What is the Penny Challenge on TikTok? The dangerous trend explained

29 December 2021, 11:29

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By Sam Prance

Here's why you should avoid TikTok's Penny Challenge at all costs.

2021 is almost over but new challenges are still going viral on TikTok. The Penny Challenge is one you shouldn't try at home.

Over the course of the past 12 months, TikTok has introduced us to a wide variety of challenges. At the start of the year, we had the Buss It Challenge (everyone loves a good makeover), then there was the Milk Crate Challenge (this one ended in a lot of injuries), and more recently people have been doing the Wear It Big Challenge (the perfect viral thirst trap moment).

Now people are doing the Penny Challenge but this one is so dangerous that you should make sure you avoid it at all costs.

What is the Penny Challenge on TikTok?

The Penny Challenge is simple. It involves people plugging a charger halfway into an outlet so that the prongs are exposed. People then take a penny and hold it against the exposed prongs. This often results in the person getting an electric shock but it can also start fires and cause serious lifelong injuries. It goes without saying that you should not try the challenge.

The Penny Challenge first went viral in 2020 but it's had a resurgence this year. Just last week (Dec 26), it also came under scrutiny after Amazon's Alexa encouraged a 10-year-old to do the challenge. Amazon has since released a statement: "As soon as we became aware of this error, we took swift action to fix it. Customer trust is at the centre of everything we do."

Explaining how dangerous the challenge is in 2020, Carlisle East fire station manager Michael Clusker told The Yorkshire Press: "I know you can lose fingers, hands, arms. The outcome from this is that someone will get seriously hurt."

Please steer clear of the Penny Challenge.

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