Old prop bet, can this be done?

[David04]

Last year, someone I know bet that they could drink an entire gallon of milk in half an hour. They tried to do it and lost. That got me and my friends talking, saying that we could do it in an hour, whatever. Nothing else really came of this, but I've been thinking about it recently. I think I could probably get down an entire gallon of 1% milk and keep it down for long enough to win the bet.

Has anyone here ever done this and won? What should I do to prepare? Drink a lot of water/milk the week or so before, and nothing on the day I drink the milk? I'm a pretty big guy, so maybe that will help.

Any tips for doing this? Or am I wasting my time?

Also, do you think it matters whether or not I drink from a cup or straight from the gallon(from a psychological standpoint)

Any other technicalities I can use to make this easier on myself(drink from a cup, 1% or skim milk, etc.)

One more thought-would it be better to drink as much as possible in the first 10-15 minutes and then wait to digest a little? Or drink it all as fast as I can? Or pace myself, something like 1 liter every 15 minutes or so?

[Larimani]

What's wrong with you??

[RandomGuy]

Half hour? No way. It can't be done. You will puke. A few people have done it in an hour. But most fail.

You'll definitely want skim milk if you try it.

See this site (http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=797576) for more tips.

[David04]

I am going to do it in an hour. The guy I know tried to do it in half an hour.

Thanks for the link.

[bholdr]

you have as good of a chance at getting it done in half an hour as in an hour, IMO. i've seen many people try, all have failed.

the correct strategy will help a ton in your effort, here it is:

The closest i have ever seen someone come to having the whole gallon in his stomach at the one hour mark (no puking allowed) was my buddy ross. he postulated that the reason it's hard to accomplish was twofold:

A: the body just doesn't like milk
B: the milk is usually served cold. no good.

so... he took a gallon of room-temp milk, and as soon as the clock started, he pounded a quart. even this was enough to make him queasy. he didn't drink another drop for 58 minutes. at the 8 minute mark, he pounded the rest. he actually got it down, but it came back up ay 59:35... ouch. everyone else that i've seen try it has sipped slowly and consistantly over the hour. few even made it to half a gallon. i am convinced that ross' stratgey is the only way to go.

GL, though i'd be betting against you. i laid ross 5-2 that he couldn't do it... he thought that was a fantastic bet, as i've seen him pound two 40s with only one breath allowed between chugs, i've seen him drink 148oz of beer in 43 minutes (my best was 76), so he had reason to think he could do it, but... an easy $20 and good entertainment as the milk volcano came out his nose...

[jumpthru]

This is more or less impossible at an hour--not to mention half hour. The people I have seen try it all puked.

The reason I hear its impossible, is becasue milk expands in your stomach, so it takes up more space. The only real way to do it I hear, is to condition your stomach by trying to stretch it out, by eating a lot...not so sure though.

[Loci]

Not true-
I drink that much all the time. The trick is really to not think about it. You have to pace yourself, eat something first, and just not think about it.
The real trick is slamming a two liter of diet coke in under 60 seconds. (uggggggghhh)
God, I love proposition betting.
Eric

[JKratzer]

[ QUOTE ]
The reason I hear its impossible, is becasue milk expands in your stomach, so it takes up more space.

[/ QUOTE ]

This may or may not be true. The real limiting factor is the amount of lactose contained in milk. Most people can't handle very much lactose, especially once the pass their teenage years.

I know one person who did this successfully, but he was allowed to eat chocolate chip cookies while he drank it (one-hour).

JKratzer

[pinebull]

It really depends on what exactly the bet is. I accepted this bet a few years ago, I had to drink one gallon of milk and keep it down for one hour. I was able to drink the whole gallon - no real tips there, just sort of have to pound through it, for what it's worth I started off fast (first quart in about 5 minutes) because I figured it would get more difficult the more I drank. But it all came back up about 5 minutes after I finished drinking. This bet isn't all that uncommon, and I expect if you search a bit you'll find it is likely physically impossible - something about the volume or amount of pressure it puts on your stomach. Oh yeah, and if you do try it, you're gonna feel real bad for a few hours afterwards....

[pzhon]

This looks doable, though dangerous and not pleasant.

Where do you think the liquid will go? Keep in mind that the volume of your blood supply is about a gallon. You can't store an extra gallon there.

I think it would be a big help to start out dehydrated. However, I think life-threatening hyponatremia (blood dilution) (http://hhp.ufl.edu/keepingfit/ARTICLE/toomuchwater.htm) is still a possible result, even if you prepare yourself by not drinking earlier and consume something salty as you drink. Drinking too much water can cause disorientation, convulsions, coma, death, or even severe diarrhea.

The key might be your kidneys. You may want to get your kidney function checked ahead of time (and afterwards), and make sure you are not taking any of the common medicines (like most common painkillers) that interfere with your kidneys. Under normal circumstances, you can survive on only 20% percent renal efficiency, but if you are going to drink a gallon in an hour you want your kidneys to be at 100%. I'm not sure how much water you can excrete this way, but my guess is that you can get rid of about a half-gallon this way.

Caffeine and alcohol (diuretics) encourage urine production. It might be easier to drink a gallon if you eat something with caffeine in it ahead of time, or if you make it a gallon of caffeinated iced tea instead of milk. You might want to practice with smaller quantities to see how rapidly you can convert drinks to urine.

By the way, you should also get used to drinking milk ahead of time.

[David04]

[ QUOTE ]
Drinking too much water can cause disorientation, convulsions, coma, death, or even severe diarrhea.

[/ QUOTE ]

I found this to be extremely funny.


Thanks for all the advice though. I will probably try to drink a lot of water for a week or so, see if I can get a gallon down, then try it with milk. If I can get a gallon of milk down, I will make a bet with my friends.

[Luv2DriveTT]

I used to drink 1/2 gallon of milk with a bag of pretzels EVERY DAY after school when I was a kid. No sweat...

TT /images/graemlins/club.gif

[XChamp]

Sure it's possible. I've seen it done. It is not that rare for people to finish 7/8ths of the gallon and be unable to continue. I've seen 100lb girls finish 7/8ths of a gallon. I have never seen or heard of someone doing it without practice, however.

The stuff about dying or severly hurting yourself because of 1 gallon of milk is not very believable, unless pzhon shows some links about it. A gallon of liquid is not that much. The people who run into trouble drinking too much water are the marathoners who plod through in 6+ hours. They drink constantly (gallons of water). They drink so much they actually end up weighing significantly more at the end of the marathon than at the beginning.

If you start out a little dehydrated and take a salt tablet after you've put some milk down I do not see how you could be hurt by this.

Of course, I am not basing this on a medical degree (I have none), just a great deal of experience being around endurance athletes (who drink water CONSTANTLY) and very heavy binge drinkers.

[other1]

People have died from stunts like this drinking water. Here is a link to a SF Gate article (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/03/04/HAZING.TMP)

Basically, this is a really stupid bet that will make you sick at best and possibly much worse. Find something else to gamble on..

[XChamp]

[ QUOTE ]
It was the night of Feb. 2, and for five hours the 21-year-old Pleasant Hill man and a friend pledging the Chico fraternity were allegedly humiliated and doused with gallons of cold water in the basement while being blasted with ice-cold air from giant fans.


They were made to do calisthenics while standing on one foot atop a bench, prosecutors said. Denied the opportunity to use the bathroom, they had to request permission to wet themselves.


Through it all, prosecutors said, fraternity members forced Carrington and his friend to drink gallon after gallon of water until Carrington collapsed as hypothermia set in and his brain stem swelled from the water intoxication that killed him

[/ QUOTE ]


[ QUOTE ]
The two young men passed a 5-gallon jug back and forth, drinking and performing push-ups each time they incorrectly answered trivia questions posed by Chi Tau members.


Over and over the fraternity members told them "to take one for the homies," Ramsey said, saying it was their cue to pour the jug of water over their already dripping wet bodies.


The jug was filled five times that night, Ramsey said.

[/ QUOTE ]


You are comparing voluntarily drinking one gallon of milk to the above torture?

[pzhon]

[ QUOTE ]

The stuff about dying or severly hurting yourself because of 1 gallon of milk is not very believable, unless pzhon shows some links about it. A gallon of liquid is not that much. The people who run into trouble drinking too much water are the marathoners who plod through in 6+ hours. They drink constantly (gallons of water). They drink so much they actually end up weighing significantly more at the end of the marathon than at the beginning.

[/ QUOTE ]
I'm not a medical doctor, and it could be that there is no serious risk of injury through overhydration, but the amount the of water/sports drink consumed by runners who developed hyponatremia was lower. See this article (http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/041405HB.shtml) from the New York Times.

"The runners who developed the problem tended to be slower, taking more than four hours to finish the course. That gave them plenty of time to drink copious amounts of liquid. And drink they did, an average of three liters [0.79 gallons], or about 13 cups of water or of a sports drink, so much that they actually gained weight during the race. "

Runners also lose sodium through sweat. It could be that without losing sodium through sweat, your body can handle the extra liquid safely. I think it is still worth worrying about it.

Correction: It was a false alarm on the severe diarrhea. That causes hyponatremia rather than the reverse.

[XChamp]

I have been a long distance runner for 8 years. I am well experienced with running distances longer than 10 miles. I have consumed massive amounts of liquids on days where it is very hot and I plan on running very far. Many of my friends have done this as well. No one has ever had a problem.

Your quote is taken out of context. By that I mean, the runners just had low sodium levels that drank on average three liters. They were not in danger of dying, as your post implies. It is never said how much the ones drank who were actually in danger (my guess is far more than 3 liters).

Also, the article fails to mention a key point, and that is how much the runners drank before the race. Go to any marathon and watch in awe as people drink gallons before the race; they drink so much they have to urinate every 10-15 minutes. They urinate so frequently that it is not uncommon at all to see people literally taking a piss while they are on the starting line, or in neighboring yards, causing much community irritation. Then they race, sweat a great deal, and then continue to drink almost a gallon more. This is when 1/10,000 people will get into trouble.

Many times I have finished a run on a hot day and consumed, in under 10 minutes, at least 3/4ths of a gallon of water and so have my friends. I have never had any problems.

Also, I have attended an annual Milk Challenge for 4 years now and have witnessed many people attempt to drink a gallon of milk in under an hour. Never has anyone had a problem. Never has anyone had a problem in the years before I came. Never has anyone even heard of someone having a problem.

This is what I am basing my opinion on. I do not think 1 gallon of milk could possibly hurt someone, unless they were drinking massive amounts of water before hand, or already had extremely low electrolyte levels. Will you feel sick to your stomach? Probably. Will you puke? I give it a 50% chance. Will it be a waste of a food when people all over the world at starving? Most certainly. Will it kill you or do lasting harm? I really, really, don't think so.

(edit: added some stuff to 3rd paragraph)

[pzhon]

[ QUOTE ]
Your quote is taken out of context. By that I mean, the runners just had low sodium levels that drank on average three liters. They were not in danger of dying, as your post implies.

[/ QUOTE ]
I didn't imply they were all in danger of dying. Only 3 of those 62 with hyponatremia were reported to have critical hyponatremia, severe enough to cause life-threatening brain swelling.

[ QUOTE ]
Also, the article fails to mention a key point, and that is how much the runners drank before the race. Go to any marathon and watch in awe as people drink gallons before the race;

[/ QUOTE ]
That water loading may be a factor is a good point, but I think you are grossly exaggerating the amount that individuals drink. I doubt the people you are remembering were drinking anything close to 2 gallons. That is over 16 pounds of water, as much as 22 cans of soda.

[ QUOTE ]
This is when 1/10,000 people will get into trouble.

[/ QUOTE ]
Or 13 percent of the 488 sampled. 3/488 were in danger of dying. One of the runners in that marathon (who was not in the study) died of hyponatremia.

I'm glad that you haven't had any problems from overhydration. I've gotten sick (nausea, dizziness, and disorientation) after forcing myself to drink less than a half-gallon before trying to exercise on a humid Florida summer day. I was too sick to go outside, and had to sit down and wait for the liquid to pass through my system.

Here is advice from another article (http://www.startribune.com/stories/389/5369636-2.html)
<ul type="square">So how can you tell how much fluid you need during exercise? The best approach is to weigh yourself before and after exercise, said Dr. Arthur Siegel, chief of internal medicine at Harvard's McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass...

If you gain 3 percent of body weight, that is "virtually diagnostic of potentially life-threatening hyponatremia," Siegel said. [/list]
Maybe "potentially life-threatening" doesn't sound serious to you. It does to me, particularly in comparison with the rewards of winning a bar bet.

[vox]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Also, the article fails to mention a key point, and that is how much the runners drank before the race. Go to any marathon and watch in awe as people drink gallons before the race;

[/ QUOTE ]
That water loading may be a factor is a good point, but I think you are grossly exaggerating the amount that individuals drink. I doubt the people you are remembering were drinking anything close to 2 gallons. That is over 16 pounds of water, as much as 22 cans of soda.

[/ QUOTE ]

In high school, I played football. After particularly demanding practices, I would drink a cold gallon of water in the time it took to walk from field to locker room, maybe 2-3 minutes. Then I would drink a gallon of Gatorade on the way home.

Thinking back, it seems like a lot of fluids, but at the time it felt like I needed to do it to survive.

As for milk, I wouldn't drink a cup on my own accord. Eggnog, however...

[Wired Jokers]

Try this prop bet (a tad bit safer than the milk bet):

Wager someone that they cannot eat one piece of regular Wonderbread in 1 minute. No liquids or any other substance allowed. Just man v. bread.

And get ready to laugh your ass off.

[David04]

[ QUOTE ]
Wager someone that they cannot eat one piece of regular Wonderbread in 1 minute. No liquids or any other substance allowed. Just man v. bread.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you serious? One piece of Wonderbread in 60 seconds? That would be very easy(for me at least)

[jumpthru]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Wager someone that they cannot eat one piece of regular Wonderbread in 1 minute. No liquids or any other substance allowed. Just man v. bread.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you serious? One piece of Wonderbread in 60 seconds? That would be very easy(for me at least)

[/ QUOTE ]

I have a feeling its harder than it sounds, although I bet I could do it.

My favsorite prop bet is that you cant eat 6 saltines in under 60 seconds with no liquid. They must be completely swallowed when the timer hits 60 seconds. 99% of people cant do it.

Its a great bet cause if the person doesn't say "Thats easy, I can do that" then they usally say "Well, its probably impossible, why dont you take that bet".

And then I do take the bet, cause I have practiced myself to be able to do it. Its a win-win situation.

--Nate