Teen has stomach removed after drinking liquid nitrogen cocktail
A TEENAGER nearly died and had her stomach removed in hospital after drinking a cocktail containing liquid nitrogen.
Gaby Scanlon, from Heysham in the UK, drank the cocktail during a night out celebrating her 18th birthday in Lancaster last Thursday, the Lancaster Guardian reported.
She first felt breathless, then developed severe stomach pain and was taken to Lancaster Royal Infirmary, where doctors diagnosed a perforated stomach.
Ms Scanlon was rushed to surgery where her stomach was removed in order to save her life.
On Monday she was reported to be in a serious but stable condition.
A Lancashire police spokesman told the Guardian their investigation was still in its early stages and they were interviewing witnesses.
"The premises involved have fully cooperated with all agencies and have suspended drinks involving liquid nitrogen," they said.
The local BBC reported that the venue, Oscar's wine bar, sent their "heartfelt best wishes" to Ms Scanlon and her family "at this distressing time".
The Daily Mail reported that Oscar's had recently promoted a cocktail called the "Pornstar Martini", containing liquid nitrogen and champagne, for nine pounds ($14).
Ms Scanlon's stepfather, Ian Henshall, told the Daily Mail the family were hoping for a quick recovery. "We are just concentrating on her getting better," he said.
Ms Scanlon was apparently well enough to post on Twitter on Sunday, complaining that people were joking about her nearly dying, the Mail reported.
A local councillor, Paul Aitchison, told the Press Association he had also tried a liquid nitrogen drink at the bar called a "Nitro Jagermeister" - but without any ill effects.
Local director of public health Dr John Aston said Ms Scanlon was the victim of an "irresponsible alcohol industry that's now competing on gimmicks."
"(Bartenders) should not be playing chemistry," he said, calling for closer regulation of the drinks industry.
Several trendy bars in Australia have recently jumped on the liquid nitrogen cocktail trend, including The Roosevelt and The Zeta Bar in Sydney. The latter's website boasts that "guests can expect the unexpected with deconstructed vintage classics and drinks with edible components and liquid nitrogen infusions."
Nitrogen takes liquid form at 196 degrees below zero Centigrade. Thanks to the 'Liedenfrost Effect', people will survive brief contact with liquid nitrogen unscathed. But longer exposures will cause 'cryogenic burns' and kill unprotected flesh in the same way as frostbite.
Drinking liquid nitrogen is a party trick with occasionally devastating consequences, as the gas rapidly warms and expands in the stomach, causing it to burst. Drops of liquid nitrogen can also burn away the lining of the stomach.
People who have had their stomach removed can continue to live a normal life and eat and drink regular food, but they can only eat smaller portions and need to take vitamin supplements for nourishment.
I am aware that initially your warmth will protect you from liquid nitrogen as it evaporates it without touching you. It sounds like a simple principle involving the specific heat and latent heat of vaporisation of nitrogen. However if sufficient quantities are available you won't have enough heat to cause it to evaporate.
Another problem is that when it gets into the warmer stomach, presumably it will turn into its gaseous form which will expand potentially causing perforation, which is what occurred here.
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From what I understand the liquid nitrogen is used largely for comestic purposes, since it chills the glass and creates a "smoke" effect. Which makes the whole thing even more ridiculous since you're effectively paying money (£9...really. I could buy enough drinks for an entire night on that in the right pub) for something that may kill you and serves no purpose other than to look pretty.
Darwin (and Liquid Nitrogen) 1 - 0 Morons.
"It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!"
OneEyedTeddyMcGrew wrote:From what I understand the liquid nitrogen is used largely for comestic purposes, since it chills the glass and creates a "smoke" effect. Which makes the whole thing even more ridiculous since you're effectively paying money (£9...really. I could buy enough drinks for an entire night on that in the right pub) for something that may kill you and serves no purpose other than to look pretty.
Darwin (and Liquid Nitrogen) 1 - 0 Morons.
Expecting a food item, consumed in moderation, purchased from a licensed and inspected vendor in a first world country, to not fucking kill you does not make you a moron. Neither does wasting money on frivolous entertainment on your eighteenth birthday. Go fuck yourself.
The idea in adding LN2 is that it makes the drink very cold, bubbly, and smoky. However, like a flaming drink, you wait for it to stop and for the LN2 to evaporate completely before you drink it, not just gulp it down when it is put in front of you. If you wait for it to finish, it is safe. If not, well... OP.
LN2 isn't that dangerous, but it isn't something I'd let around drunk people or bartenders who may not realize that it isn't just bubbling really cold water that makes mist over it in moist areas. Even flaming shots are less dangerous as most people understand that "fire... BAD! Don't stick in face!" in the lizard part of their brain.
If they want the effect, dry ice is practically as good anyway and is alot less dangerous if someone comes in contact with it.
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Yeah I was gonna say, some dry ice in a punchbowl has always made it look pretty neat and stay quite frosty. Don't really need anything colder that is not easily distinguishable from the beverage it was blended with...
Feil wrote:Expecting a food item, consumed in moderation, purchased from a licensed and inspected vendor in a first world country, to not fucking kill you does not make you a moron. Neither does wasting money on frivolous entertainment on your eighteenth birthday. Go fuck yourself.
I'm sorry, when exactly did liquid nitrogen become a food item? I grant that it does sometimes serves a culinary purpose (for example: in making ultra-smooth ice cream) but if you can point to another food item with no nutritional value that causes instant cold-burns and is a potential asphyxiant even WITHOUT ingesting it, please enlighten me on it.
The frivolous entertainment bit is a completely different matter. Yes, people are probably going to do stuff on their eighteenth birthday that they wouldn't normally do. I don't begrudge them that, but if you can't see the difference between "frivolous entertainment" and "putting your life at risk in an entirely avoidable manner" then you're quite frankly beyond help. Did Mummy have to tell you to not stick your hand in open fires as well?
"It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!"
Who said it had to be an "either/or" scenario? I can happily assign equal blame to both the bar for being stupid enough to sell it and the patron for being stupid enough to drink it. Again, if you don't realise that liquid nitrogen is not something to be fucked with (never mind ingested) then you're a moron. Especially when there are other, safer ways to achieve the same cosmetic effect, like dry ice.
"It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!"
I'm sure that makes you feel very smart, but if you're at a bar and they are selling anything with whatever outrageous claims or gimmicks, I think its fair to imagine that buying it will not result in your death. Are you aware of concepts like food safety and consumer protection?
Just saying 'dumb people deserve to die' doesn't actually address why these people thought selling something so apparently dangerous was smart, or why it was even legal, or why they still hold their licence.
OneEyedTeddyMcGrew wrote:Who said it had to be an "either/or" scenario? I can happily assign equal blame to both the bar for being stupid enough to sell it and the patron for being stupid enough to drink it. Again, if you don't realise that liquid nitrogen is not something to be fucked with (never mind ingested) then you're a moron. Especially when there are other, safer ways to achieve the same cosmetic effect, like dry ice.
When your crosseyed drunk, which I expect most people are on their first drinking age birthday you tend to do stupid things. I've seen people so drunk that they tried to drink a flaming shoot without blowing it out first because they figured they could down it before the fire hurt them. Is that stupid? Yes. Did it seem rational to them at the time at the time? Sure did. Drinking something that doesn't even have the instinctive THIS CAN HURT YOU factor of fire is really low on the scale of dumb things to do while drunk.
Jub wrote:When your crosseyed drunk, which I expect most people are on their first drinking age birthday you tend to do stupid things. I've seen people so drunk that they tried to drink a flaming shoot without blowing it out first because they figured they could down it before the fire hurt them. Is that stupid? Yes. Did it seem rational to them at the time at the time? Sure did. Drinking something that doesn't even have the instinctive THIS CAN HURT YOU factor of fire is really low on the scale of dumb things to do while drunk.
I live in a university town. I know damn well how stupid drunk 18-20-somethings can get. This disproves my assertion that they're morons...how exactly?
"It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!"
Jub wrote:When your crosseyed drunk, which I expect most people are on their first drinking age birthday you tend to do stupid things. I've seen people so drunk that they tried to drink a flaming shoot without blowing it out first because they figured they could down it before the fire hurt them. Is that stupid? Yes. Did it seem rational to them at the time at the time? Sure did. Drinking something that doesn't even have the instinctive THIS CAN HURT YOU factor of fire is really low on the scale of dumb things to do while drunk.
I live in a university town. I know damn well how stupid drunk 18-20-somethings can get. This disproves my assertion that they're morons...how exactly?
I'm sure you're never anything less than smart and rational yourself then, right? You've never done anything even slightly risky, never j-walked, never driven over the speed limit? These are things with more obvious danger than having one last drink at the club and I'd be willing to bet that you've done these things and more without even thinking about it.
OneEyedTeddyMcGrew wrote:I'm sorry, when exactly did liquid nitrogen become a food item? I grant that it does sometimes serves a culinary purpose (for example: in making ultra-smooth ice cream) but if you can point to another food item with no nutritional value that causes instant cold-burns and is a potential asphyxiant even WITHOUT ingesting it, please enlighten me on it.
The frivolous entertainment bit is a completely different matter. Yes, people are probably going to do stuff on their eighteenth birthday that they wouldn't normally do. I don't begrudge them that, but if you can't see the difference between "frivolous entertainment" and "putting your life at risk in an entirely avoidable manner" then you're quite frankly beyond help. Did Mummy have to tell you to not stick your hand in open fires as well?
The LN2 isn't the food item; it is completely gone before the person is supposed to drink the cocktail. LN2 isn't even miscible with aqueous solutions (its a non-polar liquid), so it collects at the top of the glass when you pour it in.
What they often do is make a cocktail and then add a little bit of LN2 to it, which (due to a tiny heat capacity and very low temperature) immediate begins to rapidly evaporate, which chills the drink and also makes it' very bubbly and can cause a fog above the drink by condensation of moisture. It's a neat effect, which is why they do it, but LN2 will take a finite amount of time to evaporate, so you have to wait until it completely is gone before you drink it. The problem arises when you have a drunk person who probably doesn't known what they are looking at just gulps it down the moment it is set in front of them. In that way, it's no different or more dangerous than a flaming shot; something by the way I've have known people to do wrong and end up setting the bar in front of him on fire.
Dry ice is the better option due to being CONSIDERABLY safer to drunk people, but I suppose it doesn't have the same edge to it.
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Jub wrote:I'm sure you're never anything less than smart and rational yourself then, right? You've never done anything even slightly risky, never j-walked, never driven over the speed limit? These are things with more obvious danger than having one last drink at the club and I'd be willing to bet that you've done these things and more without even thinking about it.
Well, firstly I don't drive, but that's beside the point. Have I done some stupid shit after a few drinks that I would reconsider while sober? Absolutely yes. I never claimed otherwise. I've even had one last drink for the road on occasions, but I'm pretty sure that all the one last drinks I've had didn't have LIQUID FUCKING NITROGEN in them. That's the fundamental difference right there. There are levels of stupidity, and while I've hit some levels I can honestly say that I've never reached that height of stratospheric idiocy.
What they often do is make a cocktail and then add a little bit of LN2 to it, which (due to a tiny heat capacity and very low temperature) immediate begins to rapidly evaporate, which chills the drink and also makes it' very bubbly and can cause a fog above the drink by condensation of moisture. It's a neat effect, which is why they do it, but LN2 will take a non-finite amount of time to evaporate, so you have to wait until it completely is gone before you drink it. The problem arises when you have a drunk person who probably doesn't known what they are looking at just gulps it down the moment it is set in front of them. In that way, it's no different or more dangerous than a flaming shot; something by the way I've have known people to do wrong and end up setting the bar in front of him on fire.
Okay. This makes more sense. So the likely scenario is that the good lady in question necked the drink before the liquid nitrogen had evaporated? I'm still not seeing why she isn't a moron even allowing for any impairments of judgement due to drunkeness.
"It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!"
Jub wrote:I'm sure you're never anything less than smart and rational yourself then, right? You've never done anything even slightly risky, never j-walked, never driven over the speed limit? These are things with more obvious danger than having one last drink at the club and I'd be willing to bet that you've done these things and more without even thinking about it.
Well, firstly I don't drive, but that's beside the point. Have I done some stupid shit after a few drinks that I would reconsider while sober? Absolutely yes. I never claimed otherwise. I've even had one last drink for the road on occasions, but I'm pretty sure that all the one last drinks I've had didn't have LIQUID FUCKING NITROGEN in them. That's the fundamental difference right there. There are levels of stupidity, and while I've hit some levels I can honestly say that I've never reached that height of stratospheric idiocy.
Congratulations, you've done things more dangerous and stupid than what this girl did. Give yourself no prize and go stand over in the corner of shame.
You do realize that many people have enjoyed these drinks and not died. This, along with the fact that it's being served with no warnings, leads people to assume they're risk free. Also, you expect a drunken 18 year old to know the hazards of liquid nitrogen when most sober adults wouldn't know them. Fuck off.
OneEyedTeddyMcGrew wrote:Okay. This makes more sense. So the likely scenario is that the good lady in question necked the drink before the liquid nitrogen had evaporated? I'm still not seeing why she isn't a moron even allowing for any impairments of judgement due to drunkeness.
Probably she just grabbed the drink and downed it while there was still LN2 there, yeah. What I'm guessing is that she was drunk and also probably didn't know what it could do. After all, even if it wasn't smoking from condensation, liquid nitrogen looks just like really bubbly water. It doesn't LOOK dangerous at all. I could easily see someone trying to drink it if they weren't paying attention and the bartender didn't warn her. That's the thing that gets me; the bar has NO business serving those drinks without giving the people who order them a firm warning to wait for the LN2 to boil off before they go at it. So not necessarily stupid, but very likely not adequately warned and ignorant. I KNOW what LN2 can do, but I work with the stuff because we use it to help cool detectors on some of our instruments. I doubt a random 18 year old knows that stuff.
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Here's a better question: Why the fuck is liquid nitrogen even served? It is not edible, it is highly dangerous to serve as a drinkable beverage (even if you have to consume it within the second it is served) and it has no benefit that cannot be archived with far less dangerous means.
So, is there a reason why at least the local food boards or whatever regulation agencies shouldn't go out and say "knock this shit off?"
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OneEyedTeddyMcGrew wrote:Okay. This makes more sense. So the likely scenario is that the good lady in question necked the drink before the liquid nitrogen had evaporated? I'm still not seeing why she isn't a moron even allowing for any impairments of judgement due to drunkeness.
Because it's part of the bar's job to manage this sort of risk? If you order a fish dish at a Japanese restaurant, don't you agree that it's the restaurant's fault if they don't warn you that the one called "fugu sashimi" is potentially deadly?
Zixinus wrote:Here's a better question: Why the fuck is liquid nitrogen even served? It is not edible, it is highly dangerous to serve as a drinkable beverage (even if you have to consume it within the second it is served) and it has no benefit that cannot be archived with far less dangerous means.
So, is there a reason why at least the local food boards or whatever regulation agencies shouldn't go out and say "knock this shit off?"
Liquid nitrogen is added to provide an aesthetic effect. I'm not sure why you're asking, it's been mentioned several times in this thread already. As for the danger: were you aware that the humble toothpick has a body count in the tens of thousands? It too is inedible, and can be replaced without much difficulty. What would regulation banning the toothpick even look like? Are you going to ban all inedible garnishes? Do you actually have a fundamental problem with the concept of avoidable dangers, or is this merely a salient case for you to attack? How can you make that case without arguing against the recreational consumption of alcohol in general?
Zixinus wrote:Here's a better question: Why the fuck is liquid nitrogen even served? It is not edible, it is highly dangerous to serve as a drinkable beverage (even if you have to consume it within the second it is served) and it has no benefit that cannot be archived with far less dangerous means.
So, is there a reason why at least the local food boards or whatever regulation agencies shouldn't go out and say "knock this shit off?"
As noted, there are a number of drinks and dishes served to the customer while on fire. The logic is the same- it looks glorious and affects the experience. Something has to go very badly wrong for anyone to get hurt.
A family member of mine who does a lot of work in the bar industry weighed in with his informed opinion:
We use liquid nitrogen a lot in cocktail production, especially at the venue where I work. We use it to chill the glassware, and also instantly chill the liquid of cocktail using small amounts. A few problems have occurred at the bar which have led to this unfortunate instance. Firstly, the bartender has used way to much of the stuff, if it's perforated her stomach, it means enough of the stuff has survived as a liquid to get all the way down her throat and into her stomach cavity. Liquid nitrogen will immediately turn back into a gas if it is in contact with something warmer than it, which is generally everything. The fact she got so much into her stomach is gross negligence on the bars behalf. Secondly, in Australia, you need a license to work with liquid nitrogen, and this license also depends upon whether you have a food license. It is used widely in cookery and culinary techniques. There are stops in place to stop just any bar using it. Thirdly, they don't explain what grade the nitrogen is, it can be used from everything from making sorbet to making steel so I would be interested to see what they were using and how pure it was. Regardless, I feel the fault lies with both parties, more so the bar. The bartender should have informed the poor girl not to quaff it while the drink is still bubbling, which should only happen for a few seconds. She must have literally, picked up the cocktail and drank it in one go for this to have happened. It's like boiling water in a way, and just as dangerous, yet we use boiling water every day because we are clever human beings and have been conditioned to know not to abuse it. Unfortunately the same can't be said for this ingredient.
So, given this and the stuff that's come up in this thread I concede that the bar is more to blame for negligence in handling the liquid nitrogen than the girl is for seemingly not understanding the dangers associated with the substance.
"It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!"
I don't think the grade of liquid nitrogen matters. The difference in grades is very slight, like the different between Grade B (which this probably was) and Grade C is that the first is 99.99% pure and the second is 99.995% pure. LN2 is dangerous on contact regardless of grade if you ingest it, simply because the volume different between liquid and gaseous nitrogen. The ratio is 1 to about 700. Taking a mL of LN2 and suddenly finding it expand to 0.7L in an instant is going to ruin anyone's day without worrying about trace hydrocarbon content.
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"Quetzalcoatl, plumed serpent of the Aztecs... you are a pussy." - Stephen Colbert
"Really, I'm jealous of how much smarter than me he is. I'm not an expert on anything and he's an expert on things he knows nothing about." - Me, concerning a bullshitter
I've drunk a lot of potentially unhealthy/killing stuff in my life. Absinthe comes to mind.
Guess that makes me a moron because I trusted the people who served it to me not to screw it up.
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