From the stupid human tricks department comes this story about a fraternity stunt gone wrong.
A 21-year-old student at Southern Methodist University remained hospitalized in critical condition Monday after chugging water in an off-campus competition with fraternity members.I never knew that drinking too much water could be bad for you.
Braylon Curry, a pledge with Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, drank an unknown amount of water from a gallon container early Saturday morning and was hospitalized hours later after becoming dazed and incoherent, Dallas police said.
Excessive consumption of water can be fatal, causing pulmonary edema, a condition in which water enters the lungs, and hyponatremia, a sodium imbalance brought on by excess fluid consumption.I guess you learn something new every day. However, in retrospect, the idea of a contest to see how much water you can drink does seem a bit silly. Posted by Aubrey at November 18, 2003 08:23 AM | TrackBack
The average person can consume up to 15 liters of water in a 24-hour period, but drinking too much too quickly can swell brain cells and cause head pressure, said Dr. Greg Blomquist, an emergency room doctor at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.
Hmm, I thought the only malady that could result was a distended stomach. Interesting.
But, only one gallon? I've had more water than that in one sitting after a heavy morning shooting baskets in the summer. Odd.
I didn't participate in it, but the drama club in high school used to have "water parties."
Posted by: Kevin White at November 18, 2003 05:51 PMWell, news reports often don't get all the details right. Perhaps the gallon container was refilled or there were more than one of them. Like you, I've had quite a bit of water at one time before, but I wasn't chugging it like they were. I suspect that our bodies wouldn't normally let us drink too much water--someone would have to ignore the body's feedback to do something like this.
Posted by: Aubrey Turner at November 19, 2003 07:39 AM