JeffRenner Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 A nitpick, here, but an important one - methanol gets metabolized into formaldehyde and formic acid - which is why it can kill you or make you blind.Ethanol gets metabolized into acetaldehyde and acetic acid. Acetaldehyde isn't as nasty as formaldehyde, but it's bad enough for you... You are absolutely right - my mistake. I misread my source. Thanks for keeping me honest!Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 Oh and Chuck there are plenty of people that drink methanol, or at least methalyated spirits(spelling??)...is it the same stuff? Many homeless and young kids experimenting drink the stuff....Fair enough, although I think that's less of a problem today, at least in this country, than it once was, perhaps since ethanol is readily available. I just didn't want us confusing the issue--or issues--since that is a completely different one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorCalBoozer Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 yes, my school has had several incidents....the latest was quite sad, a kid died from drinking too much WATER in a hazing incident, yes that's correct, WATER. They had the pledges in a basement and made them drink large amount of water over several hours and keep them cold. I don't know the specifics of what this does to the body but it killed the kid. no alcohol just water. As Bobby Cox pointed out, this is sadly not the case. I live in a town with a large university, and every few years, some dumb fraternity kid kills himself by drinking too much. Our campus is not unique, nor is this by any means confined to university students. One of the really stupid stunts that sometimes leads to this is people trying to down 21 shots of liquor on their 21st birthday (legal drinking age in the States).Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrbriggs Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 yes, my school has had several incidents....the latest was quite sad, a kid died from drinking too much WATER in a hazing incident, yes that's correct, WATER. They had the pledges in a basement and made them drink large amount of water over several hours and keep them cold. I don't know the specifics of what this does to the body but it killed the kid. no alcohol just water.From what I understand (I'm no chemistry wiz), by drinking enough water, you actually flush all the electrolytes out of your body... this causes the process of osmosis to no longer function across any of your cell membranes, and your body shuts down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 Yes, you can OD on water. It's called hyponatremia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrbriggs Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Yes, you can OD on water. It's called hyponatremia.I remember the case you reference, it was reported on pretty heavily in the news here, because while it happened across the lake in Plattsburg, the kid died at the hospital here in Burlington.Any time kids do something stupid and end up dead is such a goddamn tragedy... they are, after all, kids... and by definition, they do stupid things... it's unfortunate so many of those stupid things get them killed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Let's just hope no one seizes on this to advocate the prohibition of water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrt Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 Does moderate consumption of spirits also have severe harmful effects on our health? Or are there any health benefits of such drinking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratcheer Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 Extensive medical research has shown that moderate consumption of alcohol provides significant health benefits, mostly to the heart and circulatory system. However, they are always careful not to actually say that people should drink alcohol, because of the dangers of overdrinking - liver problems and social problems top the list.Beer has the trace element silicon, which also provides certain health benefits. And red wine has lots of bioflavonoids, providing other benefits. These are in addition to the general benefits of alcohol.Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sijan Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 lots more info on health benefits of moderate alchohol consumption here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_consumption_and_healthalso thought this was very interesting:"However, it is inevitable that humans intake some moderate amount of alcohol, even if they never drink in their lives. This is because many of the bacteria in our intestines use alcohol fermentation as a form of respiration. This metabolic method produces alcohol as a waste product, in the same way that our metabolism results in the formation of carbon dioxide and water. Thus, we always intake some quantity of alcohol, which is produced by these benign bacteria. In fact, if we eat enough carbohydrates (a few pieces of bread, for instance), the alcohol levels in our bowels can soar to the equivalent of a few ounces of wine, some quantity of which will inevitably be absorbed by the intestinal wall, and thus circulated throughout our bloodstream. In nature, the quantity of alcohol necessary to prevent heart disease is mostly produced by these microorganisms." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarItemsPlus1 Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 This indeed is very true and factual....In Melbourne, Australia the law requires second offense drink drivers to have an alcohol interlock device fitted once the offender re-applies for their drivers license.It is indeed fact that the two companies and the law also had to be rectified to read an alcohol reading above .02% BAC(Blood Alcohol Concentration) as the devices were in actual cases reading the 'Body's' Alcohol.In one particular case a gentleman blew into the device to allow him to start his vehicle, it did not start?He then wait for the allowed time frame and proceeded to try and start his vehicle again. As this gentleman was not the 'brightest of sparkes' he continued to try and start his vehicle until finally after a few more attempts the device actually 'locked' itself out and dialled the authorities. The offender then had to explain in high detail why he tried to start and drive his vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. In absolute protest of his guilt the gentleman from advise from an official member and instructor of drink driver programs, went and sort confirmation from a hospital that indeed he had not been drinking. The gentleman had in fact just been eating a ham sandwich. And had a VERY large serving of pizza the night before. Once this evidence was presented the case unfortunately did not make it to court as all charges were dropped due to satifactory evidence proving in the offender's favour. Immediately all devices were re-calibrated to read at the level of .02% BAC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepcycle Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Not Likely!!!I don't use courts as scientific proof of anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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