Six UK teens rushed to hospital after drinking ethanol
Ethanol can be used in ICE engines, can be made from renewable resources and, depending on whether it's been denatured or not, can technically be drunk. John McCain's 2007 joke aside, this is a bad idea. Physics Forums lists a few reasons why. Nonetheless, six teenagers in the UK thought that an episode of the BBC1 drama Waterloo Road portrayed a good idea when a young female character drank ethanol. So, sadly, the five girls and one boy (all either 14 or 15) copied the fictional character's action. They were then taken to the hospital, where it was discovered that none of them will suffer any long-term effects, according to UPI. Call it a "lucky break."No one would want to ever drink ethanol once it's been mixed with gasoline (the smell! the taste!), but if you don't talk to your kids about ethanol, who will?
UPDATE: And again...
[Source: UPI, Telegraph]
Photo by ˙Cаvin 〄. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jpm 7:53PM (11/16/2009)
Who said the ethanol was mixed with gas? Ethanol is defined as 100% alcohol (200 proof), which can be drunk in extreme moderation.
Nonetheless, these teenagers almost earned Darwin awards.
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Tim 10:23AM (11/17/2009)
When I was in high school back in the 70s, we used to mix Everclear with grape cool aid. We called it purple passion and it would kick you butt if you mixed it too strong. We had many a Purple Passion Party.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everclear_(alcohol)
(ah, good times...)
The existence of a thing does not cause accidents, It's the ignorance of that thing's proper use that causes all the problems. (liberty REQUIRES responsibility)
Sean 7:59PM (11/16/2009)
Most of the population drinks ethanol on a regular basis. While you can kill yourself with ethanol, it doesn't take a lucky break to avoid any long-term effects. We should be more worried about our children suffering from Dihydrogen Monoxide inhalation, which is often deadly.
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Sean C 8:44PM (11/16/2009)
The kids would have been better off had they diluted the ethanol with extract of citrus sinensis and two parts solidified dihydrogen monoxide and ingested it from and chilled silicon dioxide vessel.
Geoff de Ruiter 8:58PM (11/16/2009)
Hundred of thousands of people (perhaps even millions) die from exposure to dihydrogen monoxide every year and the government does almost Nothing! They need to get tough and get this dangerous chemical away from us and our children. Enough is enough.
Although Ethanol is an option for renewable energy I feel bio-oil/diesel is a better option and specifically produced from algae. Non of the mix ups and much easier to produce and use, especially if we could just use the oil, i.e. no chemical modification needed.
Rick C. 10:23AM (11/17/2009)
Sean C. said: The kids would have been better off had they diluted the ethanol with extract of citrus sinensis and two parts solidified dihydrogen monoxide and ingested it from and chilled silicon dioxide vessel.
Booze with OJ and water served in a glass? Go ahead and work a boda bag into that.
Doug 9:54PM (11/16/2009)
What does this have to do with cars? The articles make it sound like standard 200 proof grain alcohol. Not ethanol intended as fuel.
Drinking 200 proof alcohol, even if it's been diluted is a bad idea. In order to get that level of purity it often has to be processed with benzine, which is a strong carcinogen.
Back in high school I used to work in a lab for DoD and there supposedly was some former employee who died of liver cancer since he used to put a little lab ethanol in his coffee every morning. Bad idea. The funny thing was whenever I needed some ethanol for lab work it was such a big deal. Has to get all these forms signed, etc, etc. I think they were concerned the janitorial staff would drink it. I could go get hydrofluoric acid (often known as the most dangerous liquid) off a simple supply self, but if I needed to use ethanol I have to fight through tons of bureaucracy. Go figure.
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watcher 11:08PM (11/16/2009)
definite darwin winners there.. unfortunately they lived after that, their gene pool needs another dose of bleach then if they were that stupid to reenact something off a tv show when they are old enough to know the difference between real and fake.
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Randy S 12:13AM (11/17/2009)
Stop the insanity, legalize pot!
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MikeCJ 7:30AM (11/17/2009)
200 proof?. 100% pure ethanol is not as strong here in the UK as it's only 175 proof. That's probably why there were no ill effects.
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Mark 9:08AM (11/17/2009)
Actually, the suggestion that no one would drink it mixed with gasoline because of the taste is a bit off base. Dozens of children each year are hospitalized from drinking gasoline -- and generally report it to have a very sweet taste.
Having sucked it into my mouth a time or two when siphoning gas into vehicles far, far, FAR from the nearest gas pump, I can report that the fumes can be overwhelming, but the actual taste of the gasoline isn't half bad.
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scott 1:44PM (11/18/2009)
Perhaps a runner-up for the Darwin Award should be the original reporter for the Telegraph who failed to obtain answers for the fundamental questions:
1. Was the ethanol denatured?
2. If so, with what?
Unless it was denatured, this is no more relevant than the hundreds of millions of other examples of under-age drinking that occur daily around the planet.
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