So here I was, sometime in my juvenile years, watching the "MythBusters"- an American science entertainment television programme, in which rumours, myths, movie scenes, etc, are tested using scientific methods.
On this particular episode, the hosts were testing out a myth about a boy who got his tongue stuck to a steel pole at a ski park in winter. They got this myth tested by dipping a steel pole in liquid nitrogen to bring its temperature well below freezing, and then used the tongue of a freshly slaughtered pig to make contact with the freezing-cold pole. Like a magnet, the tongue got firmly stuck to the pole and needed some amount of force to get detached.
I guess curiosity really kills the cat because soon after watching that, my mind became flooded with thoughts of me trying this experiment on my own, with the test subject being myself- my very own tongue!
Like a lamb being led to the slaughter house, I found myself walking helplessly toward the deep freezer in our store- far away from everyone in the house, if even there was anyone at home then. I stood infront of the deep chest freezer and opened it; damn it was cold! It was on since the night before so everything inside it froze as hard as rock. It was so cold that the usual frost which forms on the inner walls of a freezer wasn't there, but instead, a thin transparent film of ice lined its entire interior making it sparkle like glass.
It was there, with no one by my side as an escourt, that I lowered my head into the freezer. Oh how silly I was to perform this next action. Without any thoughts on my mind, I touched the inner walls of the freezer with my tongue. The two stuck together with immediate effect. It was a thing to laugh at if you had seen me stuck in in this awkward position- with my head bent over into the freezer and my hands struggling outside for support! I wriggled and wriggled but all to no avail. The tip of the tongue was frozen against the wall of the freezer. I tried to shout but my wails could not pass the confinement of the freezer. I began to shed tears, while at the same time, still laughing at my stupidity.
After more than five minutes into my self-induced sentence, I knew what had to be done. I would violently tug myself free; but I knew by doing so, I would face imminent injury. Maybe, it would be the price I would have to pay for such display of foolishness. So with one last burst of energy, I pulled myself free; leaving behind a piece of my tongue stuck on the walls of the freezer. In a matter of seconds, my mouth was filled with blood.
I left the scene not knowing whether to be happy or sad. For one, I was free from my bondage and the second, because I was feeling an excruciating pain in my mouth. Since then, I always laugh at myself anytime I remember this experience. Could one display any worse form of madness? Well I found out that I could beat my own stupidity; when I tried sticking my tongue on the freezer again! However that is a story for another day. All I have for you now is, "DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!"