Boy's failed attempt at iconic 'triple-dog-dare' frozen pole scene from 'A Christmas Story'
No one triple dog dared this 11-year-old boy in Illinois to test out the iconic playground stunt from "A Christmas Story," but he certainly got stuck on the idea and wound up with the same painful result.
Spencer Cline, who has seen the classic Christmas movie, was tempted to try the trick with a friend. The scene played out just as it did in the film, a frantic plea for help.
Cline was sledding with his friend Cole Leeper, 12, on Tuesday in Sandwich when they came across the pole on their way home, according to the Aurora Beacon-News.
"He thought that my tongue wasn't actually stuck to the pole and he couldn't hear me," Cline told ABC News. "He couldn't understand what I was trying to say."
In the movie, after Flick realizes his tongue has adhered to the frozen pole, he begins to scream "help, help, help," to no avail.
Luckily for Cline, his friend actually leaped into action. According to Cline, his friend searched for hot water and rushed to ask a nearby neighbor for help.
The neighbor called 911 and both the caller and the operator sounded equally stunned.
"And his tongue's stuck to the metal post?" the dispatcher asked. "Yeah," the neighbor said laughing.
After six minutes, the middle schooler managed to free himself before paramedics arrived. But he said it was a painful lesson to learn.
"It really hurt and I would never do it again," Cline said.
He also told ABC News that his grandparent's dog is named Ralphie, which ironically is the same name as the main character from "A Christmas Story."
"Good Morning America" tested out the results of thermal conductivity and chief meteorologist Ginger Zee explained that because poles are made of metal they conduct heat more easily.
When a tongue makes contact with the freezing pole, it quickly takes all of the heat out of the tongue. The body responds by sending more heat there. With no heat, the saliva on the tongue freezes, which then latches onto the pole. And now you're stuck.
