Keep Your Kids from Burning Down the House for a Stupid Viral Video

I have just about had enough with these dumb viral internet challenges. It's enough to truly make you go nuts.

If you haven't heard about the "penny challenge" yet, it just might "shock" you (pun intended).

On Tuesday, the Massachusetts Fire Marshal issued a warning to all fire chiefs in the state about a new viral video trend going around. This trend has caused already two cases of electrical fire damage in Massachusetts alone.

Basically, kids are plugging a charging cube halfway into a wall outlet, leaving part of the prongs exposed. They then slide a penny down the wall so it eventually makes contact with the prongs, which are carrying an electrical charge. The outlet then sparks, and those sparks can lead to flames. Who comes up with this stuff? Oh, of course, it's a TikTok trend.

And it's happening right in the SouthCoast's backyard. Plymouth Fire Chief Ed Bradley said that on Tuesday afternoon after two electrical outlets in one classroom were blackened that fire investigators used thermal imaging to make sure things were safe inside Plymouth North School.

At Westford Academy, after a school evacuation last Friday, a student is being criminally charged after $700 worth of damage was done by participating in this trend.

In Holden, after recreating the viral video, a teenager left behind a scorched wall outlet, which the teen's mother then submitted to a local news station to warn other parents of this stupid trend.

I honestly am starting to lose faith in our youth.

One day they're eating Tide Pods and setting each other on fire, now they're playing with a dangerous amount of electricity just for video views. Please stop with the nonsense before someone fries themselves to death.

Unreal.