Can somebody chug a gallon of water?

Question

I heard this is a great gag to dare somebody cause it's not physically possibel--but is it?

Answer 1

When I was in college I played football and we used to pull this on the incoming freshman, except we used a gallon of whole milk. You can imagine the results. I never saw anyone finish it, and they were pretty sick the next morning.

Answer 2

I don't know if 1 gallon would be enough to cause death, but deaths have resulted from people ingesting large amounts of water over short periods of time. Poor nutritional status and alcohol increase the risks of death.

Hyponatremia results (sodium in plasma is watered down to a lower concentration) causes a hypo-osmotic state in the plasma.

Water tends to rush into the brain cells causing damage to the brain, convulsions and death.

Locally a college student died from water overdose, but the doctor on the news stated that the red blood cells expanded, releasing potassium to cause the heart to stop, I cannot find anything in the Merck Manual's discussion in Chapter 12 to support this, but that does not mean the doctor was mistaken.

Answer 3

Gallon Chug

Answer 4

It is possible. You could get sick trying and you could even die trying. If you manage to survive the attempt, the massive amount of water in your system could throw off your electrolytes and you could develop additional problems. I would not recommend trying this.

Answer 5

yeah its possible, i can chug 48 oz

Answer 6

Hi. There is a serious risk of drowning. Don't try it at home!

Answer 7

Not safely. People have died trying.

Answer 8

Only if it is mixed with scotch.