As if we needed any more evidence that Florida nightlife anywhere outside of the 305 absolutely sucks, a recent foam party over in Naples failed so hard that it sent at least 40 people to the hospital. Some of the victims even ended up in wheelchairs. There wasn't even any outbreak of violence or a mass slippage. The problem was the foam itself.
According to the Naples Daily News, the party was held Friday, May 25, at the Loft 59 nightclub in Naples. (Judging from their Facebook photos it seems people just really, really love going there. Just look at the joy on people's faces.) Nightclubs in southwest Florida close at 2 a.m., but an hour before the scheduled closing time dozens of soapy people fled the premises. Stinging eyes apparently broke out en masse. Several people tried to wash their eyes out in the bathroom, but bouncers made people leave.
The soap used for foam parties is supposed to be specially formulated to be non-irritable, so no one is quite sure what happened. However, using regular soaps can often led to problems.
"Sometimes, it's in the process of creating the dilution of soap and water," Deb Millsap, a spokeswoman for the Collier County Health Department, tells the Daily News. "Sometimes they get overzealous and the foam gets over people's heads and obviously shorter people are going to get more soap in their eyes."
The party promoter said he used safe soap and the foam only got to shin level. (So, uh, it was only meant to be a shoe ruining party?) Party-goers however say that the foam was being shot up in the air, and was dripping from the ceiling.
The victims sounded like they endured some sort of war.
"I felt like I had shards of glass in my eyes," party-goer Lauren Martin said. "I have never felt so much pain in my life. ... My mom had to feed me. I could not open my eyes until Monday afternoon.
"I've had broken bones before, I was in an accident, but this pain was the worst physical pain I have ever felt," said another victim.
About 40 people showed up to various emergency rooms around the county after the party. Some even had to use wheelchairs to get around. Obviously, talks of lawsuits have emerged.
The moral here: Never go out to a Florida nightclub outside of Miami.
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