February 10, 2024 at 12:41 pm

Why You Should Never Give In To The Temptation To Eat An Icicle

by Trisha Leigh

If you grew up somewhere with cold and snow, there’s no way you haven’t looked at an icicle and thought it looked like a giant drippy popsicle.

And as a Midwesterner myself, I know we’ve all taken a lick or two in our time.

That said, people in the know about weather say you should absolutely never do it again.

Meteorologist Katie Nickolaou took to TikTok to warn people exactly why eating icicles is a bad idea.

“Please don’t do that. I’m a meteorologist, I should know. When icicles form, it’s from water that melts off of your roof and runs down the side of a building.”

This is a PSA for anyone wanting to eat icicles… DON’T DO IT! 💩 pic.twitter.com/5h9el3ZH72

— Meteorologist Katie Nickolaou (@weather_katie) December 30, 2020

If that wasn’t enough detail to put you off, don’t worry. She’s got more.

“Well, here’s the thing: you know what else is on your roof? Bird poop. A lot of it. And that water picks it up and freezes it in the ice. You’re eating poop.”

Talk about not mincing words. I’m feeling a bit green just thinking about it – and it’s been decades since my last foray into icicle-eating.

Bird droppings are full of contaminates that have the potential to make you ill with diseases like psittacosis or salmonella.

Nickolaou’s video got so much attention that she couldn’t help addressing a common question in a subsequent TikTok – whether or not an icicle could be the perfect murder weapon.

No, you can’t use icicles for “a perfect crime”

A worrying amount of people have been asking me this recently 😅

Icicles can break bones if they’re large enough, but they won’t impale you, they’re too fragile❄️

Thanks @Katie_Copple for helping!#Icicle #DontDoIt #ItsGonnaHurt pic.twitter.com/5bQDlwXsTL

— Meteorologist Katie Nickolaou (@weather_katie) January 1, 2021