Have you seen any of the millions of YouTube videos where they mess with molten or red hot materials? You can watch molten copper poured into a coconut, molten aluminium dumped in a swimming pool, molten glass/tar/lava onto an iPhone. Destroying iPhones looks like a popular one. There is also a whole channel dedicated to a red hot nickel ball. Viewers send in whatever they want the host to put the RHNB on. I watched floral foam, styrofoam, and gak (remember that stuff?). As I am watching I am reminded of a personal defect; I touch things I know I shouldn’t.
Four year old me laid a hand on the hot stove burner because Mom said it’s hot, don’t touch. So I touched it.
At eight I grabbed the end of metal sparkler after it burned out. Still hot, quite painful. Don’t recommend it.
On the lake when I was fifteen I was done in by a fishing hook in the finger. I’d like to say it was an accident because I grabbed the fish wrong but no. There wasn’t even a fish. Found the hook, touched the sharp part.
There is a voice in my head and it is science/common sense dumb. Hot stuff can’t really be that hot if it isn’t on fire, right? Facepalm with me, dear readers. Since I know I cannot be trusted and there isn’t enough supervision in the world to save me, I avoid certain things. Pretty much any scenario I think could devolve into an episode of World’s Dumbest starring yours truly is off the books for me.
Leaving the science to Neil.
My children think I am nuts when I tell them not to grab certain things.
“We know. We’re not gonna touch it. Seriously, who would?”
Me. I would.
Now, if you will excuse me I think it is time I watched this video again. It’s for preschoolers, because they have it together better than the science sided part of my brain.
Bridget Blackwood 