31–40 of 102 posts
Come on. Getting drunk will lower your survival chances for sure. It counterintuitively doesn't warm you up, waste precious energy while the body fights intoxication, and you are more likely to injure yourself in anything requiring body coordination.
I am not sure that drinking alcohol wastes energy. It contains a lot of calories, more than sugar. I also haven’t heard about people drinking alcohol to lose weight.
Could the many calories of the alcohol help in such situations? Eating fat during a ship sinking accident is probably better, but alcohol has more calories than sugar and having enough energy to survive in the cold is important.
We went out for drinks and then to recharge we walked to a pizzeria (I assume 24 hours) to get a few bites.
While I don’t normally drink I found I can hold my own with whiskey and I must’ve had about 10 (expensive!!) double shots over the course of 2 hours. Needless to say I was pretty buzzed.
Anyway, another group picked a fight with one of my friends; a hot pizza was thrown at the instigator’s face and a small brawl ensued. While I’m. it physical, when one of my friends tripped I weighed out how to help (mostly made them pause, so friend didn’t get stomped); then shortly after NYPD showed up.
Held hand up to show that I wasn’t a threat; saw the pepper spray out and the officer’s panicked face; and I closed my eyes because I knew what would happen.
After running away as a group—thankfully the witnesses pointed out the instigators and some sympathetic bouncers let us cut through another club—I also had the presence of mind to buy a quart of milk—reasoning the fat and cool liquid would help—to ready myself against the burn.
The point: Some individuals can be pretty trashed but still retain planning skills, concerns of responsibility.
The baker clearly fell into this category.
Sidenote: I’m glad it didn’t get into my eyes, but wow did the spray burn…even with milk.
Come on. Getting drunk will lower your survival chances for sure. It counterintuitively doesn't warm you up, waste precious energy while the body fights intoxication, and you are more likely to injure yourself in anything requiring body coordination.
I am not sure that drinking alcohol wastes energy. It contains a lot of calories, more than sugar. I also haven’t heard about people drinking alcohol to lose weight.
My understanding is they are usually using high carb low alcohol beer, so it’s more of a liquid only low fat diet than an alcohol diet.
I find it hard to believe he survived in the water for that long.
I read about a north fisherman whose boat sunk. everyone perished in the cold water but he was so large and wrapped in heavy clothing he eventually paddled to shore, walked a mile and knocked on a door, without dying. Fat and cloth layers really help. He was also said to have survived because he was incredibly drunk. Maybe the alcohol in the system reduces the effects of the cold?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guðlaugur_Friðþórsson
His story was made into the movie The Deep (Djúpið). Although he wasn’t drunk.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The first time I had a serious accident with my car, I saw my life going before me. I was fine but my body was trembling after the accident. I saw a pub, I went there and drank 2 whisky straight. It was just what i needed to stop my body from shaking, and get my ideas clearer again and be able to deal with the situation. Alcohol really is a miraculous substance
Somewhat unfortunate when the police do a routine breathalyser test an hour later though.
“You have a defence if you can convince the court that you drank the alcohol in question after you had driven and that you were not over the limit whilst you were driving.”[1]
With that said, your BAC can be estimated from whatever you prove you drank after the accident, which would reveal a discrepancy. Not a reliable way to get away with a terrible crime.
[1] https://www.pattersonlaw.co.uk/faqs/drink-driving-leaving-sc...
I find it difficult to believe. It was April -2C air temp in the open ocean and water temp probably 0C or 1C. Even with clothes on or relaxed you'd be dead in 15 minutes. I live in Canada on the coast and there are many news articles of people drowning after falling into cold water. And those people were in modern cold weather clothing.
First, he delayed immersion; among those who went into the water that night, Joughin was the absolute last to get wet.
Second — and most important — he managed to stay calm and strategize a way out of the water. """
I'll consider this next time I'm in a shipwreck.