If you thought the only way to get drunk was drinking with a glass, you thought wrong. Here are some weird methods people have used to get their buzz.
Snorting vodka
In order to “intensify” and speed up the alcohol buzz, some young people have taken to snorting it up their nose. At the height of its popularity in 2006, British tabloid The Sun caught Prince Harry snorting shots with friends while on vacation. Two years later Amy Winehouse was seen shocking her closest friends with the same behaviour. The BBC has reported that this fad was on the rise among young teens, and ran an article warning about the negative side effects, which included irreparable damage to the nasal passageways.
Vodka eyeballing
Several newspapers have reports of this phenomenon over the last few years. The trend involves young men and women pouring vodka into their eyes. The fad is rumoured to have started in Las Vegas, where waitresses would take an “eye-shot” for extra tips. YouTube has thousands of videos of people carrying on this practice, which is reported to stimulate a burning sensation. At least one woman, Melissa Fontaine, has done permanent damage to her eye, the Daily Mail reported.
Vodka tamponing
Since 1999, stories have been told of young people inserting vodka-soaked tampons into their orifices, Snopes.com reports. Much like “butt chugging,” this practice relies on the alcohol being absorbed through either the vaginal walls or the anal capillaries. Snopes states that while multiple news agencies have covered the phenomenon, none of them are able to cite a direct source; all simply claim that the fad is on the rise, or refer to vague “reports.” Danielle Crittenden, a Huffington Post blogger, decided to test the theory. She found that it “felt like someone had thrown a lit match in there,” before concluding that the entire process was too painful and inefficient to get her drunk.
Drinking from a shoe
This sole-ful trend started in 1902 at the Everleigh Club, a famous high-class brothel in Chicago, according to Ken Schessler’s book America: An Unusual Tour of Chicago. As the story goes, several ladies were putting on a routine for Prince Henry of Prussia when one of their slippers flew off and knocked over several bottles of champagne. One of the prince’s friends noticed a little had gotten into the shoe and promptly drank it, in order to toast to the “otherworldly godliness” of the women who had lost it. The rest of the men in the party each took a shoe from the lady they were with, and the Prince was toasted.
Baby mice wine
This wine-based beverage contains around 10 baby mice (maximum three days old) that have been drowned in a bottle of rice moonshine and left to ferment. It is made in China, but sold largely in Korea, where it is touted as a health tonic. Cracked.com reports that it shares similar tasting notes with a mid-90’s unleaded supreme blend from ESSO.
