# Aerial vodka question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 27, 2003, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aerial-vodka-question/209747 "2003-10-27T00:20:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aerial-vodka-question/209747/1 "2003-10-27T00:20:38Z")
About an hour and some ago I was tidying up the kitchen and I decided to toss an almost empty vodka bottle. Since it still had a little bit in it, I poured it into a jigger thinking I could make myself a drink later. I left the kitchen for a while, and on coming back noticed that It looks like about an eighth of it (it was just under the jigger line) is gone! Unless I’ve got a sneaky cockroach imbibing on my tab, it has to have evaporated. Could it (80 proof) really have lost that much volume to evaporation _that_ quickly? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aerial-vodka-question/209747/2 "2003-10-27T01:10:49Z")
I think the first question is how long is a ‘while’? Are we talking about 20 mins or a few hours? What about temp? Humidity? Also, what’s a jigger? ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aerial-vodka-question/209747/3 "2003-10-27T01:15:40Z")
A jigger is an ounce and a half. Elapsed time was about an hour and twenty minutes. Temperature was ~75º F. Humidity unknown, but it’s been a rainy weekend and this _is_ Houston, Texas. The sample is no longer available for study. ---
**Author:** ![pilot141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e0b2c6/32.png) [@pilot141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pilot141)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aerial-vodka-question/209747/4 "2003-10-27T05:09:57Z")
[Strolls in] Wait, this isn’t about drinking vodka before flying? [Strolls out without providing interesting anecdote] ---
**Author:** ![radar\_ralf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@radar\_ralf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/radar_ralf)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aerial-vodka-question/209747/5 "2003-10-27T13:14:07Z")
I thought this was gonna be about vodka that uses a car antenna for a swizzle stick… ---
**Author:** ![Shaggarito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@Shaggarito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shaggarito)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aerial-vodka-question/209747/6 "2003-10-27T17:20:38Z")
I was thinking it was about drinking vodka while skydiving ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aerial-vodka-question/209747/7 "2003-10-27T18:02:21Z")
Ironically, I checked Houston’s humidity at approximately the same time this happened yesterday. Honest. Just happened to be comparing our’s with that at some relatives. It was 83% if this helps. ---
**Author:** ![Jake4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bc8723/32.png) [@Jake4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake4)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aerial-vodka-question/209747/8 "2003-10-27T18:20:29Z")
Do you have a cat? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_B.Phart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Capt\_B.Phart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_B.Phart)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aerial-vodka-question/209747/9 "2003-10-28T00:43:37Z")
Is it saying “your my besht mate, you are…” and singing Danny Boy? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aerial-vodka-question/209747/10 "2003-10-29T21:21:22Z")
So what’s the jigger down to now? ---
**Author:** ![gcarroll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/65b543/32.png) [@gcarroll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gcarroll)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aerial-vodka-question/209747/11 "2003-10-30T01:38:14Z")
Yes, it can evaporate that fast. Especially if it happened to be in a warmer-than-normal spot (in a sunny spot, for instance.) While Houston was humid, you might have air conditioning, and this lowers the humidity indoors - also creates a draft that increases evaporation. But don’t discount the cat theory either! ---
**Author:** ![alex\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@alex\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alex_d)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aerial-vodka-question/209747/12 "2003-10-30T02:22:43Z")
btw, it wasn’t the water that was evaporating (and therefore humidity is irrelevant), but the alcohol itself. Alcohol has a boiling point around 80 degrees and evaporates very quickly (note what happens to rubbing alcohol). Leaving out vodka like that will leave you with water. Since an 1/8 was gone, i’d say that the proof had gone down to 20% (40 proof). ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aerial-vodka-question/209747/13 "2003-10-30T02:29:24Z")
It seemed like a weak drink. Thanks all, esp. **gcarroll**.