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http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/19866191

I'm sorry, I just had to vent my frustrations somewhere, after reading this I literally feel like shouting at my monitor (but I'm in work, so Dakka's OT forum seems a more suitable and quieter place)

So, a bar decides it would be a good idea to make a cocktail with liquid nitrogen as an ingredient, as a result an 18 year old girl had to have a total gastroectomy (sp?) which basically involves removing her entire stomach, then hooking up the oesophagus directly to the small intestine and is in a serious (but thankfully stable) condition).

Firstly, my commiserations, condolences and best wishes for the unfortunate girl who now has no stomach (although according to report will still be able to live a full and largely unchanged life). Admittedly part of the blame lies here with someone thinking it would be cool to drink a cocktail with a known dangerous chemical in it, but lets face it people are by and large gullible and ignorant, and would quite happily drink something that looked like a 'mad scientists potion' with all the smoke effects the liquid N2 would create

Secondly, FOR FETH'S SAKE!!!!!! what kind of fething moron would think I know, lets put liquid nitrogen in a drink! If this dillweed is allowed to work in the bar industry again, and doesn't have to pay some hefty sum for nearly killing someone by selling them a drink that contains a pretty dangerous and lethal chemical.

Anyway, again the news has managed to start my day by reducing my faith in humanity a little bit more..

*rant over*

I... uh... what?

I... WHAT!?

She was pretty fething stupid for drinking it, let's not forget.

 Albatross wrote:
She was pretty fething stupid for drinking it, let's not forget.

But the majority of the blame is on the bar for making it available.

 motyak wrote:

 Albatross wrote:
She was pretty fething stupid for drinking it, let's not forget.

But the majority of the blame is on the bar for making it available.

Really? I'm not sure I 100% buy that. Well, as long as it was made clear to the customers that the drink contained liquid nitrogen.

If this report is true, and not some Onion inspired hoax, I feel really bad for that girl. I can't imagine the amount of pain she must have gone through when that liquid N2, made contact with her internal organs..including her esophagus.


Not good at all...the bartender should be on trial for negligence at the least.

GG

 Albatross wrote:

 motyak wrote:

 Albatross wrote:
She was pretty fething stupid for drinking it, let's not forget.

But the majority of the blame is on the bar for making it available.

Really? I'm not sure I 100% buy that. Well, as long as it was made clear to the customers that the drink contained liquid nitrogen.

If you make it available in an environment where people are likely to have already heavily impaired judgement abilities, it is mostly on the bar. I'm not saying it is 100% on the bar, just the majority. Of course its partially her fault, but then again who knows how educated she is, maybe she just thought it was another kind of mixer or something? Never did chemistry or anything. Its a possibility, and the bar would have to account for inebriated, judgement impaired, stupid people when making a drink with (more) serious health risks compared to what normal bars serve.

 Albatross wrote:
She was pretty fething stupid for drinking it, let's not forget.

Ah we are so alike you and I.

As always, that was the first thing I said "What fething idiot drinks a cocktail like that?!" but then I read the story, she was only 18, you know for a fact that you or I, half pissed in a club on a night out with friends would happily throw down anything they put in front of us. Lets not forget what it was like to be 18.

Although, as I said, after reading the whole story, its not THAT big a deal. Just gak luck on her part. I know a bloke (American obviously!) who had a similar operation willingly to lose weight, they use a lap band these days, but he went the whole hog about ten years ago cos he was a fat fether. Now he eats tiny portions and takes vitamins, she will be alright in the long run.

And if she was a fat knacker, this might prove a blessing in disguise, she wont wind up with diabetes or heart disease now!

Every cloud and all that.

You might find this story illustrative in this regard, as well.

 mattyrm wrote:


And if she was a fat knacker, this might prove a blessing in disguise, she wont wind up with diabetes or heart disease now!

That hadn't crossed my mind actually. Well done on finding a silver lining.

Doesn't liquid nitrogen instantly freeze things? Even if it doesn't, why does that sound like a good thing to make a drink of, and how did they get their hands on it legitimately for this purpose?

 Samus_aran115 wrote:
Doesn't liquid nitrogen instantly freeze things? Even if it doesn't, why does that sound like a good thing to make a drink of, and how did they get their hands on it legitimately for this purpose?

I'm sure that I've drank a cocktail like that before, I've definitely drank flamey ones and smokey ones and.. you get the idea. Stupid gak you wouldn't touch once you hit 30 and only drink pints of bitter and neat shots.

Common sense tells me that it is perfectly legal for culinary usage, I know Heston Bluementhal uses it for all sorts of things, So I guess that bars use it all the time to make cocktails look all smokey. I'm just presuming that the bar man fethed up and a tiny amount of the actual chemical ended up in the drink. I've seen a chick in Vegas carrying a whole tray of cocktails with plumes of smoke coming off them, so I would guess they use it regularly in the "fancy stupid as feth looking cocktail" industry.

She just got unlucky, hopefully she will make a full recovery, and in the long run she saved herself some money if she was going to want a lap band fitted when she got a bit older.

Bartender had probably seen this one night after a few drinks.



Needless to say it's only partially her fault, the assumption of something like that being available is that it is actually safe. At that rate they may as well just offer a cocktail with brake fluid or window cleaner in it, for the cool colour it makes.

 mattyrm wrote:

 Samus_aran115 wrote:
Doesn't liquid nitrogen instantly freeze things? Even if it doesn't, why does that sound like a good thing to make a drink of, and how did they get their hands on it legitimately for this purpose?

I'm sure that I've drank a cocktail like that before, I've definitely drank flamey ones and smokey ones and.. you get the idea. Stupid gak you wouldn't touch once you hit 30 and only drink pints of bitter and neat shots.

Common sense tells me that it is perfectly legal for culinary usage, I know Heston Bluementhal uses it for all sorts of things, So I guess that bars use it all the time to make cocktails look all smokey. I'm just presuming that the bar man fethed up and a tiny amount of the actual chemical ended up in the drink. I've seen a chick in Vegas carrying a whole tray of cocktails with plumes of smoke coming off them, so I would guess they use it regularly in the "fancy stupid as feth looking cocktail" industry.

She just got unlucky, hopefully she will make a full recovery, and in the long run she saved herself some money if she was going to want a lap band fitted when she got a bit older.

That is probably Dry Ice that is used to make the drinks emit smoke and actually not liquid Nitrogen.

But liquid Nitrogen has some culinary uses to instantly freeze stuff so I'm guessing that it is commercially available to the general public.

With the rise of 'Modern Cuisine', or molecular gastronomy, I don't think it is that difficult to imagine there was a bit of "well they wouldn't serve it if it were dangerous" and "I'm sure they know what they are doing" in the mind of the drinker. It isn't as if they rolled up and just handed her a container of liquid nitrogen.

I don't see how it is her fault at all. You go in to a bar and order somethign you expect that it is safe to drink. If she was a uni student drinking something mixed up by someone who swiped some lab supplies fine, but she was in a bar and probably orderd "one of those cool drinks that has smoke coming off it". You asume that anything served to the public is going to be safe.

You can get liquid Nitrogen from any lab supplyer.

I wouldn't use dry ice in a drink as the block would sink to the bottem and take a while to evaporate. You could pour the CO2 gas on the top, but I doubt that would sit for long unless you had the drink well below the top of the glass, in which case drinking it risks hypoxia. It would five a nice effect though, bubbling away horror film style.

Basicly both seem like a very bad idea.

I'm hearing from a pal of mine that Liquid Nitrogen is added to drinks because it evaporates on contact with alcohol, and that once the vapor has disappeared it's safe to drink. Perhaps she just quaffed it a little too early?

There is a disappointing lack of VB (Victim Blaming) in this thread. What's happened to you OT? You used to be cool.

We need an extra shot of Gbaby I guess. The political season must really drain the VB reserves.

She's probably anorexic and wanted help to stay skinny. So screw over a bar and get paid to have your stomach removed and be beautiful forever. Makes me sick.

Enough victim blaming?

Edit: she's probably a democrat...

 generalgrog wrote:
If this report is true, and not some Onion inspired hoax, I feel really bad for that girl. I can't imagine the amount of pain she must have gone through when that liquid N2, made contact with her internal organs..including her esophagus.


Not good at all...the bartender should be on trial for negligence at the least.

GG

I was about to say and for serving someone under 21, but this is UK.
But seriously, Dont you have to go to school to get a license for being a bartender? wwhere they teach how to make drinks safely?

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 generalgrog wrote:
If this report is true, and not some Onion inspired hoax, I feel really bad for that girl. I can't imagine the amount of pain she must have gone through when that liquid N2, made contact with her internal organs..including her esophagus.


Not good at all...the bartender should be on trial for negligence at the least.

GG

I was about to say and for serving someone under 21, but this is UK.
But seriously, Dont you have to go to school to get a license for being a bartender? wwhere they teach how to make drinks safely?

Are you taking the piss?! Of course not! Do they do that in the US, like?

lol
The most they get here is 10mins of pulling a pint that isn't 1/3 head and knowing how to give correct change.
Bar school, for the larks of it

 Albatross wrote:


Are you taking the piss?! Of course not! Do they do that in the US, like?

There's bartending courses, but that's more about memorizing 999 different kinds of drinks than learning about safe mixes...

And it's far from a requirement, unless maybe in the really really posh places.

This is a good demonstration of why decent science education is a really good thing.

 Albatross wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 generalgrog wrote:
If this report is true, and not some Onion inspired hoax, I feel really bad for that girl. I can't imagine the amount of pain she must have gone through when that liquid N2, made contact with her internal organs..including her esophagus.


Not good at all...the bartender should be on trial for negligence at the least.

GG

I was about to say and for serving someone under 21, but this is UK.
But seriously, Dont you have to go to school to get a license for being a bartender? wwhere they teach how to make drinks safely?

Are you taking the piss?! Of course not! Do they do that in the US, like?

I always thought passing the bar was a lawyer thing... Perhaps not

Actualy in the UK someone on site must have a personal licence to sell alcohol as well as a licence for the premasis. Normaly this will be the bar manager. To hold this you have to have an accredited licensing qualification to "show you have been trained in how to sell alcohol safely and legally", but that is not about teaching you to make drinks safely, more about how to run a bar safely and laws around proper mesures and opening times than how to mix a proper mojito or deal with lab supplies.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/Gettinginvolvedinyourcommunity/DG_199132

Bartending training? Sounds like a plan to me.

Who wants to get a gak load of government money and set up a training academy for out of work layabouts?

Apprenticeships for bar tenders! Below Minimum wage! All the slops you can drink!

Think I'll call Witherspoons.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 generalgrog wrote:
If this report is true, and not some Onion inspired hoax, I feel really bad for that girl. I can't imagine the amount of pain she must have gone through when that liquid N2, made contact with her internal organs..including her esophagus.


Not good at all...the bartender should be on trial for negligence at the least.

GG

I was about to say and for serving someone under 21, but this is UK.
But seriously, Don't you have to go to school to get a license for being a bartender? wwhere they teach how to make drinks safely?

I live in Middlesbrough, they hire doormen as long as they have scars and have been to prison, and they hire bartenders if they have arms.

When I was at the Irish pub in town (Rooneys! for those aware of the Boro) at the age of 15, I was on about my 9th pint of Guinness and the barman said to me "You best slow down or you'll never see your 18th birthday!"

Did you see your 18th Matty? or is it all a blur?

Probably saw it, then punched it in the face.

 MrDwhitey wrote:
Probably saw it, then punched it in the face.

Nah, he probably missed