Being accidentally burned as a child isn't uncommon, but one source of burns stands out far more among the rest: soup. As reported by The Atlantic, soup is the second most popular cause of burn-related US hospital visits for young kids. An estimated 100,000 children scalded yearly by hot food and beverages. Among upper-body soup burns, the average child required an 11-day hospital stay, and some sustained injuries severe enough to require intravenous narcotics. Instant microwavable noodle-soups, often packaged in flimsy containers, account for 2,000 US pediatric burns a year.
“Fluids like that can be superheated such that when you touch them, there’s almost like a mini explosion,” James Gallagher, the director of the Burn Center at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork–Presbyterian, told The Atlantic.
