TN teens die after drinking methanol fuel

[BourbonStreet]

Several teenagers got a hold of pure methanol and decided to put it in their Mountain Dew. Two of them quickly died. I just saw the local paper, and it's blaming "moonshine culture".
http://wkrn.com/2016/01/25/16-year-olds ... reenbrier/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[FreeMountainHermit]

I can't see how they got past the smell as Methanol is pretty nasty.

[bearriver]

and it's blaming "moonshine culture".
http://wkrn.com/2016/01/25/16-year-olds ... reenbrier/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Real easy to do when you know nothing about it I suppose.

Moonshine Culture: "Teen drinks moonshine: wakes up for work the next morning feeling fine."

[BourbonStreet]

The tv station's story was pretty unbiased. This is the joke of a newspaper article:
http://tnne.ws/1SjFrdr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[sungazer]

Didn't read the article to see if it mentions where they got it. It is actually pretty rare and hard to get in Australia. What is sold as mentholated spirit in the supermarkets and everywhere is actually Ethanol with the smell of methanol they chemicaly bind a bad tasting and smelling compound to it to deter people. However if the winos or teenagers to drink it they wont go blind or die.

[Yummyrum]

My heart goes out to the families of these boys

It was Racing fuel sungazer.
There was a similar incident here in Aussie a year or so ago where young fellas drunk Methanol and couple of them died . Again it was Methanol that was used for fuel but the lads had mistaken it for moonshine .Again some of the media jumped on the illicit moonshine bandwagon even though ...as is usually the case ...it had nothing to do with it .

I strongly believe in labeling stuff clearly .
Although I'm guilty myself at times of not doing it , I try to label every container with what it is and its ABV . As I have had teenagers I have been extremely worried that they or their mates might want to explore Dads stuff so Labeling was always applied . Particularly Foreshots and heads containers I would label as "Not to be taken , will cause head ache and vomiting ". Tails containers not such an issue . The drinkable stuff was labeled as such with the ABV in large . Fortunately only one minor incident occurred and Mum and Dad come down like an embarrassing ton of bricks and it never happened again.

Whether you have a liquor cupboard or a few demi's of moonshine in the shed or Old mate up the road makes methanol for his tractor , the young'n will find it ......just gotta educate them on whats going to make them sick and label what you got .

Incidentally Of my three children , one doesn't drink at all , one might drink a glass a year and the other can take it or leave it as he chooses . Having access to grog won't mean your children will become piss pots .

[Rastus]

i had a conversation with the local highschool principal and some guy he was driving around. discussing the apparent abuse of hand sanitizer which uses ethanol to drink after separating the glycerine out of it... the principal is my neighbor he knows me well but not my distilling hobby, but his associate went on to say ethanol was pure poison it'll make you go blind etc.... he said methanol is what we drink....

now i usually keep my mouth shut in public... but that dude had to be corrected because that information could get someone killed for sure.... he disputed it with me i told him several times and said he better do a little research before he tells anyone about that... it is scarey..

sad for the kids... i know a guy his kid lived out in a remote village in a remote place and he died drinking some glycol with some other boys....

as kids we did stupid things for a buzz... but survived.

[pythonshine]

I think this is one of the reasons hobby distilling would benefit the majority...it would make the info more open and right for a change.Imo that is.

[john2674]

I agree python, education is the key.. the "news people" seem to be lumping methanol and ethanol into the same basket?? well the kids are still gonna drink .. why not let them know which one is deadly?? that's like lumping soft drinks and battery acid together in the same group. Similar?.. yes..... SAME? ...NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!

[thecroweater]

Wow that report was nearly as Nada as the Qld one YR was refering to which was methanol purchased for bio-diesel as I recall, yep papers called it moonshine and wouldn't retract it even when the police pointed out what it was. Why would someone deliberately drink methanol ? Giessing they don't no any better and they ain't going to learn from reporters either that are happy to hide the truth and dribble shit, sad stuff

[kaziel]

I can't see how they got past the smell as Methanol is pretty nasty.

That's IMO 100% not true. Quote from Wikipedia

Methanol ... liquid with a distinctive odor very similar to that of ethanol (drinking alcohol)

that's the reason why people get blind or death after drinking methanol. Do not confuse methanol with heads/faints as it's only one of few chemical compounds in that mixture. I don't drink anything that's bought for pennies or got for free better sober then blind.
You can read article about methanol poisoning also here
http://www.thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/1121 ... h-Republic
Back then If you were suspecting that you may bought let's say rum from Czech you could test that in a dedicated lab for free (I live next to Czech border btw).

[WIski]

There is no question that the uneducated are spreading bad information and portraying themselves as experts or knowledgeable. Take a look at this current add from a food distributer. Truly disturbing..........

http://www.preparedfoods.com/articles/1 ... -moonshine" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Any wonder why people can get confused on what denatured is???

[Worm_Drippinz]

Did that journalist coin that term himself? Lol



Mis-information seems to be the key to many agendas across all spectrums. Pity.


I feel for those boys families. To think that breaking the law and having someone 21+ providing them a pint of real booze could have saved their lives....


Education pertaining tward "common sense" from their parents/elders seems to have been overlooked if they pumped the fuel themselves and went on to consume it.

How in the hell does the notion in any high school social circle come to the point of drinking racing fuel as a rational means to get "drunk" or "buzzed"?

I remember when I was in school and if someone, or anyone for that matter told me I could get a buzz off of racing fuel I would have laughed in your face, told you otherwise and then proceeded to make a fool out of you in front of everyone around.


I just don't see how these kids can be so ignorant unless they were tricked into drinking it? I hope they didn't pump the fuel into a jug themselves and then think it would be a good idea to mix it and then drink it under their own free will.

I would be mortified as a parent if I had children of that age that were so niave and killed themselves because of it, let alone having to cope with their death. I could never live with myself!

[biggybigz]

What a hoot

[masonsjax]

If a friend in high school had announced that you can get drunk on racing fuel, and (mistakenly) said that methanol is what gets you drunk in commercial booze, I'd have probably chugged a pint before anyone else. I never said I was smart in my younger years. Certainly thought I was invincible though.

[Worm_Drippinz]

Common sense might just be a worn out fad at this point in time. (not knocking you personally mason)

The crazy news that breaks constantly proves the point.

If anything, (what I was originally getting at) I blame upbringing.

No excuses can soften the blow of loosing a loved one. I hope my comment didn't come across as being numb as that was not my intention.

We lost a newborn after birth and it was tough, but to imagine loosing one after raising him/her 16 years later to something so stupid is just horrifying on all accounts.

I'm sure I would put the blame on myself no matter what the circumstances knowing "me" as a parent (as I pondered every "what if" imaginable).

Such a waste.

[Maritimer]

I don't know about the rest of the world, but in Canada, we seem to sell methanol as methyl hydrate. You can get it at any hardware store. Maybe it is labeled this way so that the confusion can't even get started.

M

[cob]

There is no question that the uneducated are spreading bad information and portraying themselves as experts or knowledgeable. Take a look at this current add from a food distributer. Truly disturbing..........

http://www.preparedfoods.com/articles/1 ... -moonshine" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Any wonder why people can get confused on what denatured is???

that product is 40% - 80 proof. legally made and purchased ethanol. it is modified

by mizkan by adding 3% salt, and marketed as denatured moonshine.

is 3% salt a denaturing process?? is legal ethanol with added salt moonshine??

or is it all smoke and mirrors?? they would not name the ethanol supplier.

mizkan also makes vinegar

[Maritimer]

Holy Cow! I just subscribed to Prepared Foods! This is where capitalism, consumerism, and food conjoin. It's almost too scary to read.

M

[Hillbilly Popstar]

Kids do so many crazy things to get high these days it's scary.

I'm fairly certain the if it were on the Internet that licking slugs can get you a buzz, kids would go out raiding the garden.

[MichiganCornhusker]

I'm fairly certain the if it were on the Internet that licking slugs can get you a buzz, kids would go out raiding the garden.

I'm not not licking slugs...

[Hillbilly Popstar]

I'm fairly certain the if it were on the Internet that licking slugs can get you a buzz, kids would go out raiding the garden.

I'm not not licking slugs...

No doubt. I'm not drinking Methanol either. Or smoking that legal incense junk. Or snorting bath salts. Or getting "wet". Or any of the other random chemicals youths are ingesting.

[RumDummyDrunk]

It's a damn shame. God be with them.

[jb-texshine]

I can't see how they got past the smell as Methanol is pretty nasty.

Sometime that shit smells like pineapple, bananas, even apples.....
Jb
Just putting mud in that whater

[jb-texshine]

I can't see how they got past the smell as Methanol is pretty nasty.

Sometime that shit smells like pineapple, bananas, even apples.....
Jb
Just putting mud in that whater

[nerdybrewer]

I heard you can pump ethanol into your ass and get quite a buzz...

I'd rather sip really awesome whiskey and get just the right buzz.

[nerdybrewer]

Bath salts = "hey I'd like to become a psychopath, how can I do that?"

[jb-texshine]

---

I heard you can pump ethanol into your ass and get quite a buzz...

I'd rather sip really awesome whiskey and get just the right buzz.

I be like. .......I'm seventeen whoohoo wheresvtha booze!!!!!!!!!
Then drink some illicit shit and die.
F

[T-Pee]

I once told my three daughters "If you die early, I'm going to be very sad. If you die stupid, I'm gonna be very pissed."

tp