An American expat in Thailand who is a YouTube star with 3.29 million subscribers is in hot water for posting a video of an age-old practice among kids: flattening coins on railroad tracks.

Nathan Bartling, whose YouTube series is called "My Mate Nate," was detained by police after a news conference with railway officials Monday in which he said he would try to make amends by promoting the state railway.

The 23-year-old had already taken down the video after an online hubbub claiming he risked derailing a train.

Police charged him with railway obstruction, trespassing and damaging railway property. The myth-busting website snopes.com and popular science blogs agree that a coin won't derail a train.

Bartling is from Chino Hills, California, according to his Facebook profile.