A father looked on in terror as the molten substance from a squishy toy burned through the clothing of his seven-year-old daughter, causing severe injuries to her delicate skin after a TikTok challenge went tragically awry.
What began as a harmless experiment turned into a nightmarish incident for Scarlett Selby, a seven-year-old from Missouri, who, like many children her age, enjoyed playing with her NeeDoh squishy toy.
Living in a suburb of St. Louis, Scarlett decided to enhance her toy after watching videos on TikTok where users showcased freezing and microwaving the toy to alter its texture.
The squishy stress cubes, produced by Schylling Toys, carry a warning stating, “Do NOT heat, freeze, or microwave, may cause personal injury.”
Despite these cautions, social media users were testing the boundaries of the product, posting videos of themselves biting, freezing, or microwaving the jelly toys, which are composed of rubber filled with polyvinyl alcohol.
Determined to add excitement to her toy, Scarlett placed her squishy in the freezer overnight and then microwaved it for a few seconds the following day. “She had frozen the NeeDoh cube the night before, and the next day she showed me it was rock solid and was playing with it,” her father, Josh Selby, 44, recounted to the New York Post. “She put it in the microwave. I was watching her and saw her touch it to check if it was too hot when she took it out.”
However, as she removed it, the seemingly innocuous experiment took a tragic turn.
“It all happened so fast,” Selby recalled, reliving the horrifying moment when the NeeDoh toy exploded, showering his daughter with a burning goo that has been likened to a “napalm-like substance.”
“I heard her scream, and it was a blood-curdling scream. It had exploded all over her chest, mouth, and chin,” Selby said, explaining that upon hearing his daughter’s agonizing cries, he rushed to her side and attempted to wipe the bubbling goo off her body and clothing.The substance was described as “thick and sticky,” which made it challenging for him to detach it from Scarlett.
“Every time I touched her, my hand would adhere to her. It was extremely thick and sticky. I had to tear her shirt off because it was also stuck to it,” the father recounted regarding the incident that occurred approximately five months ago.
“I was utterly distraught. She spent a week in the hospital, three days of which she was in a coma. I found it impossible to speak to anyone without breaking down in tears,” he continued.
‘Still screaming’
Selby and Scarlett’s mother, Amanda Blakenship, hurried their daughter to the hospital.
“She was in excruciating pain. She was still screaming during our 30-minute drive to the hospital. It was horrifying to witness her fear and the extent of her suffering,” the 35-year-old mother stated, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Upon their arrival at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Scarlett was placed in an induced coma for three days while doctors worked diligently to stabilize her condition. A feeding tube was also inserted due to severe burns on her lips.
After a week in the hospital, she was finally released, but her challenges were far from over.
‘Self-conscious’
While Scarlett was receiving treatment for her injuries, the medical team opted against performing a skin graft. However, her mother is concerned that it may become necessary due to the severity of her scarring.
The “deep scars,” Blakenship noted, extend beyond the physical realm.
She often observes Scarlett gazing at herself in the mirror after a bath, tears streaming down her cheeks—an emotional reminder of the trauma she has faced.
“She becomes very self-conscious, and I sometimes see her trying to hide her scar with her shirt when we are in public, or she will come home from school and mention that another child asked her about it,” Blakenship shared. “I reassure her that she has no reason to feel embarrassed. She has endured a lot, and it was an awful, tragic accident.”Father’s Caution
Following the incident, Scarlett’s father has been alerting other parents to dispose of the toys. He remarked, “I never imagined something could explode outside of the microwave like that… Experiencing this with my daughter has been the most challenging ordeal I’ve faced.”
Selby further stated, “I have advised everyone to discard these toys if they possess them. The substance inside resembles glue, meaning you essentially have hot glue that can explode on you. Once it makes contact with your skin, it cannot be removed.”
Clips of the NeeDoh microwave challenge have been taken down from TikTok, which claims to prohibit the “display or promotion of dangerous activities and challenges or violence. This includes dares, games, tricks, inappropriate use of hazardous tools, consumption of harmful substances, or similar activities that could result in serious physical injury.”
What are your thoughts on the incident involving this lovely young girl? Please share this story with others to raise awareness about the risks associated with heating squishy toys.