Wasn't there a post about dry ice and ethenol equating to instantaneous drunkeness sometime in the last six months? June 5, 2007 8:34 PM   Subscribe

I recently got drunk with: a former professor and a chemistry major and claimed that: dry ice + ethanol === near instantaneous intoxication. Now that I'm mostly sober my Google fu fails to reveal evidence (in youtube + MeFi post form) to substantiate my claim. I'm 98.23% certain that I saw/learned this factoid on MeFi. Could some kind soul please help me? Confirm, deny, deride -- at the very least inform -- me. Just point, if so kind you would be, in the direction of the link - y. :-) Thanks.
posted by Grod to MetaFilter-Related at 8:34 PM (41 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite

Dry ice cools ethanol to about -80 to -70 C. You'd likely get bad internal burns from drinking such a mixture. I'm certain your prof is pulling your leg.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:40 PM on June 5, 2007


Hmmm, wonder if Mrs. True knows about this.
posted by The Deej at 9:01 PM on June 5, 2007 [5 favorites]


No, no. They didn't drink the mixture, they inhaled the evaporate produced by the mixture. I'm fairly certain this popped up on mefi.
posted by Grod at 9:27 PM on June 5, 2007


was it this crazy inhaler machine?

Caution: site design not safe for eyes.
posted by mwhybark at 9:33 PM on June 5, 2007


I found this.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 9:36 PM on June 5, 2007


Carbonation is a vasodilator. Your digestive system absorbs alcohol faster from carbonated drinks like beer, sparkling wine, or mixed drinks that use carbonated water.

A mixture of alcohol and dry ice would cause some carbon dioxide to dissolve in the alcohol.

That said, drinking straight shots of everclear (carbonated or not) is extremely dangerous. Definitely not recommended.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 9:45 PM on June 5, 2007


That said, drinking straight shots of everclear (carbonated or not) is extremely dangerous. Definitely not recommended.

Bah. Chase them with water right away, no worries, other than what you'd expect from the booze. They grow 'em tough up in the northlands.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:48 PM on June 5, 2007


No, no. They didn't drink the mixture, they inhaled the evaporate produced by the mixture.

Also: a way of metabolizing alcohol I've never tried? Sign me the hell up!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:52 PM on June 5, 2007


Ethanol + liquid nitrogen = alcohol in slime form. It's really pretty cool (no pun intended).
posted by Eideteker at 9:53 PM on June 5, 2007 [1 favorite]


Okay, so really? I can breathe booze? Are the effects shorter term at all,meaning I would have to nurse it constantly, ie through a partymask? Would the caloric value be at all diminished?
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:58 PM on June 5, 2007


Yes on all counts, Ambrosia Voyeur.
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 10:05 PM on June 5, 2007


Also: a way of metabolizing alcohol I've never tried? Sign me the hell up!

I agree, as there has been occasional sentences containing both "drinking" and "problem" bandied about by near and dear through the years.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 10:09 PM on June 5, 2007


You can get drunk from ethanol fumes alone, no dry ice necessary.
posted by yohko at 10:15 PM on June 5, 2007


I found this.

The guy's name is really Dick Wang?
posted by euphorb at 10:28 PM on June 5, 2007


Perhaps it is the enema thread, but that was back in 2004.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:53 PM on June 5, 2007


Yeah, Blazecock has it. I have used a dry ice/ethanol mixture a lot -- it is great for flash-freezing samples in the lab. Maybe by "intoxication," your prof meant "flash-freezing your insides." It is instantaneous.
posted by Methylviolet at 10:58 PM on June 5, 2007


That said, drinking straight shots of everclear (carbonated or not) is extremely dangerous.

I'd like some cites or elaboration on this. I think it's only more dangerous insofar as it's proportionally more likely to cumulatively cause acute alcohol poisoning with regard to alcohol content. But an individual shot is not dangerous. I've drank shots of Everclear numerous times.

Okay, so really? I can breathe booze?

Yeah, and you can do so more easily and relatively safely with some sort of air-temperature inhalation system (e.g., a nebulizer). It's only relatively safe because a vaporized liquid CO2/ethanol mix sounds like a dicey proposition to me and because nebulizing or, especially, vaporizing alcohol sounds like an invitation to an explosion, when not safely managed—increasingly likely as inebriation escalates.

Also: a way of metabolizing alcohol I've never tried? Sign me the hell up!

You've probably tried the enema route, which also has the caloric and reduced hangover benefits as inhalation. My one experiment with this was an example of Darwin Award-level stupidity in which I used vodca that had been in the freezer. I'm pretty sure I caused some tissue damage, which I didn't feel at the time but which became evident later.

Don't tell anyone about this, though, as it's pretty humiliating.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 11:37 PM on June 5, 2007 [8 favorites]


You old ice-hole you.
posted by vronsky at 11:44 PM on June 5, 2007


Here's something
posted by spork at 11:46 PM on June 5, 2007


Okay then.

Put aside any theremin building to make partymasks for the ladies in your lives, gentlemen. I assure you there is no device more romantic. Use amaretto, perhaps, absinthe, Malibu, or a liquor unique to the dame, though it matter not logically, once vaporized. I do speak from experience including custom made mercury switching sweetheart necklaces and other such DIY romancery: these machines are meant to woo, not one-up among the bros or in bars. Too many girls these days have been weaned on the MSTK-Zim aesthetic not to be entranced by bubbling alcoholic mad scientesse wear.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 12:18 AM on June 6, 2007


My one experiment with this was an example of Darwin Award-level stupidity in which I used vodca that had been in the freezer.

Hooohah! So refreshing on a hot summer day, though.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:54 AM on June 6, 2007


Once again, reading a thread from the end, backward, provides the most enjoyment.

"Freezer-cooled vodka?! Why that's -- ooooooh."
posted by dreamsign at 1:40 AM on June 6, 2007 [2 favorites]


Lots of useful answers and insightful discussion here. We could sure use a section of the site devoted entirely to asking questions and getting answers. Call it InquireMetafilter or something like that.
posted by Plutor at 3:54 AM on June 6, 2007


I've been bored before, but I've never been "vodka-up-the-ass" bored.
posted by Optamystic at 5:35 AM on June 6, 2007 [9 favorites]


I think the term is "reamed", Optamystic.
posted by dreamsign at 6:03 AM on June 6, 2007 [1 favorite]


Samuel Farrow, that's the link I was looking for, thanks!
posted by Grod at 7:22 AM on June 6, 2007


Dry ice + Ethanol ?!

I wanna dip my balls in it.
posted by carsonb at 8:27 AM on June 6, 2007


Absolut stupidity.
posted by blue_beetle at 8:33 AM on June 6, 2007


More like D'ohlichnaya, actually.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 8:35 AM on June 6, 2007


MetaFilter: Like a frozen vodka enema on a hot summer's day.
posted by scrump at 10:53 AM on June 6, 2007


Metafilter: I've been bored before, but I've never been "vodka-up-the-ass" bored.
posted by SpecialK at 11:18 AM on June 6, 2007


... or just: Metafilter: I've never been "vodka-up-the-ass" bored.
posted by SpecialK at 11:19 AM on June 6, 2007


Metafilter: Never a "vodka-up-the-ass" boring moment.
posted by Mitheral at 12:39 PM on June 6, 2007


No problem Grod and between EB and Optamystic - one rewarding thread - so thank you.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 2:12 PM on June 6, 2007


I suddenly know a lot more about EB than I think I wanted to.

Iced alcohol enemas? *rolls eyes* Kids these days, what happened to just shooting heroin and snorting PCP?

You know? The good old days.

posted by quin at 5:19 PM on June 6, 2007


partymask

???
posted by Mid at 6:56 PM on June 6, 2007


Here's a drink that my favorite Irish Bartender Paul, breaks out around 3 AM every once in a while.

The Mad Dog*

-Pour a shot of white Sambuca into a shot glass. (Important!---> a real shot glass. Do not overfill! )

-Light on fire (Bic lighters best) and wait a couple of seconds. There should be a nice light blue flame skating around on the surface of the liquor

-Place palm down flat on shot glass to cap it. make sure there is a tight seal with your palm. You will know there is because the fire will suck the oxygen out of the shot glass and you will feel it stick to your hand

- The alcohol will still be burning, so quickly lift the glass up (90 degrees to the counter top) and shake vigorously a couple of times keeping your hand flat so it is like a toy paddle with a ball attached to an elastic string. Always keep your palm flat so you don't break the vacuum seal and don't over do the shake part as either you will send the shot glass flying or burn your hand. If you do it right the seal will be pretty tight and the shot glass will not fly off. You'll have to practice this a bit to get it really smooth.


-Slam the glass down firmly on the counter (upright). The seal between your palm and the rim of the shot glass will pop and the alcohol fire will go out.

-Lift your hand away quickly and keeping your index and middle fingers together (and straight) stick them into the middle of the shot glass and the Sambuca (it will be warm) touching the bottom of the glass.

-Remove fingers from shot and keeping them straight and rigid place the tips firmly against the two top front teeth (your fingers should be perpendicular, like a cigar) and pretending you're doing a Humphrey Bogart impression take a hard fast drag on your fingers, through your teeth. It will feel cold and hot at the same time (it's the anise in the liquor) and burn the back of your throat a bit and you should feel a headrush. But your not done yet!

-Pick up the shot of Sambuca and down it quick in one throw.

-Make sure you're sitting down and don't have more than three although, If you're doing it right, you won't be able to handle more than two.

It's the punk rock version of a Flaming Sambuca.

*It will take a few tries to get things right. Practice so you can gauge the right amount of Sambuca and the timing. Too much Sambuca and the glass will fall off. Make sure to use real shot glasses, (not the big kind with heavy pentagonal bottoms used with ice or the smaller dinky type with trumpet mouths which are crap). A real shot glass looks like this.
(VT logo in poor taste). As you can see, it's a perfect inverted conical shape with a rounded rim that is flat and smooth. YMMV. Void where prohibited by law. I'm only providing this information for entertainment and should not in any way be construed as a blah blah blah... *falls off stool*

posted by Skygazer at 7:48 PM on June 6, 2007


PS: Please be careful not to set yourself, or your friends on fire. You might want to get a good bartender to try it out for you first.
posted by Skygazer at 7:58 PM on June 6, 2007


Skygazer that reminds me (in a completely batshitinsane drink kind of way) of the tequila stuntman (a varient of the tequila slammer).

Ingredients:
1 x shot tequila
1 x slice of lemon
1 x large pinch of salt

1) Place salt on top of left hand.
2) Pick up lemon between index finger and thumb of left hand
3) Pick up shot of tequila in right hand

4) Lower face to top of left hand and snort the salt (you have to snort hard)
5) Raise shot of tequila to face and drink in one gulp - replace empty glass on nearest horizontal surface
6) lift head back and raise left and right hands above head, grasp lemon slice between fingers of each hand and squeeze juice into right eye.

Helpful tip: do not do this.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 8:40 PM on June 6, 2007 [3 favorites]


One of my favorite Stupid Bar Tricks when I was younger, stupider and drunker was to get the bartender to pour a few mls of tequila in the slight hollow in the base of an inverted stemmed glass, which I would then snort through a straw. I used to do a lot of stupid stuff, but I always tipped well.

Protip: do not do this.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:38 PM on June 6, 2007


Another stupid bar trick is to ball your hand into a fist (and punch yourself in the head..no no...just kidding. Don't do that ha ha.) Make a ball with your fist and hold it horizontal. Place a squirt of Vodka into the little area between Thumb and forefinger, hold one nostril and snort the vodka. It hurts and it's not very enjoyable. But whoa, some serious alcohol absorption.

Tip (for dumbass fratboys who might actually try it): Do not do this.
posted by Skygazer at 6:02 AM on June 7, 2007


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