Why Drunk Drivers Survive Crashes

It's been an often quoted adage that a drunk driver is more likely to survive a crash than sober people. Now there's proof this is not just an urban legend.

"Trauma patients who were drunk before they were injured were more likely to survive than sober trauma patients, U.S. researchers have found. Another recent study had a similar finding.
The latest study of 7,985 trauma patients found that 7% of sober patients died compared to 1% of intoxicated patients. All of the patients were of similar age and had similar injuries.

The findings appear in the October issue of the journal American Surgeon.

"This study is not encouraging the use of alcohol," principal investigator Dr. Christian de Virgilio of the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, said in a news release. "It is seeking to further explore earlier studies that had found alcohol may improve the body's response to severe injuries. If alcohol is proven to improve the body's response to traumatic injury, it could lead to treatments that help patients survive and recover more quickly."

It's believed that alcohol may reduce the risk of death by changing the body's chemical response to injury.

A study published in the September issue of the Archives of Surgery looked at more than 38,000 head trauma patients and found that the death rate was 7.7% for those who'd consumed alcohol and 9.7% for those who hadn't had alcohol."

Mike's Hard Lemonade, Tearing Families Apart

A 7-year-old kid spotted drinking Mike's Hard Lemonade (an alcoholic beverage for those of you who don't know) was taken from his parents and temporarily placed in foster care.
Christopher Ratte, says he asked for a lemonade for his 7-year-old son Leo, and was given a Mike's, a drink he claims he'd never heard of before.
Ratte is a professor of classical archaeology at the University of Michigan (shows you the quality of the education there).
Later, a security guard noticed the kid drinking the booze, and reported the incident.
The kid was taken to the hospital, the father was interviewed by the cops and Leo spent a few days in the custody of Child Protective Services before he was allowed to move home.

I don't believe Ratte's story that he thought it was regular lemonade. $7 for a lemonade is exorbitant even by ballpark standards. Plus it's called hard lemonade. Plus this guy works at a college. Like Vincent Vega once said "he shoulda fuckin better known better." I think Ratte bought the lemonade for himself and allowed the kid to have a sip and hold the bottle. It just so happened that an usher saw them at this point. I think he didn't want to admit this because his ignorance defense does sound believable enough and admitting that you gave your kid alcohol isn't exactly the best thing to say to Child Protective Services. I'm also basing my conclusion on this piece of evidence: when tested 90 minutes later Leo's blood showed no traces of alcohol. Even one bottle of Hard Lemonade or beer would stay in a 7-year-old's system for more than 90 minutes.

Either way I don't think Ratte committed a huge crime here and I think almost everyone who got involved from the usher to the stadium physician (who sent Leo to the ER in an ambulance) to the CPS workers all behaved overzealously. But I guess when you see cases of child abuse everyday , you can never be too careful.

Racial Stereotypes Proven By Study

A University of Minnesota study of 10 cities has found that alcohol, especially malt liquor, is more widely available in poor, black neighborhoods.

The study found that poor neighborhoods with high concentrations of African-Americans had significantly greater than average numbers of liquor stores, 40-ounce bottles of malt liquor in coolers, and storefront ads promoting malt liquor.

"It wasn't overly surprising, as I think there's been anecdotal evidence to suggest that," said Rhonda Jones-Webb, the study's principal investigator. "We are one of the first to systematically document that."

Malt liquor is of particular concern, the university researchers said, because of its high alcohol content and the fact that its 40-ounce containers are sold cold for immediate consumption at a low price. The study found the average 40-ounce bottle cost just $1.87, less than a gallon of milk.

"It's cheaper than pot, cheaper than crack," said Horace Small, executive director of the Union of Minority Neighborhoods.

Small said malt liquor sales are a contributing factor to the myriad problems that impoverished communities face. "You're more prone to have a chip on your shoulder when you've got two bottles of that ... in you," he said.

This sure sounds a lot like what Furious was saying in Boyz N the Hood.

How Dana Jacobson Got in Trouble

Here are the first picture of Dana Jacobson at the Mike and Mike Roast. You can see how this behavior eventually led to the comments that got her suspended for a week.




Here's Dana's lame apology and awful new haircut:

John Elway, Drunk Asshole?

From the Rocky Mountain News:

Broncos Hall-of-Famer John Elway lost his thrill at Cherry Creek Grill.
There are conflicting versions of the story, but according to Elway, he and his girlfriend, Paige Green, along with pal Craig Andrisen arrived at the restaurant around 6 p.m. Wednesday and sat at the end of the bar. Throughout the course of the evening the threesome ordered drinks (the number is under dispute) and appetizers

Several hours later, when Elway attempted to order another glass of wine, he was told by the bartender that management was cutting him off. According to the former Broncos quarterback, he asked to speak to the manager.

"I asked her for her card to find out what her name was," Elway told me. "I said to her ‘If that’s your policy (to refuse him another drink), then that’s the way it is but I’m not coming back.’ We had been there for hours, and I appreciated them taking care of me, but we were just sitting there having a discussion. We weren’t even being loud."

Anne Wheeler, the manager on duty, claims that Elway was served seven glasses of wine (a number he disputes) and was cut off when he tried to order an eighth. For the record, Andrisen says Elway was refused a fourth — not eighth — glass of wine and was told that he had to order food if he wanted an additional drink.

"(Elway) got upset and was in my face a little bit," Wheeler said. "He stood up and towered over me and pointed his finger in my face. I apologized, and said I was sorry to hear that he would never come back."

Both Elway and Andrisen deny the alleged intimidation. "I did not stick my finger in the girl’s face or try and intimidate her," Elway said. "It was a matter of discussing things. I said ‘If that’s your policy that’s your policy, but I’m not coming back.’"

Personally I think Elway was angry because when he walked into the bar, the bartender said "why the long face?"

Don't Drink and Drive...But If You Must

A liquor store in Atlanta violated a state ordinance by selling cups of ice. Law allows for ice to be sold only by the bag.

At Ben Hill Package Store you can go to the drive-thru (a liquor store with a drive-thru?) and they'll bring you your booze, plus a cup of ice for an extra 15 cents.

Why? “It’s the American way,” said employee Chris Melton. “These cats, they have a hard day at work, they come to the liquor store, buy a cup of ice…most people. I’m not saying all of them. Before they get home, they’re gonna drink and drive. They’re going to do it the American way and have a drink while they’re driving.”

By the way, Connecticut is the only place I've ever heard of (until now), that refers to liquor stores as package stores. Is anyone else familiar with this terminology? Does this really seem like something we should be euphemizing? It's like calling strip clubs, Gentleman's clubs. A complete misnomer.

A Waste of Beer

Evidently, the big thing to do at the Preakness is to run on top of the urinals with people firing beer cans at you. Seems pretty stupid to me but the video is funny enough. Especially when the dudes fall.

Billy is Not Gay Just Healthy

A fruity cocktail may not only be fun to drink but may count as health food. Adding ethanol -- the type of alcohol found in rum, vodka, tequila and other spirits --boosted the antioxidant nutrients in strawberries and blackberries.