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Like the Jake leg?My mom told me a story of an uncle that made moonshine and "tore his stomach up." "He could only digest an egg stirred into milk." He supposedly lived a long time. Has anyone else stories as such, or an idea of the cause of his ailment, from makin "moonshine"?

Yes people have heard stories like this, and also stories of 20 foot crocs in the sewers of NYC, and other such drivel.

Urban legands are steep full of "almosts" and "sort of like" facts, however, most of them are that, just a legend that never really happened, but that some1 tole, then that person tole some1 else, but could not tell the exact same story, so it was changed a little (and usually it is embellished).

Yes every1 has "heard" of people drinking shine, and dieing of rat poison, embalming fluid, or some other such horror. However, does anyone actually KNOW of this happening, or is it just "someone tole me that they heard about this"?

Yes, I am sure there were some people who have been poisoned, and someone poisoning someone, "might" want to try to hide the fact they poisoned a person, by making sure many get poisoned, and that "moonhine" gets blamed. I would also imagine that there are cases of a pure idiot trying to distill things like industrial denatured spirit, or wood alcohol, etc. It was also well known in the past that many people DID drink a lot of lead, due to tin/lead solder being used (or other sorts of very poor quality condensor materials. That certainly DID happen.

I think anouther HUGE source of urban legand material (and you even hear this propogating TODAY), is from the government. They know that they can not stop individuals from distilling. However, they want to scare enough people, that the "lost" excise revenue is a bare minimum.

If your uncle was one of these idiots who tried to "un" denature industrial sprits, then yes, it is possible, that he did hurt himself. Hard core alcoholics do some VERY pitiful things. A friend of mine's father was a hard core alcoholic (full blooded Omaha Indian). I have personally seen him drink a bottle of rubbing alcohol (isopropyl) on 2 occasions. I have "heard" (yes, heard, but it was from him, and from his son, and I heard this several times, and also when they were not together), that he also has drank sterno. So Yes, people will drink dangerous things, when they are hooked that badly, and when they can find no other source of a "high" readily available.

But to me, it sounds like your mom, is being like the government, and trying to "scare" you into staying away from that evil "moonshine".

H.

Far from mommy trying to scare me, she drinks mine. I would not doubt her word, she was a "first person" not a heard it from a friend.. No matter where it comes from, once it is repeated it is folklore, unless you have another definition? What you wrote is also a story that falls into the folklore/history of moonshine. The sterno, the iso, I was in the army with a guy that talked of a sterno on white bread uncle. You mentioned trying to "un-denature" alchohol, could that have, or will it "tear up" yous stomach? I'm sure with the knowledge available on this site, someone knows. I enjoy the stories, be they true or not. It is part of a subculture, think reefer madness. As for the 20' crocks in the sewer of New York, There are places in N.Y. I'd feel safer, hell and cleaner in the sewer. What the hell will the health effects of iso. alch. on the body be?

msrorysdad wrote:As for the 20' crocks in the sewer of New York, There are places in N.Y. I'd feel safer, hell and cleaner in the sewer.

HAHA, Yes, I agree. Only been to NYC a few times (can count on both hands), and the best thing about NYC, was seeing it in your rear view mirror (or during a flight's takeoff).

What the hell will the health effects of iso. alch. on the body be?

I have no idea, but I am sure it can not be good. Victor Scott (my friend Jeff's dad), ended up getting beaten to death when he was passed out in an alley, by 3 guys about 10 years ago. I figured the booze (or other poisons) would get him, but in the end it was not the booze (directly).

As for whatever did that to your unc, who knows. Could have been something like an enemy of his slipping some lye into a bottle. Lye can burn your tissue, and if drunk, could probably destroy much of your stomach. It is hard to say.

I am pretty sure, even EtOH in pure enough form will kill cells (but I would have a hard time thinking it could kill someones stomach, since it is so heavily lined to handle the acids). Could be. Who knows, possibly he chuggled down a Qt of 150 proof or so of some strong shine, on an empty stomach, and bad things happened.

H.

High proof hootch can make a bleeding ulcer worse..but so can some other foods.

As for the 20' crocks in the sewer of New York, There are places in N.Y. I'd feel safer, hell and cleaner in the sewer.[quote][/quote]20'?!! Thats hilarious, I've never seen any bigger than17'.. 18' max..

possum wrote:High proof hootch can make a bleeding ulcer worse..but so can some other foods.

Bleeding ulcers can kill, agravated by aspirin as well as alchohol (both blood thinners).

Until they found that ulcers were caused by bacteria, and easily cured with atibiotics, milk poached eggs were the recommended diet. Pretty good clue to your unc's problem.

Husker, been to NY several times myself, away back when. I think the reference must have been 20' crocks (of sh--). That I could believe, and I would still feel cleaner in the sewer. But that was a long time ago, and I understand NY has now cleaned up a lot of its offal. Topside of the street, that is. I don't plan to go back and find out.

I'm a country boy, who as a worker has been allowed the oppritunity to be in every state that is not an island or Alaska. I must say that I've spent lots of time in New York. I enjoy the place, it's just a bit much for my southern self. For the most part I miss the time spent there and the friends made, sniffle, sniffle

triggernum5 wrote:As for the 20' crocks in the sewer of New York, There are places in N.Y. I'd feel safer, hell and cleaner in the sewer.

20'?!! Thats hilarious, I've never seen any bigger than17'.. 18' max..

Crocs larger than twenty foot and not uncommon in Australia. Here's a link to one of the largest ever recorded. (28 foot) Recorded in the Guiness Book Of Records.
http://www.abc.net.au/farnorth/stories/s949216.htm

Ahh...gotta love Canada, no crocs here! Watch out for the moose though!

Yeah I was just wasting time with my croc line, sorry.. I jokingly meant I'd never seen larger than that in New York Sewers even though I've never been to NYC.. IIRC though, West Nile Crocs are the biggest.. (Didn't google confirm that though so again, I might again look about as intelligent as a drugged monkey with BSE..)

Most of the alligators are in the 6-12 foot range down here near New Orleans. But it's not uncommon to see traffic stopped because one got up near traffic or something. They're not really a hazard unless a small child or a pet gets near them. They like small dogs and cats for lunch.

~r~

bronzdragon wrote:Most of the alligators are in the 6-12 foot range down here near New Orleans. But it's not uncommon to see traffic stopped because one got up near traffic or something. They're not really a hazard unless a small child or a pet gets near them. They like small dogs and cats for lunch.

~r~

Those NYC sewer crocs get much larger, due to an abundance of sewer rats to feast on

H.

And don't forget that Albino Weed that grows in those NYC sewers from all the flushed joints. Of course ya' have to fight off the crocs to get the weed, not an easy thing to do.

I bet the jokers that post regularly to this site could come up with a pretty substantial list of urban legends. Just the kinda nuts that live here

H.

The word gullible doesn't appear in any of the English language dictionaries.

Uncle Jesse wrote:The word gullible doesn't appear in any of the English language dictionaries.

I'm unlikely to check

Jake Leg was a real problem that afflicted some estimated 30,000 to 50,000 people. But it was NOT from moonshine. Here is a brief description.

"Jake is actually Jamacian ginger extract, marketed and sold as a medicinal tonic. It was available in the United States since about the time of the Civil War, and Americans quickly realized that the nearly 70% alcohol content made "the jake" a way to skirt local or federal laws banning the consumption of liquor. Compared to whiskey, jake was often cheaper, and often had a higher alcohol content. Many drug stores sold Coca-Cola or coffee, which people would then use as mixers for the jake, often using a side room in the store to concoct their drink.
Jake sold between 1920 and 1930 caused no health problems. In the spring of 1930, however, the manufacturers of jake decided to add a new ingredient, an industrial chemical called tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate.

Jake was not itself dangerous, but the U.S. Treasury Department, which administered the Prohibition laws, recognized its potential as an illicit alcohol source and required changes in the solids content of jake to discourage drinking. The requirement of at least 5 grams of ginger solids per cubic centimeter of alcohol resulted in a fluid that was extremely bitter and difficult to drink. Occasionally Department of Agriculture inspectors would test shipments of Jake by boiling the solution and weighing the remaining solid residue. In an effort to trick regulators, bootleggers replaced the ginger solids with a small amount of ginger and either castor oil or molasses.

A pair of amateur chemists and bootleggers, Harry Gross and Max Reisman, worked to develop an alternative adulterant that would pass the tests, but still be somewhat palatable. They settled on a plasticizer, tri-o-tolyl phosphate (also known as tri-ortho cresyl phosphate or TOCP), that was able to pass the Treasury Department's tests but preserved jake's drinkability

The new ingredient was added to help adulter, or water down, the jake. It was tasteless, soluble with alcohol, and cheap. It also turned out to be highly toxic, particularly to the spinal cord. Nearly all victims were forced to walk with in high-stepping, foot-slapping style that quickly became known as the "jake walk" or the "jake leg".

Within a few months, the TOCP adulterated jake was identified as the cause of the paralysis and the contaminated jake was recovered, but it was too late for many victims. Some users recovered full or partial use of their limbs, but for most, the loss was permanent. The total number of victims was never accurately determined, but is frequently quoted as between 30,000 to 50,000."

My Grandpa tole me about jake leg, and a quick google brings it right up.

He also told me not to drink moonshine unless I knew the shiner personally as there are a number of ways that poisons could be introduced, most notably from using auto radiators as condensers. When you think about it, it is solid advice because you have no clue what a stranger is doing with his process.

all these rumors and urban legands are what got me into this hobby. i wanted to try some real shine but didnt know who i could trust. it took me about 5yrs off and on but i have finally done what i set out to do. if i hadnt found this sight i would still be making swill. thanks you guys.