# Death by ice cream **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 29, 2004, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by-ice-cream/277123 "2004-11-29T08:37:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shirt\_Ninja\_13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@Shirt\_Ninja\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirt_Ninja_13)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by-ice-cream/277123/1 "2004-11-29T08:37:51Z")
If I decided to sit down and gorge myself on ice cream until I expired, how long would it take, how much ice would I have to eat, and what would be the clinical cause of my death (cardio-pulmonary arrest doesn’t count)? _bamf_ ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by-ice-cream/277123/2 "2004-11-29T16:18:46Z")
> [@Shirt Ninja 13](#): > > If I decided to sit down and gorge myself on ice cream until I expired, how long would it take, how much ice would I have to eat, and what would be the clinical cause of my death (cardio-pulmonary arrest doesn’t count)? _bamf_ Can’t predict time or amount but it will take a while and lots of i.c. Before you expire let us know how long, how much, and cause of demise. ---
**Author:** ![Burrido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Burrido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burrido)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by-ice-cream/277123/3 "2004-11-29T18:27:54Z")
Marlon Brando supposedly ate so much ice cream (roughly a gallon) that he had to be hospitalized. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by-ice-cream/277123/4 "2004-11-29T19:16:19Z")
Because I got a Lello gelati maker for my birthday this year, I may well be able to answer your question. Or at least my survivors will. The ice cream that that accursed thing makes is damn’ near impossible to stop eating. Thank goodness it only makes two pints at a time! ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by-ice-cream/277123/5 "2004-11-29T19:45:47Z")
> [@Burrido](#): > > Marlon Brando supposedly ate so much ice cream (roughly a gallon) that he had to be hospitalized. Hmmm. My understanding was that the late Mr Brando could put away a gallon in between courses of his meal without so much as suffering indigestion. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by-ice-cream/277123/6 "2004-11-30T02:20:00Z")
> [@pugluvr](#): > > Because I got a Lello gelati maker for my birthday this year, I may well be able to answer your question. Or at least my survivors will. The ice cream that that accursed thing makes is damn’ near impossible to stop eating. Thank goodness it only makes two pints at a time! \ sub almond flavor for vanilla, add cinnamon and small diced candied ginger [the stuff from penzeys dot com is wonderful, and the right size], sweeten with honey and use real heavy cream and eggs instead of some unholy pre-mix … and serve with gingersnaps ---
**Author:** ![Lagged2Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ac8455/32.png) [@Lagged2Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lagged2Death)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by-ice-cream/277123/7 "2004-11-30T03:08:55Z")
There is an old frat-boy/bar-bet type challenge: “Betcha can’t drink a gallon of milk in one hour - and keep it all down for an hour after.” It doesn’t sound difficult, but it is in fact nearly impossible. Milk is digested very slowly, so to get a gallon down in an hour, the drinker must over-fill his stomach, which leads to vomiting. I had thought Cecil or the SDSAB had written about this, but I can’t find it in the archive. It has been discussed [here at SDMB](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=142096&highlight=milk) at least a few times. Googling for “[drink a gallon of milk](http://www.google.com/search?q=drink+a+gallon+of+milk)” turns up a few references and stories about this stunt. Anyhow, it doesn’t seem unreasonable that ice cream, which contains an awful lot of cream and/or milk, could have the same effect. If so, you could make yourself terribly ill, but you probably couldn’t kill yourself this way. ---
**Author:** ![moi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@moi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moi)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by-ice-cream/277123/8 "2004-11-30T15:54:28Z")
Well, is there a need for speed in the OP’s plan? Or is it just a matter of eating only ice cream until such a time that one dies? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by-ice-cream/277123/9 "2004-11-30T17:16:11Z")
I think the worst short term effect would be ‘brain freeze’. Unless you are into that kind of thing, you perv. Death by Ice Cream would be an excellent title for a book to help people put on Winter Weight. ---
**Author:** ![aahala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by-ice-cream/277123/10 "2004-11-30T18:17:52Z")
> [@Burrido](#): > > Marlon Brando supposedly ate so much ice cream (roughly a gallon) that he had to be hospitalized. Yes, and his blood tests came back 15% butterfat, 4% Rocky Road. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by-ice-cream/277123/11 "2004-11-30T18:52:13Z")
I understand Timothy McVeigh ate a quart of mint chip ice cream and died the next morning.