For medicinal purposes only
Today's guest post comes from Katie. Thanks, hon!
A few weeks ago I was traveling home on the 77 Belmont bus. I was sitting across the aisle from a regular-looking guy who seemed to have just finished some shopping at Walgreen's.
As the ride wore on, I saw him rummaging through the bag that contained his recent purchase and caught a glimpse of a bottle-shaped object inside the bag. I was somewhat surprised because this guy appeared to have a concealed liquor bottle in the bag.
He looked pretty normal and not at all like the type to be doing any midday boozing. Nevertheless, I caught him unscrewing the cap of his hidden bottle and watched as he brought it to his lips. He took a big swallow and as top of the bottle poked out of the bag, I could see that the liquid he was gulping down was green.
A second later, I caught a whiff of the bottle's contents and it confirmed my suspicion. This man was drinking MOUTHWASH. He clearly was not swishing it around in his mouth for the dental advantages, but rather he was swallowing this stuff for some other unknown reason.
Does mouthwash have alcohol in it? Is there some other advantage to drinking it that I am not aware of? To this day, I still cannot figure out what purpose can be served by drinking mouthwash. But the thought is certainly nauseating...
Yes, mouthwash does have alcohol in it. The original Listerine was 52 proof.
Posted by: Brad | March 26, 2005 at 07:51 AM
Drinking listerine is harmful. The back of the bottle says "in case of accidental ingestion, consult a professional or poison control."
Posted by: Steve | March 26, 2005 at 09:02 AM
Looks like The Straight Dope recently handled this very question.
Posted by: jima | March 26, 2005 at 09:38 AM
well. i'm a recovering alkie. and i can tell you that while i never hit that bottom, i've heard plenty o' stories. yes. the cool mint listerine is 50 proof. 25% alcohol.
really. i can't imagine having to drink the shit. i'm 3 years sober as of this jan, and god forbid i relapse. but if i do, i'm hoping i just can go get a bottle of captain morgan and some coke (i'll probably see about some coke coke then or something else dastardly, the whole progression and all).
however, in comparison, things like apple pucker and other liqueurs are about 30 proof as i recall from workin' at a liquor store when i was about 21. (nice, right?) so listerine really beats the shit out of some of the girly stuff as far as price and efficacy.
sick, but true.
Posted by: jocelyn | March 26, 2005 at 11:29 AM
Here's additional anecdotal evidence that all of the above is true...
I recently read in the paper that a woman (I think in Pa.) was charged with DWI. She admitted she got behind the wheel after swigging large amounts of mouthwash. I know. Barf city.
Posted by: ovidsen | March 26, 2005 at 08:23 PM
didn't michael dukakis's wife OD on mouthwash after he lost the '88 election?
Posted by: laura | March 26, 2005 at 09:44 PM
hate to be a nitpicker, but can you OD if you're not dead?
Posted by: jocelyn | March 27, 2005 at 01:41 AM
hate to be a nitpicker, but can you OD if you're not dead?
Yes, you can OD and not kill yourself. Alcohol poisoning is a form of overdose, but it's not always something that would kill you. Yes, it could and would most likely cause considerable damage. Maybe they caught her OD cry-for-help in time to pump her stomach? It's not a pretty thought at all anyways...
Posted by: Justin | March 27, 2005 at 07:46 AM
Actually, she was drinking hairspray, not mouthwash.
Posted by: Ben | March 28, 2005 at 04:34 PM
Just a couple weeks ago I saw a guy on the Milwaukee bus surreptitiously take a bottle of blue Listerine from his inside coat pocket and take a swig. Wow!
Posted by: Kathy | March 30, 2005 at 03:58 PM
Interesting story about mouthwash and its alcohol content. In a bar in Chester, IL (find THAT on a map) I met an old man who worked on the barges that go up and down the Mississippi all his life. He said back in the day, since alcohol was prohibited on the boats, they would stock up on mouthwash and drink it. Pretty much everyone on these boats are alcoholics, since there is really nothing to do. That got pretty obvious after awhile, so now mouthwash is prohibited. So, get this - those recourceful alkies - they now (or did) soak whole loaves of bread in vodka or other clear booze of choice, bring that on board, and eat the bread.
Posted by: Todd | March 30, 2005 at 04:01 PM
They truly are resourceful. Just think of everything they've invented: the hip flask, the minibottle, this thing...
Posted by: spiky | April 04, 2005 at 11:59 PM
I just found this site trying to find out if I should be concerned that I just swallowed mouthwash when gargling it this morning. Guess I don't need to call poison control after all.
Posted by: Cindy | April 27, 2005 at 06:57 AM
hahaha I found this site because I did the same thing this morning. I couldn't imagine anyone drinking it willingly. I accidently swallowed about 1/4 cap of it and the taste alone made me vomit but on the plus side my throat feels minty fresh...
Posted by: ryocon | May 26, 2007 at 06:40 AM
sorry to let you people know this, but your kids are probably drinking hella mouthwash, along with lots of other booze. I sure know I do...
Posted by: Cali | June 10, 2007 at 06:42 PM
My brother is addicted to mouthwash! He buys the Equate brand..the yellow flavor..yuck! The yellow flavor has more alcohol in it! He has been drinking the stuff for 2 yrs now..he blew a .28 on mouthwash which landed him a DUI!! He has had 3 public intox charges on the stuff as well. There is something in mouthwash that makes him halucinate..and blackout..and become an ASSHOLE!! He won't get help..and only 20 yrs old! We don't know what to do anymore!
Posted by: Jessica | July 14, 2007 at 10:56 AM
Why would you bother sneaking mouthwash onto the CTA if you're trying to get drunk? There are much, much easier (and tastier) ways. Maybe in some situations it would make sense, but not riding the bus..
Posted by: Joe Blow | July 15, 2007 at 01:44 AM
this is really gross , for people that do this i have a solution, go buy a syringe and needle and a bottle of bleach and shoot it in the black part of your eye in both !
Posted by: berry | July 29, 2007 at 02:28 PM
Hey...i know everyone is saying don't do it don't do it...but my friend was in the marines, and he said they would drink moutwash when they had a cold or respitory infection and that it would kill the germs in their throat....I got a cold....and i decided to drink a tiny bit of mouthwash. It burned going down nad made me cough for a bit but then....THE INFECTION IS GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My ears are not cloged up. my nose is not running, my throat is not itchy and i am not coughing....this is a miracle cure!!!
Posted by: Emily | October 15, 2007 at 04:53 AM
I love the taste of mouthwash, it is minty and clean. I dont think it will kill me, unless i drink bottles and bottles of the stuff. Is there anything other than the alcohol that will kill you in acsess?
Posted by: Poppet | March 10, 2008 at 06:05 AM
Hi My girlfriend drinks listerine like theres no tomorrow...she says it makes her insides feel clean... but now im seeing all this anecdotal evidence that alcoholics use it to get a buzz...i was convinced she always looked happy because she was so in to me. but now i need to get this monkey off her back.. and see if its me she really likes...or the fact that ive always got her next hit in the bathroom...
Posted by: puddin pop | March 10, 2008 at 10:47 AM
That is soooo wierd...i thought for a little bit that i was addicted to mouthwash....but now after reading that you have to swallow it to be addicted...i realize that im not...i just like having good smelling breath....thx for helping me realize that!
Alex
Posted by: Alex | June 25, 2008 at 06:20 AM
yeah keep up!
im in year nine and when we cant get hold of decent alcohol we drink mouthwash, vanilla essence and lemon essence. this has been going on for years! just a new way for minors to get drunk
Posted by: natalie | July 03, 2008 at 02:51 PM
Sucks to be a minor!
Posted by: Drunk Guy | July 03, 2008 at 03:59 PM