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I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t the sharpest knife in the kitchen drawer while growing up.

I did some dumb stuff. Like the time when I was six or seven years-old playing cops and robbers with my cousin Bunky Johnson. I was “hiding” on the top of the family’s piano in the corner of the living room when “Sheriff” Johnson spotted me, drew his toy pistol and fired in my direction. Perhaps I was thinking of winning an Oscar for my portrayal of a wounded criminal when I opted to try and escape. During my ensuing fall (dummy me forgot I was six feet off the floor), my left arm struck the playpen of my baby brother. I wound up with a broken arm and a trip to Dr. McLean’s office in Murfreesboro.

Then there was the time my brother and I used every nail in daddy’s toolbox to build wooden steps and a platform in a cedar tree in our backyard. We thought it would be cool to take our sister’s little puppy up the tree with us. That plan didn’t work out too well when the dog fell and died. Our little butts took a “whupping” from dad’s belt for that escapade.

Much later, that tree was cut down, but ruined a few chainsaw blades in the process due to all the nails in it!!

However, my brush with danger pales in comparison with what kids are doing these days.

Last week, I read a news story online from a radio station in Louisiana about a young man taking his life and others in jeopardy. According to the 97X Rock Authority website, a two-vehicle collision in Central, Louisiana on Oct. 28 was linked to a 17-year-old driver attempting a popular TikTok stunt known as the “Drift” challenge, according to a statement from the Central Police Department. The accident resulted in one vehicle catching fire, though no serious injuries were reported.

Police say a northbound vehicle on the Central Thruway was erratically moving in and out of traffic and suddenly braking in front of other drivers. As the vehicle neared Frenchtown Road, it swerved off the road, crossed the median, and struck a southbound car before coming to rest on the side of the road.

Soon after the impact, the young man’s car caught fire, but he managed to avoid serious injury.

Authorities determined that the teen had been participating in the viral “Drift” challenge, a dangerous game where drivers intentionally lose control of their vehicles by oversteering.

A couple of days earlier in New York City, a 13-year-old girl died while subway surfing, according to a story posted by Gray News.

The New York Police responded to a 911 call reporting a train hit a person at the 111^th Street subway station. The young teen was pronounced dead at the scene and a 12-year-old girl was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

During a press conference, Metropolitan Transportation Authority chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “Listen, this is not like a video game. You don’t get another chance; you can’t just reboot. This is one chance – if you do something stupid, you’re going to lose your life. Please, parents, teachers, other caregivers, make sure kids understand this is not a game. They cannot take chances with their lives.”

Subway Surfers is a single player mobile gaming app and a website. The aim of the game is to outrun a train inspector while dodging oncoming trains, barriers and other objects. Collecting coins on the way gives players advantages such as hover boards and high scores.

The teen’s death marks the sixth fatality linked to subway surfing in the New York City transit system this year.

“Car Surfing” is another way to severely injure oneself or, in some cases, get killed. This stunt dates back to Michael J. Fox’s character dancing atop the roof of a moving vehicle while the Beach Boys’ “Surfin’ USA” blasted from the radio in the 1985 movie Teen Wolf. The stunt hasn’t lost its appeal among daredevil teens over the decades, even though standing on the roof of a moving car can be deadly.

The CDC recently analyzed 99 cases of injuries and deaths from car surfing that were reported in U.S. newspapers over an 18-year period. The report found that more than 70% of the car surfers were male, and most participants were aged 15 to 19. Deaths were caused by head trauma in most cases, even at speeds as low as 5 miles per hour.

CBS News published a story regarding other dangerous games played by youngsters.

The cinnamon challenge is where a person swallows large quantities of the spice without drinking any water. Upon finishing the challenge, contenders are often immediately hit with a severe coughing fit and sometimes vomiting. But these are just side effects of the challenge’s more serious consequences, which can include lung collapse, pneumonia, and pulmonary edema (the abnormal build-up of fluid in the lungs).

Another is the gallon challenge, where individuals are dared to drink an entire gallon of milk – anything less than whole milk is usually considered cheating – in an hour without vomiting. Of course, getting sick is inevitable as the human stomach is unable to process an entire gallon of milk in one sitting. Although participating in this challenge won’t necessarily put your child at risk for long-term health problems, you can expect a severe case of vomiting, diarrhea, cramps, and bloating.

The “ice and salt challenge” involves wetting an area of skin, covering it with table salt, and applying pressure with an ice cube. Usually, water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, but adding salt causes the freezing point to drop to as low as zero degrees Fahrenheit. When kids apply ice to a salt-covered, moist area of skin, they will experience extreme pain. And depending how long competitors resist the urge to remove the ice, they could face blistering, first- or second-degree burns, or even frostbite.

And I thought falling off a piano was dumb.

Cal Bryant is the Editor of Roanoke-Chowan Publications. Contact him at cal.bryant.com or 252-332-7207.