“This big red public purell stand looks cool, I should lather up an–OH. OH GOD!

Just because there’s public Purell stands everywhere for you to lather up and sanitize your hands against the COVID-19 coronavirus doesn’t mean they’re changing shape or color anytime soon.  One poor bloke learned that lesson in the most embarrassing way possible.

Video believed to be from a Pakistan supermarket shows a patron wandering up the store aisle and taking notice of a big red tube strapped to the wall.

With the COVID-19 pandemic decorating headlines all over the world, he thought it was a public purell stand and, obviously, decided to give his hands a quick wash.

You can never be too careful, right?

Well, in this case — yes.  Instead of using a device that kills germs, he actually used an instrument meant to put out fires.

In short… a fire extinguisher.

The video, which was believed to have been posted first by the Yeni ?afak website on March 15 before it went viral and was reposted everywhere, shows the guy calmly ambling up to the big red fire extinguisher, innocently pumping the handle with his other hand stretched out… and promptly getting covered in a massive cloud of white smoke.

The store patron instantly stumbles back and starts coughing before regaining his composure and storming away — effectively humiliated.

It also appears he was on the phone the entire time, which means someone definitely got an earful.

That said, fire extinguishers contain a chemical that can irritate your nose, throat, and lungs if inhaled.  While not deadly, it can cause shortness of breath depending how much you breathe in.

The guy who thought the extinguisher was a bottle of purell should be fine, considering he instantly realized his mistake and moved away from the swirling cloud comprised of his immediate regret and sodium bicarbonate.

-ABCAirPower