Submitted by
Lindsey,
SUNY Geneseo
I put these facts on a folded piece of paper (like a horizontal
birthday card) for a fun interactive bulletin board.
Hope the facts are helpful 
Alcohol myths: True or False?
Can drinking make you warmer?
FALSE. A swig of alcohol might initially make you feel
warmer, but drinking any alcoholic beverage actually
lowers your core body temperature. It sends blood to
your skin, which will make you feel warm and flushed,
but causes you to lose body heat. You could suffer from
hypothermia and not even feel it. Alcohol can also
cause dehydration and impair your judgment, which
can make matters even worse.
Do men have a higher tolerance
for alcohol than women?
TRUE. Due to physiological differences, a woman will
absorb up to 30 percent more alcohol into her
bloodstream than a man of the same height and weight
drinking the same amount of alcohol. Compared to
men, women tend to have a higher percentage of body
fat, which does not absorb alcohol, and a lower
percentage of water, which does -- resulting in a greater
concentration of alcohol in the blood. Men also have a
greater quantity of an enzyme in their stomachs that
breaks down alcohol before it enters the bloodstream.
A beer flood in 1814 killed 9
people.
TRUE. On Oct. 17, 1814, a ruptured tank at the Meux
and Company Brewery in London unleashed over
323,000 imperial gallons of beer when one vat gave
way, causing others to succumb. It flooded the streets
knocked down walls, flooded basements, and
demolished 2 houses and a pub.
Eight people drowned. The ninth died of alcohol
poisoning the next day.
Sucking on a penny or putting it
under your tongue will help you
pass a Breathalyzer test if you've
been drinking.
FALSE. Whoever came up with this
idea either had a very weak grasp
of science or was playing a joke on
someone. There is no truth to the
rumor that the copper in a penny
will somehow affect the results of
a Breathalyzer test. It just doesn't
make any “cents…”
Taking a Cold shower, drinking
coffee or going for a run will sober
you up faster.
FALSE. There are no shortcuts to
sobriety. No amount of black coffee,
cold showers, exercise, or water will
speed up the process. Your body
processes alcohol at a constant rate of
approximately .015 percent of blood
alcohol content per hour, regardless of
gender, weight, height, age, etc.
(approximately 1 drink per hour).
Only time will sober you up.
Beer does not have as much
alcohol as hard liquor.
FALSE. A 12-ounce bottle of beer
has the same amount of alcohol as
a standard shot of 80-proof liquor
(either straight or in a mixed drink)
or 5 ounces of wine.
Beer Before Liquor,
you’ll get sicker.
Liquor before beer,
you’re in the clear.
FALSE. If this were true, no one would ever
have a bad morning after. The fact is, it
doesn't matter what type of liquor you
drink, the percentage of alcohol in your
blood, or your blood alcohol content (BAC),
is the real factor in how drunk you get. A
single serving of beer or wine and a shot of
liquor all contain the same amount of
alcohol. Too much of any combination will
make you sick.
Alcohol kills brain cells.
FALSE. During the temperance movement,
it was often said that alcohol could kill
brain cells. Throughout the decades, this
myth has persisted, but scientific research
has shown that the moderate consumption
of alcohol is associated with better
cognitive skills and memory than
abstaining from alcohol. In other words,
moderate drinking actually improves
thinking, reasoning and memory.
People that don’t drink are not
totally “alcohol free”.
TRUE. Every person produces
alcohol normally in the body 24
hours each and every day from
birth until death. Therefore, we
always have alcohol in our bodies.
Girly drinks, or diet drinks don’t
actually get you drunk.
FALSE. A study done by Chris
Rayner, M.C. from the Royal
Adelaide Hospital in Australia
showed that diet drinks could
actually get you more drunk. This is
due to the lack of calories in the
drink, which will cause it to empty
into your stomach faster, thus
getting you drunk faster.
Champagne makes you more
drunk.
TRUE. Champagne bubbles open
your pyloric valve through your
intestines and move the alcohol
into your bloodstream quicker. The
carbon dioxide in the bubbles
helps alcohol flow through the
body at an accelerated pace. This
in turn helps you get intoxicated
much quicker.
Beer makes you
dehydrated.
TRUE. Beer causes you to
become bloated, thus not
giving you enough room to
stay hydrated. Beer also
causes you to urinate more,
thus becoming more
dehydrated.
Alcohol can age your face.
TRUE. Alcohol dehydrates
your skin, which causes
wrinkles. While the alcohol is
in your body it'll stimulate
water retention, however line
formation can come from the
absence of that water.
The more you drink, the
greater your tolerance.
TRUE. The more your liver is exposed
to alcohol, the harder it works against
it. Your liver can be damaged by
alcohol, thus reducing it's ability to
breakdown alcohol before it enters
your bloodstream. Long term, a high
tolerance, which can be seen by some
college students’ as a desired quality
can actually lead to alcoholism and
cirrhosis of the liver.
Alcohol is not always bad
for your body.
TRUE. In moderation alcohol can help your heart,
strengthen your bones and prevent against
osteoporosis, gallstones, ulcers, kidney stones,
some cancer, and diabetes. Also, moderate drinkers
tend to have better health and live longer than
those who are either abstainers or heavy drinkers.
In addition to having fewer heart attacks and
strokes, moderate consumers of alcoholic
beverages (beer, wine or distilled spirits or liquor)
are generally less likely to suffer hypertension or
high blood pressure, peripheral artery disease,
Alzheimer's disease and the common cold.