Just curious, what is a lethal does in x number of tablets in x amount of time.
Well, for rats the LD 50 (the dose needed to kill half the rats to whom its fed) is 1.2 grams/kg. That would be about 200 grams for a 180 pound man.
Such precise studies have not yet been done on humans. Note however, that lesser doses have killed people.
See this site: http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic514.htm for more relevant information.
It’s a difficult thing to quantify, since different individuals react differently to varying amounts of a given substance. The best indicator we have is called the LD50, which is the dosage at which 50% of individuals (usually test animals, for obvious reasons) die within a 24-hour period. From the MSDS for aspirin, the LD50 (Oral dose, mouse) - is 815 mg of aspirin per kg of body weight. Assuming that scales up to humans, then it would take 65.2 g of aspirin to have a 50/50 chance of killing an 80-kg human. Or about that many 1000 mg tablets.
No scientific calculations like the previous posters, just the “rule of thumb” mentioned by an experienced friend who works in a very busy Emergency Room:
standard adult aspirin tablets consumed:
- 2 to 3 dozen = risky, but will probably survive
- 4 to 5 dozen = very iffy, might or might not survive
- 6 dozen or more = probably fatal
But that does seem to be a reasonable match with the dosages given by them.