Swine flu moonshine: Alcoholic hand gel removed from jail after inmates use it to make 'hooch'

[HuckleB]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1215865/Prisoners-drunk-swine-flu-hand-gel-Inmates-use-make-hooch.html

Ummmm. Yeah. I don't have anything to add to this one.

[Warpy]

1. Jailhouse hooch can be made from more palatable items

Anything with carbohydrates can be turned into alcohol. Some of it won't even gag you and it will all get you there.

My guess is that they were skipping the brewing process and just drinking the gel.

[Taverner]

2. But isnt the hand gel made of wood alcohol?

[Warpy]

3. No, it's drinkable alcohol

because that's the most efficient bug killer.

[Taverner]

4. Ahh interesting

and blechh!

[MineralMan]

7. One type is made with isopropyl alcohol,

but more is made of ethyl alcohol.

[HuckleB]

5. They weren't brewing anything.

"Some men apparently drank the stuff neat, while others mixed it with sugar and fruit to make hooch."

[EvolveOrConvolve]

6. That sounds disgusting

Imagine a Ziploc bag full of hand gel, rotten fruit, sugar, and a little bit of water. Imagine that same Ziploc bag after a couple of days of fermentation. That's usually how hooch is made in the hoosegow (without the hand gel).

[MineralMan]

8. Some kids were using it around here...the ethyl alcohol variety.

Gel Shots. I think the stuff's like 140 proof or more. Smells like lemons.

Feh!

[MineralMan]

9. Here's a story about kids abusing it:

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/features_julieshealthclub/2007/05/getting_drunk_o.html

[57_TomCat]

10. Another look at the topic.

Couple of years old but still important. From the New England Journal of Medicine.

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/356/5/529

"Although the potential fire hazard associated with such cleansers has been addressed through use and storage recommendations,4 there are no similar recommendations for the potential misuse of the cleansers as intoxicants. Given the widespread use and national endorsement of these products in the United States, health care providers and administrators in hospitals and correctional facilities should be aware of the potential misuse of the products as intoxicants and should take steps to minimize such use in high-risk populations."

[HuckleB]

11. Interesting. Thanks! (nm)