Yes it’s true. A 12-year old New Hampshire girl got her tongue stuck to a pole:
Maddie Gilmartin, 12, was helping her dad in Thursday’s snow storm. On a whim, she decided to touch the flag pole with her tongue and she got stuck.
In this incident, there was no “sinister triple dog dare,” just some innocent curiosity.
It took her seconds to realize it was a big mistake.
So big was this story that that WCVB, Boston’s ABC affiliate, used the hashtag “#breaking” and sent out a news alert to its subscribers’ cell phones:
WCVB NEWS ALERT: Local girl gets tongue stuck to flag pole. pic.twitter.com/sNOaob0HqI
— Garrett Quinn (@GarrettQuinn) January 5, 2014
So this is the story my phone just loudly alerted me to RT @WCVB Local girl gets tongue stuck to flag pole http://t.co/b5Xbk66G63 #breaking
— Garrett Quinn (@GarrettQuinn) January 5, 2014
The station later apologized:
We'd like to apologize for sending an alert on a story about a girl who got her tongue stuck on a pole.
— WCVB-TV Boston (@WCVB) January 5, 2014
A technical error triggered the alerts to our WCVB app and twitter feed. We apologize.
— WCVB-TV Boston (@WCVB) January 5, 2014
Fortunately, the girl with the frozen tongue is doing OK:
She’ll be fine but said her lips feel like like they’ve been stung by a lot of bees. “I’m still sore, and I’m still taking Motrin and cold compresses,” Maddie Gilmartin said. The swelling in her mouth is expected to last about six weeks.
Maddie Gilmartin said she learned her lesson. “Just think before you do something.”
Indeed.
That poor girl. When she applies to college and they google her name "Local girl gets tongue stuck to flag pole" will come up.
— Garrett Quinn (@GarrettQuinn) January 5, 2014
