Vodka tampons and butt-chugging

The author agrees it is nonsense.

I don’t subscribe better credibility merely because it is a cop. I do subscribe some level of credibility when the people spreading it work in schools and are directly involved in investigating alcohol and drug abuse by teenagers. That should be the type of people with direct experience in what is happening, so for them to say it suggests they know what they are talking about.

But it also makes them more creditable when they are spreading misinformation, things they heard but have not confirmed/witnessed for themselves, but it is being spread through their community. Like I said, they’re people and not immune to urban legends.

You are correct, if something seems extreme, independent corroboration is a good practice.

From today’s Toronto Star:
Frum and Crittenden: Columnist wants to know about those vodka soaked tampons

I’m so glad my sister is as much of a geek as I am. I read this to her and she said she doubted it could even get out of the applicator. She took one of her tampons (Tampax Pearl, with a plastic applicator) and stuck it in a measuring cup of vodka.

Verdict: It can’t expand very much inside the applicator, but expands just enough to be hard to get loose.

She then tried it with one without the applicator.

Verdict: It soaks up like a mofo, but she seriously doubts anyone would be able to use it.

The measuring cup we used had milliliters on it, so we were able to keep track of the volume that was absorbed. The one still in the applicator looks to have absorbed just barely more than two milliliters. The applicator-less one absorbed just under ten milliliters.

Verdict: Even if you managed to get a soaked one inside of your body somehow, you’re not getting drunk on ten milliliters of vodka. A shot glass holds 44 milliliters.

That’ll have to do until our MythBusters lobbying campaign gets off the ground.

My sister says there are tampons able to hold a greater volume than the ones we used, but I have to doubt there are any that hold four times the volume. I looked it up and it appears that the average menstrual volume is between 40 and 80mL. Unlikely any tampons hold as much as a woman would need for five days.

The link to the Crittenden column in that article seems to be broken. Here’s a working link. Verdict: very difficult to do, and painful and not at all intoxicating when you manage it. Says Crittenden: “I can’t even imagine trying to do this at a party. You’d be walking around all night looking like you’d wet your pants, with a pleading expression on your face that said: Does anyone have a fire hose?”

hahahahahaha! “twat shots” :smiley:

Sounds like she used more absorbent tampons than we had. My sister pointed out that most teenagers would find it extra uncomfortable to use something larger, though. A friend of mine crunched the numbers and says you’d metabolize any alcohol in it in under half an hour.

People might try it, but I just don’t see it working well enough for them to go through the trouble a second time.

If anything, the girls are soaking the tampons in the booze, and then sucking on the tampons.

Which is still stupid, but it would make a helluva lot more sense than trying to stick it in your vag.