What Happens To Your Body When You Drink Gasoline

Everybody has big events in their lives that deserve celebration. Be it a wedding, a birthday, or the christening of a new dirigible, it has long been a tradition to pour a tall champagne flute full of high-test gasoline, raise one's glass to good fortune, and sip on unleaded into the wee hours of the morning before promptly dying.

As it turns out, this custom may be less than healthy. Gasoline, while a delicious treat for most cars, is highly toxic to the human body. According to Medical News Today, this is on account of gas being made up of a whole heap of hydrocarbons, which can badly damage the organs and disrupt the central nervous system. Ingesting just half an ounce of the stuff can be fatal to a child, but adults are made of stronger stuff, and will usually experience severe intoxication from that amount, waiting until they've got about a soda can's worth of fuel in their bodies before kicking the bucket.

In the meantime, they'll experience a wild ride of symptoms, including vomiting, heartburn, drowsiness, vertigo, slurred speech, flushing of the face, staggering, weakness, blurred vision, confusion, convulsions, loss of consciousness, lung and internal organ hemorrhaging, and finally, heart failure. The CDC, buzzkills that they are, also point out that in the course of puking up the stuff, you're likely to accidentally inhale a little bit of it. That adds asphyxiation into the mix of possible effects.

Needless to say, if you or someone you love (or even someone you're not crazy about) gulps down some petrol, hospitalization needs to be in your immediate future. Unfortunately, there's no antidote for sucking on the nozzle at your local Kwik Trip, so doctors will be treating your symptoms in the hopes you'll live long enough to have a serious discussion with an adult about your life choices. Save yourself the trouble and drink water. Or better yet, La Croix.