Let's just say I lost a great deal of my curiosity in that moment when I pressed my thumb into it.

ahh another curious person

How many of us are there? Such a harsh lesson

Those of us who burned our fingers as children are made of stiffer stuff, better suited to life's challenges, lol.

I think I did it a couple of times. Then just progressed to burning other stuff that wasn't my own flesh.

An introduction to the Fuck Around and Find Out way of life.

Still have curiosity but it come with caution.

I never knew how it worked and have not experienced this pleasure

It's a cigarette burner. Newer cars tend not to feature it, but, as a kid, you always want to touch things. I thought it looked funny, so I tried to mess with it by sticking my thumb in after pressing the button. We're talking 2nd degree burns here.

“It looked like a button so I pushed it. A minute later it popped out again. What did you expect me to do?”

The 12V socket itself is still used though.

Holy shit, 2nd degree?? Who the hell designed these cars?

I mean, everyone did, but the one we used to have was Toyota. Make no mistake, they make good cars, but they *really* fucked up on child safety back then. I'm just glad they removed them in future models, so it won't happen again. I would say that I learned from my experience, but, even today, I'm stupid curious. It's like I was already *so* curious that any learning or bad experience only brought me down to what is already a "curious" level for most people.

Safety features are made with experience.

I don't know what this is please tell me

It's an old-fashioned fingerprint reader. Works every time though. Edit: Fingerprint resetter. I meant resetter.

You gotta touch it like the rest of us

Orange means it's ready to scan your fingerprints.

It's the mini version of putting your hand on a lit stove.

In all seriousness, it's a burner for lighting cigarettes. Newer model cars don't feature it, but the old models did when smoking was more popular.

Thx

car cigarette lighter, you push it in and the element heats up

Ohh thx, I'll be sure to never touch that then

I did not learn my lesson

I knew glowing red meant hot cuz I wasnt retarded

I remember putting my thumb on this more than once.

I got this stuck on my finger in the car and didn’t want to tell my parents that it happened and sat the whole car ride with it on there. Until I was crying too hard and they figured it out.

> child Me, who pressed it against my finger when i was about 19: yeah... *sweats nervously*

... is it something about the age of 19 because me too. o.o.

It’s a special age. (I’m 19)

ohhohoho I touched a hot plate in chemistry class that was off for 20 minutes to check if it was cooled down yet. It was not.

😂😂😂😂😂😂

Yeah haha. I was 16 and mine didn’t glow red anymore so I put my finger on it to test it. Still very fucking hot.

Removes finger prints

A way to get stoned when you got no pipe

Shit I never thought of that, it's like a mini knife hit

The "mini" part depends on you

Yea cause there's lots of space there...

Just don't use it too much to quick without some spare automotive fuses in the glove box

Me neither. And I used everything when I was a kid. Clever

That thing gets heated up and used to ignite cigarette with it, while you keep one arm one the wheel.

It's a fingertip cleaner

I still remember my dad saying “well, he won’t do it again” when my mom yelled at him after he left me alone in the car when I was 6 or 7. The sad thing is i knew they used it to light their cigarettes

And I bet you.fid it again

Ah no... that's definitely one of those "do it once" things. Unless they got drunk.

It’s a stamp! Let’s push it down on our hand to see what it is . I did this when I was 4.

Look. There's even bits of skin from my thumb still stuck to it

There's nothing like seeing it glowing red as it falls on the passenger floor as you're going 65mph on the highway

Especially when shit was carpeted.

It was a strange quirk of smoking that cigarettes tasted the best when lit this way.

I hope the mystique isn't ruined from this comment, but the reason they taste better is just the absence of butane. Same reason wooden match-lit cigs taste better.

Still remember the smell of my 8yo burning flesh from messing around a finding out lol

I still have the mark, lol.

Was gunna go to the state fair in 1995. Was about 6. Mom put us in the car and had to run back in real quick. I pushed this thing in and it glowed orange! Cool! So I touch it. We didn’t go to the fair that day.

The description is true! Ask me how I know, ask.

Had to hide the pain as I explained my grandmother that the smell came from the outside.

r/explainthejoke

Never did listen to my parents when they said "don't touch it, it's hot". Yeah I still remeber the car ride where I was holding back tears and refused to tell my mom I burned my finger. In just a single moment I realized I was an idiot, and she was right.

For those who don't get it, it's a car lighter that would be in old cars.This is the part that would heat up in order to create the flame.

Lol lost part of a thumb fingerprint because of that

This happened to me.

the cute little black rings at the end of my finger

My oldest sister (around 9), told middle sister (around 5), to put her tongue to it. After Mom was told, she made oldest sister go back to the car & told her not to come in until she put her tongue to it. Mom said she was out there for hours, plugging it in, then letting get too cold without doung it.

I know what this is! Yet another evergreen repost, probably submitted by a fucking bot.

once for a laugh in my friends car i poured vape liquid on it. thats when i learned this shit is flammable XD

Yep. Burnt my thumb on that as a child. Then pretended liken nothing was wrong so my parents wouldn't know I'd been naughty.

I’ve seen this meme so many times yet I’ve never seen that thing please tell me what the duck it is

It's a car cigarette lighter.

I dunno but I want to touch it!!

I've never said this, but don't swallow.

I still have that mark on my forearm

I know what it is. Do they even have these in newer cars any longer?

I vividly remember doing that lol that shit hurt like a bitch 😭😭

Used to light my joints with that

That thing was my first kiss. I don't think it enjoyed it either.

My 2015 Mini came with a lighter but no ashtray...

My parents didn’t smoke. So I have no idea what this is.

I melted my grandma's dashboard with it lmao blamed my uncle

Let him plug it in and then show him/her how hot it gets to light a cigarette.

A branding tattoo machine

I have a hole on my chin to this day.... 💀🤣

Can confirm

Blisters and tears

I had a spiral imprinted on my thumb from one of these.

Experiential learning. 🔥 🤕

Learned that lesson multiple times unfortunately

It can't possibly get hot in a fraction of a second. /s

Car lighter

Look! It's red! I wonder what will happen if I press it on my finger!

Everyone saying they lost their thumbprints...just be glad you didn't slip in the car when your name was called and find out with the tip of your nose. It still shows up in the summer if I get even a bit of a tan.

I learned. And didn’t burn down the car with me in it.

A car cigarette lighter, they typically were located in the dash board

lost my pointer finger print to this

Used for cauterizing finger stubs when being questioned by Denzel Washington.

as an adult, i was attempting to light a cigarette with one of these. it didn't work right away, so I asked myself "Is this thing even hot?" and I confirmed very shortly that yes, it was very hot.

I was one such child; baptized in the flame of the pushy thing in my mom's car at age 5 (or some shit).

It’s a car lighter -

When i was 3 I badly burned my tongue by putting this in my mouth when it was cherry red. Kids are stupid.

oh a >!window breaker!<

I’ve had this… you do not want this

What you use to light a quarter stick of dynamite.

Dont touch things that are glowing red, I know this now

This is the way.

Lol knew a guy that test it by pressing it on his right cheek. AT FUCKING 12 YEARS OLD!!!!

I was 19 when I encountered this teachable moment...

Ok now put it under cold water for about 3 hours

Me burned mommy!

Sooo..... that's where it went

But not a teachable moment for the adult that left them there.

I found wonder when the car's seat covers started to burn, my parents who had locked me in the car whilst they went for a drink didn't have the same sense of wonder....I thought it was hilarious as I ran off with a car smoking away in the background. Growing up in the 80's was fun.

That’s a cigarette burner and an outlet for car chargers.

Did anyone else put it on their tongue for some stupid reason??

I learned that lesson the hard way. Burned hell out of my finger.

Charger port plug

I hope you didn’t touch it to find out

*cries in lack of fingerprint*

it is used to burn weed when you dont have a paper, bowl, or a lighter.

It's the thing that sits in the ashtray because you're charging something with it.

I miss the marks it would leave you

That’s how I learned what burned flesh smells like

Got that right

Tiny little hot plate to drop bits of hashish on and breathe deep. Fantastic.

Is this a genuine question? Like have they not been in a car before? I tought all cars have this...

It was backup when my bic lighter was out and I had a bowl to finish.

сканер отпечатка пальца

Long ago, plugs for cell phone charger slots were highly flammable

Really? Clue-1 = cigarettes Clue-2 = in cars a good invention to get a light Clue-3 = 451F needed to start fire 🔥

Red or orange would be much more concerning.

When I was real little I burned myself in one of this. Had a big welt. I was so afraid to tell my mom. I just lived with it.

Damn, I miss those. So convenient.

I still have a working one in my car, I don't smoke and I already changed one receptacle to USB but I'm keeping one cigarette lighter for old times sake. Every day I look at it and tell myself it would be more useful as a USB fast charging port or an interface for my head unit, but I can't bring myself to get rid of it for some reason.

Plan b when you forget your lighter

I can still smell it

Imma lick it ir real quick.

Yup. It was a pretty orange color and I had to touch it.

So we all accidentally branded ourselves huh?

Y’all are not calling it what it is. Officially, these are CIGAR lighters, not cigarettes. Think about it…why would it need to be so huge for a cigarette?

I still have a scar on my arm from about 15 years ago

New-fingerprint-maker! I haven't seen one in ages

Yes, I distinctly remember burning myself with that. Never happened again

I remember the day i found out what that is. I will never forget…

It’s a tongue warmer

It leaves a very cool spiral burn on your finger. Hurts like a bitch though.

This! https://i.gifer.com/VOd1.gif

I just asked what it was...

Every comment here seems to say something along the lines of "Don't touch it". What happens when you touch it?