It’s so cold out that when you throw a potful of boiling water into the air, it will freeze before hitting the ground. Except for when it doesn’t.

A growing number of people across the country have gone to the ER for serious burns after trying out the trick and having it fail, and public health officials and bloggers are warning the public that they may get scorched.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports two kids went to the hospital for facial burns, and the Los Angeles Times has counted at least 50 people who claimed on social media that they got scalded.

The gimmick isn’t limited to the general public. When temperatures plunged across the Midwest, an ABC News reporter demonstrated the boiling water trick on air, as did TV meteorologists in Kentucky.

“Something so fun to do with the kids,” said meteorologist Michael Estime of Lexington’s WTVQ.

WCCO anchor Jason DeRusha in Minneapolis tweeted to his followers, “Do it, people.”

But seriously — don’t.