A 7-year-old girl from Missouri, Scarlett Selby, fell into a coma after a popular toy exploded while she was participating in a viral TikTok challenge. The incident occurred when Scarlett was attempting to replicate a challenge she had seen on TikTok and YouTube, involving a squishy stress cube called NeeDoh. The challenge involves freezing the toy, which is made of rubber and filled with polyvinyl alcohol, and then microwaving it to make it more pliable.
Scarlett’s father, Josh Selby, 44, described the terrifying incident. He said Scarlett had frozen the NeeDoh cube the night before and was playing with it the next day. She microwaved it and was checking its temperature when the toy exploded, covering her face and chest with hot, sticky goo.
Selby rushed to his daughter’s aid, trying to remove the burning substance from her skin and clothes. The substance was thick and sticky, making it difficult to remove. Scarlett’s parents, Josh Selby and Amanda Blankenship, 35, drove her to the St. Louis Children’s Hospital, a 30-minute journey during which Scarlett was still in extreme pain.
Upon arrival at the hospital, doctors induced a coma in Scarlett due to concerns that the burns on her mouth could cause her airways to swell and close. She was so severely burned that she had to be fed through a tube during her weeklong stay at the hospital.
Doctors decided not to perform a skin graft on Scarlett during her hospital stay, but her mother is worried that she may need one in the future due to the severity of her scarring. Blankenship, a hairdresser, said they would wait a few years to see how Scarlett’s body grows and how the scar develops before making a decision.
The scars have also left emotional wounds. Blankenship said Scarlett often cries when looking at her reflection and tries to hide her scar when in public. Despite the traumatic experience and the physical scars, Blankenship reassures her daughter that she is still beautiful and that her scars are part of who she is.
In light of the incident, Selby is urging other parents to discard any NeeDoh products they may have. He described the substance inside the toy as similar to glue, making it extremely dangerous when heated. The manufacturer, Schylling Toys, has a warning on their website against heating, freezing, or microwaving the toy as it may cause personal injury.
Despite warnings on TikTok against promoting dangerous activities and challenges, incidents like this continue to occur. In April 2024, a 12-year-old boy from Arizona suffered severe burns when he tried to set rubbing alcohol on fire as part of a TikTok challenge.