Indiana Boy Gets Tongue Stuck to Street Pole

According to Nwi website, a ten year-old boy from Hammond, Indiana, got his tongue stuck to a light pole on Wednesday. The local paper reports that, most likely, the kid was triple-dared by peers in a game. However, he won't forget this accident very soon, as freezing body parts to metal objects can be very painful, and, in some cases, can even lead to burns. The feeling when touching a frozen metal body is similar to that you experience when accidentally touching a hot kettle.

On Wednesday, the police received a call from Hohman Avenue, where supposedly a boy had caught his tongue to a light pole. They arrived at the scene at around 8.30 PM, and found the Field Elementary School four-grader embracing the pole, tongue froze to the metal. They called an ambulance as fast as possible, but, by the time it arrived, the boy had already managed to pull his tongue off, although at the expense of serious amounts of blood.

Medics that cared for his tongue instructed the "pretty upset" mother on how to take care of the wound, and also advised the kid not to accept similar dares in the future, regardless of what's at stake.

"You'd think everybody in the country had seen 'A Christmas Story' by now. Remember what happened to Flick," a police officer that was at the scene, but who wished to remain anonymous, said.

According to physicists, the reason why body parts get stuck to frozen metal is very simple. The tongue, for example, is moist and, when taken out of the mouth, can freeze in sub zero temperatures. If it's placed on a cold metal object, the water vapors on it freeze and create a crust, which also forms on the metal as well.

The body then tries to pump warmth into the extremity, in order to keep it safe, but metals are good heat conductors, so they suck up more heat than the body can supply at any given time. The best solution in such cases, when tongues or fingers get tangled up like this, is to pour warm water on the place of contact. Hot water is to be avoided, scientists say.

On the other hand, it may prove to be a better idea simply not to stick your tongue to street poles in the first place, or maybe even ask the persons who dared you to do it themselves first.