How I Got Stuck to My Fridge (and Regretted Science) | by Harini Majji | Pen With Paper | Oct, 2025

It was 2020, the pandemic outside, online classes inside.
You know that lazy, half-awake morning vibe when you’re attending classes but your brain is still buffering?
Yeah… that was me.

My science class was going on, and our teacher suddenly said,

“Your tongue can stick to cold metal. Find out the science behind it.”

Curious me, the ever-enthusiastic student, Googled it right after class.
I read that it happens because the moisture on your tongue freezes and bonds to the metal surface, since metal conducts heat away faster than your tongue can replace it.
Basically, your tongue becomes one with the fridge.
Cool (literally), but not exciting enough to think about yet. I nodded and moved on like a responsible human.

Later that afternoon, I was eating lunch and watching Ice Age.
There was this scene where Sid the Sloth accidentally licks an iceberg and gets stuck. I laughed, it was funny, but it didn’t hit me yet.

Evening came. I switched to Tom and Jerry: Winter Special.
And guess what? Tom’s tongue gets stuck to a frozen stop sign. Again!

That’s when my overthinking brain decided this was no coincidence.

Wait… can this actually happen in real life? Will my tongue stick to cold metal too?

Now, I’m the kind of person who believes if something appears repeatedly in a single day, the universe is sending me a sign, and I blame my brain for actually listening to those signs.
I swear, my brain and curiosity are a toxic couple.
They fight, they plan chaos, and I’m just the innocent middle person.

So, after wrestling with the idea for a while, I marched into the kitchen.
My mom was washing dishes. I asked,

Mom, is it true that if I put my tongue on something inside the fridge, it’ll stick?

She, completely distracted, said without looking up,

I don’t know… try it and see.

Bad idea. Terrible idea. But my curiosity took that as a green signal.
That’s it, no logic, no second thoughts. My scientific spirit awakened.

I opened the freezer, the shiny metal wall gleaming cold and frosty, looked peaceful, harmless, calling me like,

Come, Harini, test your destiny.

I didn’t hesitate, leaned in, and touched it with my tongue.

And that’s when I achieved instant enlightenment.

My tongue got stuck!!

I tried to call my mom but could only make weird muffled sounds like “Mmmmhhh!”
She turned, froze, and ran towards me. She tried to pull me back, no use.
And I’ll never forget this moment, she ran to the kitchen counter and grabbed a knife.

My soul left my body.
My eyes went wide in horror.
I jumped back as much as I could, shaking my head furiously, basically saying, “No no no, not with that!”

Then, like a movie entry, my brother walked in for a glass of water.
He saw me, tongue glued to the freezer, and just stood there for two seconds before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

I swear, he was laughing so much he couldn’t even stand straight.
Mom was panicking, I was dying inside, and this guy was treating it like a live comedy show.

Between his laughter fits, he quickly took the knife from Mom, ran for warm water, and gently poured it.
Finally, I was free.

My savior. My useless brother.
For once, he used his brain.

Anyway, he laughed first, then helped. Typical sibling.

My tongue felt like jelly, I couldn’t speak properly for a week, and my family?
They laughed first, scolded later.

Mom sighed, “This girl is pure idiot material.”
My brother kept laughing, and honestly… I laughed too.

That day, I didn’t just learn science.
I learned that some experiments are better left inside the classroom. 😅

Moral of the story?
Science is real.
Curiosity is dangerous.
And if your mom ever says, “Try it and see,” — don’t.

Written by a girl who learned science the painful way.