Living in a country chock full of idiots willing to try anything they see on TV, you'd think there'd be multiple accounts of the following story every winter. (Make sure to read the police officer's parting quote in a very solemn, head-shaking voice -- it gives the story a delightfully misplaced gravitas.)

A North Hammond boy learned a valuable lesson about tongues and freezing metal Tuesday night.

Police were called to the 3900 block of Hohman Avenue shortly after 8:30 p.m. and found the 10-year-old with his tongue stuck to a streetlight pole.

The Field Elementary School fourth-grader managed to mumble to police that a friend had dared him to lick the fixture.

By the time an ambulance arrived, the boy had managed to yank himself away from the light pole, police said.

Medics explained to the boy's mother, whom they described as "pretty upset," how to care for his bleeding tongue.

"You'd think everybody in the country had seen 'A Christmas Story' by now," said a police officer at the scene who asked to remain anonymous. "Remember what happened to Flick."

[Source]