Alcohol and Other Drugs at KU
Happy 21st Birthday!
Lady Astor had it right!
(Image credit: Wikipedia)
"One reason why I don't drink is because I wish to know when I am having a good time."
Celebrate so you'll have many more birthdays!
Everyone does not get drunk on their 21st birthday. Most college students will have a drink on their 21st birthday, but they will not drink to excess. Avoid the traditional drinking games and toxic traditions. There's really no fun in watching someone become so inebriated that they could possibly die.
Have fun and be safe! Pace your consumption and you will avoid negative outcomes, like blackouts and alcohol poisoning.
Risky Birthday Traditions
21 shots for your 21st birthday
Drinking 21 shots of alcohol in one sitting can be life-threatening. It's dangerous and it can kill you!
The average shot is 1.5 ounces and has at least 30% alcohol. An average person weighing 150 pounds who drinks 21 shots of liquor over 4 hours will have a Blood Alcohol Concentration of .42. That is well past legally drunk in Kansas. A BAC of .30 can produce complete unconsciousness, depressed or absent reflexes, subnormal body temperature, incontinence, and impairment of circulation and respiration.
Birthday Crawl
Most students do not celebrate their birthday be visiting (crawling) the bars along Massachusetts Street. Unfortunately, students who do participate in this dangerous practice drink 50% more on their birthdays. Adults do not crawl. If you do visit the bars, eat food at each stop and don't feel compelled to drink at every one. You have many more birthdays to celebrate.
Power Hour
This can be drinking one shot of beer every 60 seconds for one hour, or drinking as much as you possibly can the hour after midnight when you turn 21. Either way, it's not powerful and it is dangerous. One shot of beer every 60 seconds in one hour is the equivalent of 7.5 beers and that is too much!
Blood Alcohol Concentration
- Learn the effects of how much and how fast you drink.
- A blood alcohol content conversion calculator can be found here.
Signs of Alcohol Poisoning
Sobering Up
The only way to become sober is time. Eating, drinking coffee or energizer drinks, sleeping, taking a cold shower – none of these things will help you become sober. For every drink a person consumes, he or she must let an hour pass without taking in any more alcohol before being sober. It is true that drinking water will help with dehydration and dehydration is a major cause of hangovers. Drinking water will not sober you up.
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