‘She had 3 business days to step back’: Student who was not told how volcano models work barely avoids life-altering tragedy

You’ve all seen how volcano models work, right? A miniature volcano is made (out of paper mache or something similar), and various substances that react explosively with each other are poured into it to emulate a volcanic eruption.

Their very purpose is to cause liquid to shoot violently out of the top. Therefore, it is (obviously) wise to step away from them as soon as the reaction is set in motion. Well, in a TikTok that’s gone viral, one student whose job was to pour the reactive substances into a volcano model during a school science lesson forgot that golden rule and almost paid a hefty price.

In the eight-second clip, uploaded by @luvv.lylyy, the student pours something from a beaker into the volcano to mix with whatever is already inside. Rather than swiftly move away, they hover over it until it erupts, splashing them with the “lava.” They seem to react quickly enough not to get too drenched, and the last image in the video is a still of them being rinsed with water to wash the substance off. The video’s description and on-screen caption read, “pov: it was supposed to be a normal day at school.”

Somewhat predictably, the TikTok community has had much to say about the students’ risky, reckless, and, dare we say, somewhat foolish behavior.

How did TikTok react?

Most people simply wanted to express how funny they found the whole thing, with comments like, “byeeee this so so funny im dying in class rn,” “having to hold in this big laugh is insane,” “IM HOLLERING,” “I’m laughing so hard rn,” and “LMAO THIS IS REAL TIKTOK.”

Several people referenced how long it took the student to pour the liquid in and how slowly they moved away from the volcano model, commenting things like “She had 3 business days to step back,” “maybe move with urgency when working with chemicals. glad you are ok,” “No because why is he so slow,” “you not supposed to pour it in that sloww,” “Bro thought the reaction would pause for her,” “Why she take so long to pour it in,” and “she poured it so damn slow!!” One person came up with their explanation for why the student was so slow, writing, “she wanted it to hit her face ahh.”

Others found the climactic image of the student being doused in water to be the funniest part of the video, writing things like, “HAHA the 2nd picture made me laugh out loud,” “THE LAST PICTURE IM CRYINGNG G,” “THE LAST PICTURE HELP,” “THE ENDING PICTURE. It didn’t have to be this funny” and “The end clip man.” Proving there is still some humanity left in the world, many people also asked, “Is she okay?”

According to Education Week, a 2016 report comprising information from the AmGen Foundation and Change the Equation, 81% of American teenagers said they were interested in science. However, only 37% said they enjoyed their science classes at school. Heck, if most science classes are as dangerous as the one in the TikTok above, that’s hardly surprising!