# Whipped Cream Nitrous Oxide ?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 16, 2000, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584 "2000-04-16T02:56:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Doctordec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Doctordec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctordec)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2000, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584/1 "2000-04-16T02:56:00Z")
I ran out to the grocery store tonight with three teenaged boys in tow and caught up with them at the checkout. They had three iced teas and two cans of Reddi-Wip whipped cream. They like to eat the stuff right out of the can. The checkout lady wasn’t going to sell it to them until I walked up and told her “they’re with me, they really do eat it” My question, is there really enough nitrous oxide in a can of redi-wip to cop a decent buzz ? Or was this old battle-axe of a checkout lady just flexing her muscle ?? * * * “If it’s free, it’s for me !” ---
**Author:** ![Satan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Satan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2000, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584/2 "2000-04-16T03:09:00Z")
Yes. Read Cecil’s column entitled [How does nitrous oxide work? Is it dangerous?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_223b.html) for more information. * * * Yer pal, Satan [http://www.raleighmusic.com/board/Images/devil.gif](http://www.raleighmusic.com/board/Images/devil.gif) _TIME ELAPSED SINCE I QUIT SMOKING: One week, 1 hour, 0 minutes and 55 seconds. 281 cigarettes not smoked, saving $35.21. Life saved: 23 hours, 25 minutes._ ---
**Author:** ![2sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e47774/32.png) [@2sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2sense)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2000, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584/3 "2000-04-16T03:15:00Z")
I said whippit. Whippit good. * * * ## Just putting my 2sense in. _Tyranny_,\* like Hell\*,\* is not easily conquered\*. -Thomas Paine (fugitive slave catcher) ---
**Author:** ![Doctordec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Doctordec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctordec)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2000, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584/4 "2000-04-16T03:28:00Z")
I used to live down the street from the Whip-it factory in Stow, Ohio, and they used to have break-ins all they time with kids stealing nitrous from the huge tanks in back. I’m just curious about the cans they sell next to the milk and cheese in the grocery store. Oh yeah, Devo was from Akron, only 10 miles away. * * * “If it’s free, it’s for me !” ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2000, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584/5 "2000-04-16T03:45:00Z")
Yes, one can of whipped cream is enough to get buzzed with. IIRC, you hold it upside-down, then release some gas into a balloon, then inhale from the balloon. Arjuna34 ---
**Author:** ![Luckie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@Luckie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luckie)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2000, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584/6 "2000-04-16T04:50:00Z")
oh yeah, you can get a strong buzz from a can of whip cream. but 1 can only fills like 1 1/2 balloons, so it’s not very cost effective. when i was in high school the preferred route was to get the N2O cannisters from cooking specialty shops. none of my friends actully had one of the balloon filling devices so we had to open them with a nail and a hammer and slap the balloon over them. anyway, my rememberances. at the time i used to think that nitrous was what all other drugs always wanted to be. -luckie “for our old cause keeps us together, and our hatred is so precious not death or defeat can break it” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2000, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584/7 "2000-04-16T05:02:00Z")
Hold on… You _invert_ the can to get a dose? Now, I’ve never tried this, myself, but isn’t inverted the normal, intended use for canned whipped cream? I thought that the drug use was holding it _right-side up_ and squirting… Why don’t I ever get a buzz from pie a la mode? * * * “There are only two things that are infinite: The Universe, and human stupidity-- and I’m not sure about the Universe” –A. Einstein ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2000, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584/8 "2000-04-16T05:14:00Z")
(educational purposes only) One can is plenty for a buzz, and yes, you would hold it right side up. There’s not much pressure so it’s reasonably safe to do right from the can. You shouldn’t do it, but if you do, don’t hold it in for too long. BTW, This practice has recently become a felony in my home state of Florida and possibly elsewhere. (/educational purposes only) ---
**Author:** ![2sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e47774/32.png) [@2sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2sense)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2000, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584/9 "2000-04-16T06:18:00Z")
Also remember not to shake the can first. I have seen quite a few busboys(it’s allways bussboys, dunno why) come stumbling out of the walk-in cooler with whipped cream covering their mile-wide grins. * * * ## Just putting my 2sense in. Curtis C. Cleveland… Proud to be American! ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2000, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584/10 "2000-04-17T10:27:00Z")
Just go out and buy the cylinders, a cracker and a big punch-ball! Have a laugh riot of a time–for like, 20 seconds or so. 🙂 Then put on some funky music and see what it does to your ears…and watch out on the OD, gives you a headache, nausea, oh, and sometimes you kinda go out for a few seconds(saw a guy do this numerous times while sucking off of a 30 Lb. tank once…must do wonderful things to your intellect). ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2000, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584/11 "2000-04-17T14:10:00Z")
Abusing the whipcream can is also a way to wind up dead. I am a school band director. One night, we took a trip about three hours from school. We stopped at a large grocery store on the way home and told the kids to get snacks for the bus. Several students bought spray whipcream and were eating it in the back of the bus. After the whipcream was gone, they continued to spray the gas. Fearing they would get into trouble, they kept it very quiet in the back. When we arrived home (about three hours after the grocery store), one student was unconscious and several students had purple lips and were throwing up. The EMT’s said the unconscious kid was a few minutes from death. He got to ride in an ambulance and spent the a couple nights at the hospital. Of course, once returning to the land of the living, that kid was still a dumb-ass. By the way, I thankfully don’t work in that school any more. * * * I should be sorry if I only entertained them. I sought to make them better. G. F. Handel ---
**Author:** ![writefetus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9de053/32.png) [@writefetus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/writefetus)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2000, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584/12 "2000-04-18T14:03:00Z")
In my (lengthy) experience there is _NO WAY_ under heaven or on earth there is enough nitrous in a single can of whipping cream to create an anoxic episode in anyone over 65 lbs.,…unless they were to attempting to re-breath it by exhaling into a garbage bag or something …still,as a recreational buzz this really leaves something to be desired…IMHO ---
**Author:** ![aenea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@aenea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aenea)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2000, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584/13 "2000-04-18T15:44:00Z")
[educational use only/] Nitrous is an interesting high. When taken with oxygen as the dentist dispenses it, it’s has little danger. Most people at a nitrous party are not mixing oxygen though. The high has been called the Wa-Wa’s because that’s what most people remember (WaaaWaaaWaa) sound gets to sounding funny when you are that high. When you do nitrous you are doing a gas that fills your lungs (no air) so part of the high is lack of oxygen. A few deep breaths and you are back to normal. The problem is that nitrous is so incredibly cold when compressed into these containers. It literally will freeze your involuntary breathing reflex. SO REMEMBER TO BREATH (Air) when doing nitrous hits. Watch your friends carefully to make sure they don’t forget to breath. [/educational use only] * * * The Turtle Moves ---
**Author:** ![aenea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@aenea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aenea)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2000, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584/14 "2000-04-18T15:46:00Z")
PS. this extreme cold affects the metal container too. I know a guy that was flayed open to the bone on his leg when a cannister fell against him. He did not start bleeding for a good minute because of the intense cold. But then he bled like hell. The scar is over an inch wide and runs from knee to ankle. Always put a rubber nipple or tube on that cold container. ---
**Author:** ![bda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@bda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bda)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2000, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584/15 "2000-04-18T20:35:00Z")
although i did a lot of nitrous when i was younger; i dont condone its use. as others have said above . . asphyciation(sp?) is a possibility; and the gas is very cold . . you can freeze lung tissue . . another danger is the high pressure(140psi) quickly entering your lungs. if anyone does this . . please let the can warm up to room temp, use a long tube over the nozzle, DONT shake the can for the initial burst; this raises the gas pressure and dont do it alone. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2000, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584/16 "2000-04-18T20:40:00Z")
I hate to way that writefetus is wrong, but — all I can say is that I’ve actually seen it. Personally, I’ve not experimented with the stuff outside the dentist’s office, but we did have this kid who was clearly unconscious after inhaling whipcream gas. He weighed around 115 lbs. and was 15 years old. * * * I should be sorry if I only entertained them. I sought to make them better. G. F. Handel ---
**Author:** ![Stylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@Stylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stylus)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2000, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584/17 "2000-04-18T20:51:00Z")
We used to be nitrous fiends. Combined with other drugs, nitrous used to be the turbo booster!! I knew this guy once that went into a grocery store with two other people and grabbed a cart to look like they were shopping. They would grab several cans of whipped cream and walk around the store using them, and then putting them back on the shelves (behind cereal boxes, cans of refried beans, etc.). They were tripping to hard to realize someone was following them. Eventually when they tried to leave, the manager stopped them and made them pay for all 53 cans of cream!! ---
**Author:** ![bda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@bda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bda)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2000, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584/18 "2000-04-18T20:57:00Z")
we did the same . . and thats why lots are shrink-wrapped now . . because people complained about no propellant being inside. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2000, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipped-cream-nitrous-oxide/10584/19 "2000-04-18T21:50:00Z")
OK, this one has gotten a little bit into the “how to” stage, so I’m going to close the thread. **Docterdec** , I hope you got the answers you were seeking.