A seven-year-old girl from Festus, Missouri, suffered severe third-degree burns and was placed in a medically induced coma after a viral TikTok experiment involving a squishy toy went terribly wrong.
According to reports, Scarlett Selby attempted to replicate an online trend involving a NeeDoh cube—a popular squishy toy—by freezing and then microwaving it. However, when she removed the toy from the microwave, it suddenly exploded, covering her face and chest with scalding-hot material.
Her father, Josh Selby, 44, was alerted by her agonizing screams. “It all happened so quickly. I heard her scream, and it was like a blood-curdling scream,” he recounted.
Scarlett was immediately rushed to the hospital, where doctors placed her in a coma due to concerns that the burns near her mouth could cause severe airway swelling. Her mother, Amanda Blakenship, revealed that the scars have deeply affected Scarlett’s confidence, making her self-conscious in public and around her peers at school.
“She gets very self-conscious, and I’ll see her trying to cover her scar up with her shirt when we’re out in public. Or she’ll come home from school and say another kid asked her about it,” Blakenship shared.
Scarlett is still undergoing treatment with creams and silicone ointments to aid in healing, and doctors have advised waiting until she is around 12 years old to determine if further medical intervention is needed.
Father’s Warning to Parents
Following the horrific incident, Scarlett’s father is urging parents to discard NeeDoh toys altogether. He cautioned that the substance inside the toy behaves like hot glue when heated, causing severe burns upon explosion.
“Once it comes into contact with the skin, it’s extremely difficult to remove,” Selby warned, adding that the toy’s safety and marketing should be reconsidered. He stressed that such dangerous materials should not be sold in their current form.
The incident raises serious concerns about the safety risks posed by viral social media challenges, especially those involving household items. Experts advise parents to closely monitor their children’s online activities and educate them on the potential dangers of attempting internet trends unsupervised.
Sources By Agencies
