A friend of mine went to the emergency room because he swallowed a penny when we were kids

One time we were hanging out at my house and my friend kept making jokes about eating coins. Then he did it. We were watching a VHS and he swallowed a penny. I think it was a nickel, but he did it. He panicked and told me we had to go to the hospital because he had a stomach ache. The whole way there he was talking about how this is it, this is how he dies. We get to the hospital, he explains his problem to the receptionist, and she giggles. So then he's embarrassed and just wants to die even more. Then they call him back and a male nurse comes out to get him. Nurses laugh, my friend wants to die even more. <br>Anyway, the diagnosis is that pennies won't kill you and they'll just come out the other end. My friend is still embarrassed and still wants to die because of his stupidity. <br><br>Anyway, if you're going to swallow pennies, do it slowly.<br><br>Edit: Holy crap these replies and upvotes blew up fast. I posted this just for the funny story, but after reading all these comments, I might have saved some lives. <br><br>Edit 2: My friend saw this post and his comment is a few below. <br><br>Edit 3: I'll probably never get around to it, but maybe I'll put a few pennies in glass jar every time I find one, get enough to fill a big glass vase and give it to him as an "idiot souvenir". A vase full of pennies. I like that idea.