# Why will you throw up if you drink a gallon of milk in an hour? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 22, 1999, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919 "1999-11-22T23:34:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TripleSec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d2c977/32.png) [@TripleSec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TripleSec)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 1999, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/1 "1999-11-22T23:34:00Z")
A lot of people seem to think this is a myth, but I’ve actually tried to drink a gallon of milk in an hour (I was a college freshman), and about 3/4 of the way down with about 20 minutes left, I was throwing it all up. I have absolutely no idea why, so I’m just throwing this out there for anyone with some ideas. ---
**Author:** ![metroshane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@metroshane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/metroshane)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 1999, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/2 "1999-11-22T23:39:00Z")
How much volume does your stomach hold, before it’s had time to digest? Maybe you fill your stomach up. I’ll try it with beer tonite. * * * We live in an age that reads to much to be wise, and thinks too much to be beautiful–Oscar Wilde ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 1999, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/3 "1999-11-22T23:46:00Z")
College? And you’re trying to see how much **MILK** you can drink in an hour? That is appalling. Next time mix some Kahlua into it. And some vodka. And follow it with some bourbon. And some cheap wine. Then, my friend, you will have something to throw up. ## Hurling off milk. What has gotten into these kids today? Dr. Fidelius, Charlatan Associate Curator Anomalous Paleontology, Miskatonic University “You cannot reason a man out of a position he did not reach through reason.” ---
**Author:** ![counterattackii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/41988e/32.png) [@counterattackii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/counterattackii)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 1999, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/4 "1999-11-23T00:20:00Z")
Well, not to mention the capacity problem, but your stomach has ACID in it, and a large amount of a base substance (milk, ammonia, baking soda) will cause a chemical reaction, and cause a large amount of gas buildup. You would think you would just burp, but (I’m guessing) the sheer stress on your stomache makes it easier to vomit than belch. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 1999, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/5 "1999-11-23T00:25:00Z")
I’ve had to drink half a gallon of water in an hour a couple of times before getting an ultrasound and it made me feel queasy. I would think a gallon of anything would do it. ---
**Author:** ![counterattackii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/41988e/32.png) [@counterattackii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/counterattackii)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 1999, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/6 "1999-11-23T00:33:00Z")
You’re probably right Cher. but adding in the chemical reaction probably doesn’t help. So I guess you have your answer. Nausea from the amount, and vomit due to the chemicals. Sounds like a reason to me… ---
**Author:** ![LongHrn99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e4f/32.png) [@LongHrn99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LongHrn99)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 1999, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/7 "1999-11-23T00:35:00Z")
I drank nearly a half gallon (or was it a gallon? It’s been too long) of soda at the World of Coke. And while I did not throw up, I wish I had. I was miserable for hours that day, and I don’t want to do anything like that. * * * “There are many sweeping generalizations that are always true” -Space Ghost ---
**Author:** ![LongHrn99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e4f/32.png) [@LongHrn99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LongHrn99)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 1999, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/8 "1999-11-23T00:36:00Z")
AGAIN. That was supposed to be at the end of the last sentence. Damned Simpsons, always making me forget the ending of my… * * * “There are many sweeping generalizations that are always true” -Space Ghost ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 1999, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/9 "1999-11-23T00:37:00Z")
Dr. F–that was good. My frat friends in college had to eat a stick of butter first though, before all the booze. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 1999, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/10 "1999-11-23T00:55:00Z")
Quote: ‘My frat friends in college had to eat a stick of butter first though, before all the booze.’ Oh, well that’s all right then. Yikes! Do you think it would be legal to put my son in cryogenic suspension from about age 16 to 25? (I know. I know. You all are going to say those are the best years, but how much do you really remember?) ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 1999, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/11 "1999-11-23T01:00:00Z")
cher: The stick of butter was to “coat” your stomach. The fats would slow down the absorbtion of the alcohol, allowing you to drink more during the evening (afternoon, morning, whatever). ## In my day we drank olive oil for a similar prophylactic effect. It didn’t work either. Dr. Fidelius, Charlatan Associate Curator Anomalous Paleontology, Miskatonic University “You cannot reason a man out of a position he did not reach through reason.” ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 1999, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/12 "1999-11-23T01:19:00Z")
The UL at my highschool was that if you ate a couple of slices of bread before the party, it would “soak up” the alcohol so you wouldn’t end up chundering. I’ve since figured out that while the above outcome is correct, the mean by which it is effected is different: the food I suppose triggers the closing off of the duodenum so that some digesting can be done, hence the alcohol stays in the stomach (slower absorption) instead of slipping straight into the intestines (one of those consciousness changing things you finally realize at college). ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 1999, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/13 "1999-11-23T05:04:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Yikes! Do you think it would be legal to put my son in cryogenic suspension from about age 16 to 25? > (I know. I know. You all are going to say those are the best years, but how much do you really remember?) Oh, calm down. I’m there and I’m not getting into anything severe. I’m getting into lots of stuff I _shouldn’t_, according to some, but I’m keeping a cool head about it, which is more than a lot of people on both sides of the issue seem to do. Present company excluded. ---
**Author:** ![WIGGUM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WIGGUM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WIGGUM)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 1999, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/14 "1999-11-23T14:43:00Z")
I think dairy products in general have a tendency to make one sick if ingested in exess. I once ate a half-gallon of ice cream in just under a half-hour. Don’t ask me why, but I threw it up almost immediatly upon finishing. The worst part was that it wasn’t completely melted when I had the pleasure of tasting it again and it felt like I was yacking up an umbrela backwards. It was like I was pooping out of my mouth. No really, I had to give it a good wipe afterwards. Forget I ever said that. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 1999, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/15 "1999-11-23T15:35:00Z")
- - - Revolting drink: half milk (2%), half vodka. Don’t bother making an entire gallon of the stuff. - MC ---
**Author:** ![TheDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d6d6ee/32.png) [@TheDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheDude)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 1999, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/16 "1999-11-23T15:54:00Z")
This reminds me of my favorite punishment drink: The Cement Mixer. Have the bartender pour for you in separate glasses a shot of Bailey’s Irish Creme and a shot of lime juice. Have the unlucky recipient put both shots in his mouth and hold it there for a few seconds. Complete curdling. So the key is that milk curdles under any high acid conditions, and this includes your stomach. So you’re left with a stomach full of chum and a pH imbalance. Doesn’t sound fun. TheDude ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 1999, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/17 "1999-11-24T06:15:00Z")
I remember my mum giving me some coca-cola syrup when I was little,and sick. It made me throw up! Was that what they make classic coke from?Or did they just appropriate the name? ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 1999, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/18 "1999-11-24T06:33:00Z")
One drinking challenge we had in college was to drink 3 12-ounce bottles of beer with a 1 oz. shotglass in 20 minutes. (In other words, drink 36 shots of beer in 20 minutes.) We could never do it. The first few went down OK, but subsequent ones made us queasier and queasier. ---
**Author:** ![TheDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d6d6ee/32.png) [@TheDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheDude)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 1999, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/19 "1999-11-23T19:18:00Z")
Actually, this sounds like the Century Club, which I did multiple times in college. The goal is to drink a shot of beer every minute for 100 minutes. While the foam made things a little more challenging, it was definitely doable. TheDude ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 1999, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919/20 "1999-11-23T19:31:00Z")
Orangecakes said: > [@](#): > > I remember my mum giving me some coca-cola syrup when I was little,and sick. It made me throw up! Was that what they make classic coke from?Or did they just appropriate the name? I wonder if your mom actually gave you syrup of ipecac (which is _designed_ to make you throw up) and just told you it was coke syrup to sucker you into going along with it? * * * Live a Lush Life Da Chef [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-you-throw-up-if-you-drink-a-gallon-of-milk-in-an-hour/4919.md?page=2)