffy bunny challenge where you suffocate on marshmallows. Hopefully social media will put this to bed quick.

"Youth is wasted on the young." (Mark Twain)
I concur, speaking from personal (but not that horrific) experience.

caffiend Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "Youth is wasted on the young." (Mark Twain)
> I concur, speaking from personal (but not that
> horrific) experience.

Too much of mine was wasted on LDS (dys)functions

Not wanting to "Appeal to Popularity" or "Appeal to Authority," or "Tradition," I decided to taste test several soft-gel detergent capsules myself. I found I enjoyed the Cascade dishwasher pod the most. It dissolved quickly, contains "Dawn" grease-fighting power, and the rinse element left my gastrointestinal track bright and spotless.

Yours is the attitude that marks RfM as the habitat of choice for people who log in here on a daily basis, or not, depending...

http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/celebrity_news/2018/01/psa_even_rob_gronkowski_knows_you_shouldnt_eat_tide_pods?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

I hope this demonstration of public concern proves, once and for all, that the New England Patriots are NOT "The Evil Empire!"

caffiend Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I hope this demonstration of public concern
> proves, once and for all, that the New England
> Patriots are NOT "The Evil Empire!"

Even Hitler built hospitals...so, no :)

We shall address this matter February 4, ol' sport, at which time I shall serve you a dish of tasty crow!

Edit: It just occurred to me-- HieThroughKolob resorting to the old "Reductio ad Hitlerum" fallacy? Goodness gracious, ol' sport, you have the flu BAD!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2018 07:16PM by caffiend.

No fallacy here.

"There is nothing inherently fallacious about the tendency to cite history. It serves as a real-world, historical example of what happens when poorly thought out policies are left to their own devices without restriction. In that, citing the history of the Nazi party, its tactics and its misdeeds, is not fallacious. It demonstrates human nature at its extremes when proper checks are not in place. Citing "Hitler" or "Nazis" is indisputably historical, and is not a fantasy or a hypothetical drawn from fictional imaginings, and thus it holds more merit than other thought experiments in philosophical reasoning."

Now, had I said something like, "Hitler built hospitals, so hospitals are evil!" you would have hit on something. However, my example shows that doing "nice" things does not mean one is not evil, since (historically) Hitler (who we agree was evil) did nice things.

Oh, and we'll have to get through next week before Feb. 4th (though I think your Pats are likely to get through the Jags!).

Finally, winning on Feb. 4th would also not indicate "not an evil empire." After all...Hitler won some contests, too...

:)

I have absolutely no respect for anyone trying on this kind of stupid challenge. Those pods have killed numerous infants and these morons think it's a cool thing to do. Beyond idiotic.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/14/2018 11:26PM by Lethbridge Reprobate.

I say let the stupid assholes die from eating the pods. Helps thin out the 'idiot' gene pool.

Who are we to impose our morality on these kids, L.R? The solution (pun intended) is obvious with well-established precedents in enlightened jurisdictions everywhere: We need to set up intersectional and interdisciplinary panels to develop "Safe Suds" fact sheets, guidelines and curricula for those people who want to engage in this activity, and include in in all school and college health classes.

I know I'll come across as callous and that some people here will hate me for what I say, but I'll say what I intend to say regardless. I'm all for making products such as these difficult for infants and toddlers to access. To a young child, such a product could genuinely appear as something that might taste good. Where teens are concerned, I have less sympathy. We could lock detrgent pods up and make it illegal for teens to do laundry, but they'd just come up with something else equally dangerous and equally stupid to do. I know that most of us did dumb things in our youthful years, and I had to study the human brain and how it [particularly the male brain] doesn't develop fully until the mid-twenties, but the kids who are succumbing to this sort of foolishness are not really THAT stupid. If near-adults insist on engaging in ridiculously hazardous behaviors, there isn't always anything the rest of us can do to prevent it.

while offering my sincere sympathy to the parents because there but for the grace of God I could go as a parent in twelve to fifteen years, this is an example of natural selection.

Never be afraid of saying what you want. I mean, after all, this IS America. Freedom of speech/expression is a valuable right. If it offends someone, then that's THEIR problem.

Parents should secure cleaners, household medicines, and medicines away from small children's access. Most of us don't, unfortunately, and many an EMT crew has stories to tell about that.

We hope older children and teens "know better;" again, your average EMT crew has tales to tell. We can't protect everybody (and young'un) against every hazard, but we can improve the odds with helmets, car seats, child-resistant hardware, and so on.

As a former cop assigned to a district very high in student population, I have more than my share of stories, especially those where alcohol and the immature male brain is involved. And that's what this thread is about.

Getting the thread back OT, there are emotional, psychological, and spiritual risks out there that the young are exposed to--such as Mormonism and other cults. Most kids know a detergent pod is not good for you. Not so, bad religion.

I am SUPER-careful of keeping potentially dangerous things away from my grandchildren.

Our adult children all have keys to get into our house, for emergencies. But the interior rooms have a differently-keyed set of locks. Nobody but DH and I have keys to the interior rooms. On top of that, we don't talk about our firearms, so the grandkids don't know that we have weapons. And when anybody visits, the interior rooms where the weapons are stored, are locked.

The weapons are easily and readily accessible if you know where they are, but they are out of sight if you are just casually glancing around the room. And yes, the firearms are loaded. I don't see any sense in keeping an unloaded firearm. If somebody breaks into my house, I want a functional weapon at hand, immediately.

My grandkids are never allowed to roam untended in our house. They have access to the bathrooms, and my granddaughters consider it a marvelous occasion when I allow them to play with my collection of American Girls historical dolls. I explain about the different historical periods when the "girls" lived, and I read some of the stories about the various character dolls. They know all the dolls by name, and can each choose two dolls - and a few outfits - to play with. I always make it a point to keep myself positioned between where the firearm is kept, and where the kids are.

I don't intend to have anyone in my family become a tragic statistic. That includes myself. Gun violence is endemic in parts of this city. That is why I own and have been thoroughly trained the the operation of a firearm.

Other potentially dangerous or toxic things, from prescription meds to Drano, are also kept behind locked doors. We try.

While accidents and oversights are a known human factor, were I a parent of young children, pod soap would not be in my house. Unnecessary risk, because they are designed to be attractive.

Plain old liquid soap and softener sets high on a shelf, out of the usual reach of any child. Plus, I imagine it tastes awful. And, compared to liquids, pods are more expensive.

I sort of doubt that there was a lot of problems with kids eating powdered soap, and bar soap used to be a punishment. Maybe they could make pods that look and taste like brussel sprouts, or something equally repugnant to most kids (I always loved vegies, though).

Teenagers who do this have way too much free time and resources on their hands, and if they can't be made to contribute at home, they need to be sent to work, to earn every penny they want to waste, spend on phones, internet, etc. I was never that bored as a teen. Wasting time and resources was way down on any possible list.

You won't find poor kids eating soap for comic relief.

With regard to toddlers getting hold of detergent pods, many of those pods have the look and feel of teething toys.

They were talking about this at work today, mentioning that the young teen of a friend was carded and wasn't allowed to buy pod soap. I heard no more detail, and take the story with a grain of salt.


"Kid, I want you to go and sit down on that bench that says Group W.... Now kid!! "

Is this a Darwin Awards thread ?

When I was a teenager, a kid died while huffing Pam (aerosol cooking oil).

I recognize this stuff.

No sympathy for older kids who do this. Such things never crossed my mind. Apparently I was weird, but found plenty of other things to occupy my time. Helped to be on a farm.

So I agree with Worker, kids need to be kept busy. We complain about the illegal immigrants, and yet teenagers sit around doing nothing and are handed everything they need. Why can't they work the fields?

Need to gradually start cutting the groceries around age 12 and let them work. I bucked hay in 100 degree heat, and moved irrigation pipe 5 hours a day. Guess I didn't know I was being abused.

Strange world we live in, where kids spend most of the day staring at their phones, sharing ideas of stupidity.

Further thoughts.

We show teenagers by our actions that ingesting chemicals is okay. As in alcohol and other drugs. We think it is funny to get drunk.

To which people will say that if you limit your alcohol, it is okay. You could say the same about laundry detergent, but yet some people can't control themselves.

Our neighbor died of liver failure from alcohol, and tens of thousands are killed yearly on the highway from alcohol, and countless others die from its effects (frat kids falling off balconies) yet I don't see people condemning alcohol as stupid.

Today I suggested that a guy drink gasoline, as it is cheaper than alcohol. Another guy said gasoline is poisonous, to which I replied, so is alcohol. You just have to limit your gasoline consumption, and "drink it responsibly".

So maybe these kids aren't so crazy. Maybe we need a campaign for responsible detergent consumption.

Free Man Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Further thoughts.
>
> We show teenagers by our actions that ingesting
> chemicals is okay. As in alcohol and other
> drugs. We think it is funny to get drunk.

I'm sorry, but that's a complete crock.
Everything is made of "chemicals." Broccoli is made of chemicals. If we eat broccoli, are we showing teens that it's OK to eat laundry pods? Of course not. Same with alcohol.

> To which people will say that if you limit your
> alcohol, it is okay. You could say the same
> about laundry detergent, but yet some people can't
> control themselves.

You could say the same about cinnamon. Eat a little, and it's OK. Eat a lot, and you can die. Should we cease eating cinnamon in anything?

Your false equivalencies are rather silly.

> So maybe these kids aren't so crazy. Maybe we
> need a campaign for responsible detergent
> consumption.

They're not crazy, they're ignorant. Ignorance is fixed by education, not by fallacies.

The assertion that having a beer leads kids to eat laundry pods is as ridiculous as the mormon assertion that masturbating leads to homosexuality.

You might be old enough, Hie, to remember an advertising tag line put out by one of the chemical industry giants, back in the late 60s or 70s,

"Without chemicals, life itself would be impossible."

Freeman, I think your point is valid, but you crippled it by jumping to very extreme hypotheticals. People drink, many to excess, but that does not mean family drinking leads children to alcoholism. Many families, especially in European cultures, gradually introduce children to wines popular in their region, even in primary grades. My Christian Science parents never kept it in the house, yet I became a full-blown alcoholic in my twenties.

But I do agree with you, Freeman, that mind-altering or -soothing agents are becoming much far too common, especially through the pharma/medical establishment. I think we will rue the day this country relaxed the marijuana prohibitions. With everything else that is available, legally and illegally, addition of this allegedly non-addictive drug does not help.

Laundry pod challenge leads to 'spike' in poison control calls

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/laundry-pod-challenge-leads-to-spike-in-poison-control-calls/ar-AAuPfWZ

YouTube is pulling Tide Pod Challenge videos

https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/18/youtube-is-pulling-tide-pod-challenge-videos/