# Could You Actually Kill Yourself Doing This? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 10, 2003, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829 "2003-04-10T17:45:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/21 "2003-04-10T22:25:09Z")
But wouldn’t drinking a half-pint of pure alcohol will do more damage than drinking a bottle of rum, by virtue of its concentration? I don’t know jack about chemistry, so I’d like to know for the next time someone offers me a mug of ethanol. ---
**Author:** ![bbeaty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c0e974/32.png) [@bbeaty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbeaty)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/22 "2003-04-11T00:34:34Z")
I once tried freezing some rubbing alcohol in liquid nitrogen. -196C, but it wouldn’t freeze! It just turned to a fairly runny slush, so I imagine that the water froze out and left very cold liquid alcohol. I also performed the “shattered flower” science classroom demonstration without using any liquid nitrogen. Just pour some alcohol into a glass full of dry-ice chunks. When cooled down, it can freeze objects much like liquid nitrogen does (but they’re only chilled to -79C). Dip a flower into the liquid, wait a few seconds, then take it out. It will immediately grow frost and make crackling noises. Whack it on the table and it shatters. Around here we can get Dry Ice at the seafood section of one of the local supermarket chains. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/23 "2003-04-11T00:48:41Z")
Not really, **peepthis**. You stomach does a fair job of separating the alcohold from the water, anyway. True, if you drank the just the pure alcohol from a bottle of rum at the same rate you would have consumed the rum itself, you’ll get drunk a lot faster. If you drank the pure alcohol quickly, you might reach a toxic level sooner than drinking a larger total quantity of alcohol in distilled spirits, but only because your body hadn’t had as much time to metabolize it. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/24 "2003-04-11T04:46:06Z")
I don’t buy the theory that a swig of subzero liquor could kill a man. Everbody’s talking about the damage the liquid does to the body’s tissues, but what about the heating that the body is doing to the liquid, rendering it less harmful? A man can’t easily swig much liquid – especially one like hard liquor – in one swallow. (Presumably he would notice the chilly error of his ways before he tried chug number two.) So, say he managed to down a shot-glassfull of the cold rum. That’s not much. It’s got to get past his lips, mouth, throat and esophogus. That’s a lot of heating going on, if you ask me. I’m not saying it would be fun, just not fatal. Then again, I am neither a doctor, scientist nor sourdough. [Smilie.] ---
**Author:** ![Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satisfying_Andy_Licious)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/25 "2003-04-11T04:52:37Z")
\*\* Pochacco,\*\* I recall reading a nonfiction account of an outdoorsman or mountain climber whose esophagus did indeed freeze and he coughed out the lining, otherwise he would have died. I’ll see if I can find the cite, but it might take a while. ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/26 "2003-04-11T05:05:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bbeaty \* > \*\* Just pour some alcohol into a glass full of dry-ice chunks. \*\* cool… Would that be isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol? ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/27 "2003-04-11T07:49:58Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Satisfying Andy Licious \* > \*\*\*\* Pochacco,_\* I recall reading a nonfiction account of an outdoorsman or mountain climber whose esophagus did indeed freeze and he coughed out the lining, otherwise he would have died. I’ll see if I can find the cite, but it might take a while. \*\* Good luck, I searched for an hour earlier Thursday afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![herman\_and\_bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f1d935/32.png) [@herman\_and\_bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/herman_and_bill)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/28 "2003-04-11T18:59:02Z")
Even if he did freeze his esophogus, I really don’t think the dead skin will slough off immediately. Besides, its the trachea that if it gets blocked will cause choking. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/29 "2003-04-11T19:44:25Z")
I am not a doctor, a scientist, or a rugged outdoorsman. However, I did spend quite a few years in the Arctic, and heard a fair bit about alcohol-related deaths. (Sometimes it seems like _all_ deaths in Northern Canada are alcohol-related.) All I can say is, I never heard of anybody killing themselves this particular way. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/30 "2003-04-11T20:02:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by herman\_and\_bill \* > \*\*Even if he did freeze his esophogus, I really don’t think the dead skin will slough off immediately. Besides, its the trachea that if it gets blocked will cause choking. \*\* Thermal injury to the pharyngeal area could very well cause sufficent swelling to cut off respiration. It could also happen very quickly. I’m sure severely “freezer burned” tissue would shed some chunks as the airway started to swell up and coughing and forcing would get tiny bits of air through., ---
**Author:** ![oldman\_withers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9fc29f/32.png) [@oldman\_withers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldman_withers)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/31 "2003-04-11T21:23:47Z")
Ow. In my opinion you could kill yourself by doing pretty much anything. \If you can think of a situation in which you could not kill yourself, kudos. I’ll try to refute them.\ ---
**Author:** ![UWmite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UWmite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UWmite)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/32 "2003-04-11T21:54:55Z")
There’s a story around here about a guy working on the AMANDA (Antarctic Muon and Neutrino Detector Array) project who died this way. He left some vodka in a sno-cat and came back awhile later for a refreshing drink. Supposedly it took him quite a while to die though. Of course, I have absolutely no cite for this, but it’s a cool story nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Fuel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Fuel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuel)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/33 "2003-04-11T22:11:10Z")
I _think_ a double shot _could_ certainly freeze the lining of his throat. Once it touches the throat, the muscles would probably immediately be stifled and would not be able to swallow some warm spit to warm the throat back up, so the alcohol would just sit on the affected areas pretty well. Who knows… ---
**Author:** ![Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satisfying_Andy_Licious)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/34 "2003-04-12T05:36:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by whuckfistle \* > \*\*Good luck, I searched for an hour earlier Thursday afternoon. \*\* I found it. It’s from a 1924 British effort to scale Mount Everest. The two people mentioned here are Col. E. F. Norton and Howard Somervell. > [@](#): > > … Somervell was fighting for his life. > A paroxysm of coughing had dislodged something in his throat, so that he could neither breathe in nor out. Nor could he shout to attract Norton’s attention. “This is the end,” he thought, sinking into the snow. With one last effort, he clasped both hands to his chest and pressed hard. Somervell, a man of great strength, gave “one last almighty push” and hawked out the obstruction. He supposed it to have been the entire mucous lining of his larynx, damaged by frostbite. Though still coughing up blood, he was relieved to find he could breathe more freely than he had for days. > > “Last Climb: The legendary Everest Expeditions of George Mallory,” by David Breashears and Audrey Salkeld, National Geographic Society. Pages 166-67. This, of course, is not the same situation as asked in the original question. It does point up the dangers of frostbite in the passageway. The question remains on whether this would occur by drinking super-chilled alcohol. If it really is super cold, could you swallow it, or would you reflexively gag when something so cold contacted your mouth and tongue? But Somervell’s experience shows the danger if the passageway did become frostbitten. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/35 "2003-04-12T05:52:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by oldman\_withers \* > \*\*Ow. In my opinion you could kill yourself by doing pretty much anything. \If you can think of a situation in which you could not kill yourself, kudos. I’ll try to refute them.\ \*\* In a room, strapped to the bed with your hands and feet restrained and fed through tubes. Video monitored 24/7. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/36 "2003-04-12T07:35:41Z")
hold your breath unitl you die? ---
**Author:** ![Dravin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dravin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dravin)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/37 "2003-04-12T07:39:11Z")
It’s quite simple, if you’re sitting there decomposing after 10 years in your casket you can’t kill yourself, as you are already quite dead. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/38 "2003-04-12T07:44:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shalmanese \* > \*\*hold your breath unitl you die? \*\* No can do. You’ll pass out first, after which you’ll start breathing normally. In fact, in most cases, you’ll be forced to breathe by instinct even before you lose consciousness, which is why people drown. ---
**Author:** ![Blown\_Injected](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@Blown\_Injected](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blown_Injected)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/39 "2003-04-12T12:09:59Z")
I have often taken several big gulps of bourbon from the freezer about -15\*c and only experienced the desired effect. ---
**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829/40 "2003-04-13T02:39:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > \*\*In a room, strapped to the bed with your hands and feet restrained and fed through tubes. Video monitored 24/7. 😃 \*\* Ah, this reminds me of one of the first ever threads I started on this board, [Suicide, the hard way!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=50343), in which I asked a similar question. Never did come to a real conclusion though, or at least not better than my punji spike idea. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-actually-kill-yourself-doing-this/167829.md?page=3)