As YouTube bans dangerous pranks, here are the challenges you shouldn't try at home

YouTube has banned prank and dangerous challenge videos following accidents after people started wearing blindfolds while driving.

While some viral pranks and challenges are just good clean, fun (i.e. the Matilda Challenge), others are pretty toxic, with some falling into the downright dangerous category.

The platform has recently updated its guidelines after the Netflix film Bird Box saw people start pulling blindfolds over their eyes to perform various tasks. The prank saw at least one teenager crash her car in the US after pulling her hat over her eyes while driving. And just this week British police announced they had launched an investigation after a blindfolded man walked on train tracks and uploaded the video clip to YouTube.

While the video streaming site said it can be a home for fun, light-hearted pranks, it wants to make it clear that stunts which put people in danger were against its site policy.

So what pranks won’t we be seeing on YouTube any more?

Tide Pod challenge

Yeah, let’s chomp our way through a washing pod, because that’s a good idea isn’t it? Though many of the examples of people chowing down on a laundry detergent pod and spitting out the soapy mess were revealed to be fake, it didn’t stop others having a go with some pretty serious consequences.

In the first two weeks of January 2018, the US saw 39 reported cases of teenagers eating laundry detergent.

A public awareness campaign followed after an increase in reports of poisoning after the challenge went viral.

The fire challenge

The fire challenge involved putting flammable liquids on someone’s body and setting them alight while being filmed. Surely no one was surprised when people suffered severe burns as a result?

The condom challenge

Why anyone would want to stick a condom up one nostril, inhale, and then pull it out of the other nostril defies logic, yet plenty of people did it and uploaded the gagging, spluttering results to YouTube.

Interestingly, this bizarre challenge has actually been around since the 90s, but it went viral in 2018 because some parents were finally alerted to its ridiculous existence.

The hot water Challenge

Much like its fire challenge counterpart, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that if you pour boiling water on yourself or someone else, or try to drink boiling liquid it isn’t going to end well.

And in some instances can have tragic consequences. Back in 2017 an 8-year-old girl from Florida died following complications after being dared to drink boiling water.

The falling down/flaunt your wealth challenge

This one might not seem too dangerous on first glance, but can have a hidden dangerous side.

The trend sees participants posing as if they have just fallen over head first having spilled their possessions around them on the pavement.

But taking part in the challenge doesn’t come without risk.

One video, viewed more than 50,000 times, shows a woman lying beside her car on a pedestrian crossing in Taizhou, Zhejiang province surrounded by her belongings including scattered high heels, make up and a handbag.

She was later issued with a fine for by authorities for disrupting the traffic.

The deodorant challenge

Last year a mum issued a warning to parents about the dangers of ‘The Deodorant Challenge’ after the playground craze left her daughter with second-degree burns.

The trend involves spraying deodorant on to someone else for as long as possible, but shouldn’t really be attempted, for obvious reasons.

The cinnamon challenge

Sound innocent enough someone attempting to swallow a spoonful of cinnamon. But actually what happens is that the spice cloggs up their air passages and burns their throats. And experts have issued a warning about it potentially causing long-term damage to the lungs.

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for non-stop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyleUK.

Read more from Yahoo Style UK:

#Whatfatgirlsactuallywear is trending on Instagram, and it’s a game changer

Women are rubbing toothpaste onto their breasts in an attempt to stop them sagging

Could this latest social media trend be affecting your mental health?