# drinking an entire gallon of milk **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 31, 2002, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761 "2002-10-31T21:34:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pud\_lumpkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6de8d8/32.png) [@pud\_lumpkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pud_lumpkins)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/21 "2002-11-01T03:42:27Z")
and if you’re really dehydrated, a whole gallon of cool, frothy milk is a warm welcome ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/22 "2002-11-01T04:10:33Z")
A couple of us tried it a while back. Not much luck. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35463](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35463) ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/23 "2002-11-01T04:41:40Z")
Wow, the bread thing was harder than I thought it would be… ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/24 "2002-11-01T05:02:10Z")
Do you mean a _loaf_ of bread? One slice of Wonder? A slab of homemade? Does the bread fit in a breadbox? I’m with **Weeks** , there is something I’m missing. ---
**Author:** ![Riboflavin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Riboflavin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riboflavin)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/25 "2002-11-01T05:25:53Z")
For drinking a gallon of milk, either you want to be satisfied with watching him throw up or you want to include ‘without throwing up’ in the bet. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DanielWithrow \* > After that, I bet my friend that he couldn’t eat a slice of plain bread in sixty seconds (no drinking water allowed). He scoffed at me, telling me of course he could do it. At fifty-five seconds into his attempt, a third of the slice of bread uneaten, his mouth full of half-chewed bread and empty of spit, he started yelling, “Fmbk oo! FMBK OO!” at me. I was laughing too hard to answer. Since I was in the mood for a snack and intrigued by your post, I tried it. I downed a slice of wonder bread in 35 seconds without any trouble or even rushing. I don’t think I’d have trouble eating any normal sort of bread in a minute unless the quantity was just too large to chew and swallow normally in that time, though it would obviously be harder with a more substantive bread. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/26 "2002-11-01T07:53:53Z")
There’s yet another challenge y’all can try: eating six Saltine-type crackers in one minute. It’s hard, but it’s doable. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/27 "2002-11-01T07:57:07Z")
I just tried a single piece of whole wheat (bigger than your average slice of wonderbread) and got it down in just under 55 seconds. I’m not willing to try the milk thing though. 🙂 I have been known to chug a quart of orange juice in under two minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/28 "2002-11-01T13:33:07Z")
I’m going out to buy some stock in Interstate Bakeries Inc. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/29 "2002-11-01T18:23:55Z")
Wow, it’s amazing what you can get your fellow Dopers to do… I heard it’s impossible to eat a 10 lb block of lard in under 10 minutes. _sits back and waits for the carnage_😃 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/30 "2002-11-01T18:27:10Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by King Nifty \* \*\*This CANNOT be done. It’s physically impossible. Too much milk will curdle in your system and humans cannot digest it in time. You will throw up everywhere and not finish it. [QUOTE] You may throw up. I’ll believe that. But saying that the milk will “curdle in your system” is physiological nonsense. Give me a medical cite before I believe that. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/31 "2002-11-01T19:20:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > \*\*Of course, no one will want to visit that restroom for a long, long time. > > Milk and orange juice? Wouldn’t that curdle? \*\* Milk and stomach acid? Wouldn’t that curdle? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/32 "2002-11-01T19:26:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by slortar \* > \*\*Wow, it’s amazing what you can get your fellow Dopers to do… > > I heard it’s impossible to eat a 10 lb block of lard in under 10 minutes. _sits back and waits for the carnage_😃 \*\* We used to have a wonderful dog named Charlie. Chalie weighed about 22 - 25 lbs. but boy he loved to eat. We came home one night and found that Charlie and his brother had made their way into the pantry. What we found was one empty 1 lbs tin of Crisco lard and Charlie with lard all over his face and head, and his poor little stomach stretched to amazing proportions. The only thing is that I don’t know how much time it took him to eat it all. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/33 "2002-11-01T19:48:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Max Torque \* > \*\*There’s yet another challenge y’all can try: eating six Saltine-type crackers in one minute. It’s hard, but it’s doable. \*\* Is that supposed to be hard? I do it all the time when I’m out of food and I’m too lazy to go to the grocery store :p. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/34 "2002-11-01T21:05:06Z")
> [@](#): > > You may throw up. I’ll believe that. But saying that the milk will “curdle in your system” is physiological nonsense. Give me a medical cite before I believe that. As Nametag’s eyeroll emphasizes, the milk will almost certainly curdle when it hits your stomach acid. Part two of the assertion–that the curdling makes it impossible to digest, leading to vomiting–is the more debatable part. ---
**Author:** ![BottledBlondJeanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@BottledBlondJeanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BottledBlondJeanie)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/35 "2002-11-01T21:25:24Z")
**Adam** umm, what were the, um, resuls from a dog eating that much crisco? ewww! ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/36 "2002-11-01T22:13:55Z")
Does this have to do with chugging a gallon of _any_ liquid, or does milk have some specific property that makes it tough to do? I couldn’t image chugging a gallon of water in 45 minutes being very hard. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/37 "2002-11-01T22:42:44Z")
Those of you who think you’re missing something on the bread challenge, try it. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it’s a lot harder than you’d expect. (When I tried it, it was with a slice of Nature’s Own Whole Wheat bread or something – one of those fakey whole-wheat breads with a texture like Wonderbread). Daniel ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/38 "2002-11-01T23:13:02Z")
Maybe I have extra active salivary glands, or a really big ‘esophagus is full reflex!’, but whenever I eat something really dry and it gets stuck in my throat, my saliva glands pump out like 2 ounces of fluid per second to deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/39 "2002-11-01T23:54:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by World Eater \* > \*\*Does this have to do with chugging a gallon of _any_ liquid, or does milk have some specific property that makes it tough to do? > > I couldn’t image chugging a gallon of water in 45 minutes being very hard. \*\* Milk is difficult for your body to digest and so if you drink too much too quicky you’ll end up hurling. Water is content to simply slosh around in your stomach until it’s absorbed (unless you drink a whole lot, in which case you can get water toxicity.) ---
**Author:** ![SparrowHawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@SparrowHawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SparrowHawk)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2002, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761/40 "2002-11-02T01:01:14Z")
Human adults cannot digest lactose. The _E. coli_ bacteria in your system is doing it for you. Now, though _E. coli_ can metabolize lactose if it has to, if there’s a lot of lactose constantly being delivered to the system (i.e.; if the host consumes dairy products regularly), the critter doesn’t waste its time making enzymes to metabolize a molecule that’s not around much. So if you don’t consume lactose regularly, putting a lot of it into your system in a short amount of time is going to be indigestible, and up it will come. People who are used to consuming dairy will have bacteria ready and waiting with the proper enzymes and may have more luck. So I wouldn’t necessarily doubt someone who claimed he could do it. There’s a sound physical reason why there are individual differences. I know about this 'cause it’s gonna be on the midterm Wednesday. The bacterial metabolism bit, not upchucking a gallon of milk. 😃 (Why am I standing around here grinning? I should be studying…) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-an-entire-gallon-of-milk/134761.md?page=3)