Styles, fads, trends and pranks have come and gone. Some of these pranks have been harmless: I remember as kids in Summit Hill we would call a local pharmacist and ask whether he carried Prince Albert (tobacco) in a can. When Mr. Wylie, the pharmacist, said he did, we would tell him to let him out, laugh hysterically and hang up.

Some pranks provoked outrage. When the older generation tries to make a case that it was much more responsible than kids today, we are here to be reminders of the goldfish-eating fad where students sucked down record numbers of the wriggling fishes as health officials across the country howled about the health hazards associated with this type of behavior. It all started on March 3, 1939, when a Harvard freshman downed one of the slippery critters on a $10 dare.

Stuffing telephone booths and Volkswagens to overcapacity by college students was hot for a while, but when several students suffered compression injuries and others were nearly crushed to death, authorities stepped in, and this fad petered out.

Now we are confronted with something really dangerous: Teenagers are taking the so-called “Tide pod challenge” and posting the stunt on Facebook and other social media. That’s right, they are sucking on or biting into laundry detergent pods.

This new game dares teens to put a laundry detergent pod into their mouths and record a video of the results. Videos are then posted online, and teens are encouraged and challenged to duplicate the game

Prompted by these internet dares, dozens of U.S. teenagers in recent weeks have popped these liquid laundry detergent packets from a variety of manufacturers into their mouths just to see what happens, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

As a result, there have been 39 reported cases of teens intentionally ingesting laundry pods during the first half of January, poison control center statistics show, or as many cases as had been reported for the entire year in 2016 and nearly three-quarters of the 53 intentional incidents last year.

The Pennsylvania Health Department says that this is a dangerous practice that could have fatal consequences. It is urging parents to discuss the potential outcome of this behavior with their children.

“It’s one of those things that seem to have taken on a life of its own,” said Alfred Aleguas Jr., managing director of the Florida Poison Information Center in Tampa.

The plastic skins of these laundry pods are made in such a way as to dissolve on contact with water, releasing the pods’ toxic contents. So when teenagers ingest one of these pods, they are likely to get a mouthful of toxic chemical cleansers.

Medical professionals warn that most detergents are caustic and can cause burns. This can result in severe damage to the esophagus, leading to long-term medical problems or even death.

Placing a pod into one’s mouth is likely to cause at a minimum the person to cough, gag and foam at the mouth. Victims could experience vomiting, diarrhea, chemical burns to the throat, severe breathing problems, seizures, even go into a coma. Because they are more concentrated than regular powdered or liquid laundry detergents, the pods can be more toxic, poison control experts said. Like all fads, it might seem to be fun and games, but it isn’t funny when a teen winds up in the emergency room in severe distress.

According to Consumer Reports, since these single-load laundry detergent pods hit the market in early 2012, they have been flagged as a serious health hazard for youngsters ingesting or inhaling them or getting pod contents on their skin or in their eyes.

As early as September 2012, Consumer Reports called on manufacturers to make pods safer. Many responded with positive changes, such as switching from clear to opaque plastic for outer containers and adding child-resistant latches to make it more difficult to get to the pods. But, according to a magazine representative, too many kids are still getting their hands on them, often with grave consequences.

Of course, preventives such as child-resistant containers will not deter teenagers hellbent on perpetuating this bad behavior. In fact, they can walk into a store and purchase these pods with no questions asked. Unfortunately, there is no law preventing stupidity.

Ann Marie Buerkle, chair of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, told Good Morning America: “Teens trying to be funny are now putting themselves in danger by ingesting this poisonous substance.”

We are heartened that YouTube and Facebook are cracking down on content related to the Tide pod challenge. YouTube’s community guidelines prohibit content that’s intended to encourage dangerous behavior.

If your child is suffering mild symptoms, you should call the national poison help hotline at 800-222-1222 for advice, experts said. If he or she is in dire distress, call 911 immediately.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com