Vodka ranks first in the world in popularity among alcoholic beverages. It is used in many cocktails, but we are interested in life outside the bars. Gather volunteers, give them vodka, and very soon you will find in each of them a bitter drunkard, rolling down the social ladder lower and lower. Alcohol is harmful to people. Similar facts about vodka no longer require evidence. They are time tested.
Researchers also found a health hazard with the long-term use of vodka (apparently, this was news for scientists). However, this danger is not as serious as drinking fake vodka, issued as an expensive brand of alcoholic drink. From this article you will learn several fascinating stories and facts related to vodka, including the story of the circus, in which they were given this “miraculous” drink to save the elephants. Sit back - we begin!
The most fascinating facts about vodka:
1
Vodka does not freeze in domestic refrigerators
If you want to make alcoholic popsicles, use wine and beer, and leave the vodka alone. Even after several months in the freezer, the vodka liquor will remain liquid. This unusual quality is based on the freezing point of alcohol. Drinks with "bitterness" do not get to any point. Therefore, their degree of freezing depends on the individual ratio of water and alcohol.
Wine and beer reach ice in a few hours, as the amount of alcohol in them is much lower than in classic Russian vodka. Forty percent alcohol has a freezing point of -27 ° C. The average freezer in a domestic refrigerator is not cold enough to freeze vodka. If you want to get ice cubes from "bitter", then you should buy an industrial refrigerator or use liquid nitrogen.
2
Rotterdam container
In 2019, customs officers from the Netherlands discovered something suspicious. A Chinese ship called Nebula landed on the coast of Rotterdam with a container that was full of vodka. The sailors claimed that there were 90 thousand bottles in the container, and they were a gift.
The documents indicated that this Russian-made vodka was intended for China. However, Dutch intelligence had information that in fact 90,000 bottles of vodka were donated to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. This created certain problems, since UN sanctions prohibit the importation of luxury goods (this list also includes alcoholic beverages) in the DPRK. When the customs officers wanted to see the container with their own eyes, they found that it was located behind the vessel and was hidden by an awning. Although the removal of the container could damage the ship, the Dutch Foreign Ministry did not hesitate to issue an order.
The cargo was confiscated, and when the incident became public, the customs officers refused to disclose the secret of how they learned about the presence of vodka on the deck. This could help smugglers deliver luxury goods in the future with the same trick. As for Kim Jong-un, suspicions are not far-fetched. Since coming to power in North Korea, he has imported many goods for personal needs, whose value is estimated at billions of dollars.
3
The study of male alcoholism
In 2018, 50 Australian men agreed to take part in a study that was supposed to play a game while inside an MRI. Some of them enjoyed vodka ahead of time. Both sober and drunk subjects said that the meaning of the game was a quick reaction, and their opponent was a student sitting in the next room.
In fact, the game was quite aggressive, and a computer played against men. The winner is the one who first pressed the button when a color block appears on the screen. The loser heard a beep. Men were of the opinion that the “student” specifically chose an annoying sound to punish them when they lose. The sound was enough to annoy the players.
MRI scans showed that men who had drunk had a decreased brain activity in the prefrontal cortex. This part is responsible for alleviating anger and social behavior. Also supporting memory function and cognitive inhibition.
When the drunk subjects won, they reacted aggressively, directing anger at the “student”. This proves that it is more difficult for a drunk person to control himself and observe etiquette, while the likelihood of aggressive behavior in a state of excitement increases significantly.
4
Vodka fire
Employees of any insurance company can recall dozens of cases of strange appeals for insurance payments. One of these appeals could check the most experienced company for the fortress.
In 2012, a fire broke out in a liquor store in Minnesota. He was so strong that the height of the flame reached about 4 meters. According to the store owner, sunlight set fire to a bottle of vodka that exploded, and the flammable contents accelerated the fire.
If the case is still not strange enough for you, you should make a clarification - the fire occurred in the city of Burnsville (from the English. Burn - burn). Fortunately, there were surveillance cameras in the store, which recorded the moment the fire started.
Many in childhood fired something, directing a magnifying glass at the object, which passed through itself the sun's rays, acting as the "culprit" of the arson. In the case described by us, a glass bottle took on the role of a lens, causing sunlight to converge at one point in a display case made of cardboard. The resulting flame led to the explosion of several bottles and the burnout of the entire store. Most-beauty does not recommend that you leave various liquids in bottles in direct sunlight!
5
LGBT Boycott
The beginning of the 2010s in Russia was marked (real or imaginary in the West) by a struggle with members of the LGBT community. The law on permission to arrest citizens of foreign states on the basis of their sexual orientation came into force. In any case, this is how history was presented in the countries of Europe and the USA.
In reality, the situation was a little different, although rallies of representatives of sexual minorities were indeed banned in Moscow and St. Petersburg in 2013. There have also been isolated cases of attacks on members of the LGBT community who have openly expressed their views.
Dan Savage, a writer and journalist from the United States, came to grips with Russian laws, known for a number of materials that exposed the former American senator Rick Santorum, who openly opposed gay marriage. Savage decided to direct his blow to ... vodka, apparently motivating this by the fact that the product is associated with Russia, regardless of the country of origin.
Since an alcoholic beverage is extremely popular in the USA, the writer thought that refusing it would harm our country. The LGBT community picked up the idea, and soon several bars in Chicago stopped selling vodka, and sympathizers refused to buy it.
Typically, most vodka sold in the United States is not produced in Russia. For example, the Stolichnaya brand is manufactured in Latvia, and its owners, frightened by the fall in profits, made official support to the LGBT community. However, at least one manufacturer from Russia was also hit by the writer from an active social position. We are talking about Russian Standard vodka. Judging by the fact that no action was taken from the brand owner, Savage’s attack did not shake the position of Russian Standard in the United States.
By the way, you can read about the most popular people who have come out out in one of our articles.
6
Elephant protection
In the winter of 2012, the circus troupe was about to follow from Novosibirsk to Omsk. The show was attended by two elephants, which were loaded into a trailer. Since there was an incredible frost, a heater was turned on in the trailer.
An accident occurred along the way, causing a fire. The elephant trailer was trimmed with wood, so people had no choice but to “put” the elephants out. Feelings of animals are hard to imagine, because the temperature was around -40 ° C.
Without any means of warming, the elephants would not have survived even two hours. Fortunately, there was a liquor store nearby, where the circus administrators ran. Local residents decided that the circus fans distraught with grief decided to drink hard.
There was no limit to surprise when the artists bought about 20 liters of vodka, mixed it with hot water and gave Jenny and Magda a drink. Such a “cocktail” could warm the elephants until the veterinarian arrived and the employees found a warm haven for them. A taken aback veterinarian concluded that the elephants were all right, except for a slight frostbite on the ears. Their condition was qualified as "tipsy."
7
Alcohol nullifies exercise
In the mid-10s of the XXI century, scientists decided to find out the effect of alcohol on strength training. Researchers already knew that an increased dose of alcohol slows down the process of muscle recovery and growth by stopping the corresponding signal. At the same time, the signal to the muscles was strengthened by performing physical exercises. The purpose of the scientists was to find out whose action will be stronger - alcoholic beverages or strength training.
9 women and 10 men volunteered to participate in the experiment. After each training session, they were given either a glass of vodka or a glass of water, the rim of which was smeared with an alcoholic drink. This allowed the subjects to think that they were drinking diluted vodka, while the drink did not have an intoxicating effect on them. Participants who drank vodka were given about 8 standard servings of the alcoholic drink for 10 minutes.
The result surprised scientists. The recovery signal decreased in men, but not in women whose muscles were immune to the effects of alcohol. The reason is still unknown, however, they may be associated with a jump in testosterone observed in men after strength training.
8
Vodka shortens lifespan
A study conducted in Russia several years ago directly indicates that vodka has a detrimental effect on life expectancy. To conduct a social experiment, three cities were selected whose residents (the total number exceeds 150 thousand) were interviewed for alcohol addictions. After the death of 8,000 people, the second stage of the experiment began. Researchers analyzed the causes of death of these 8 thousand people and found that most of the people surveyed died due to addiction to alcohol.
If we talk about general mortality, then about 35% of those who die before the age of 55 say goodbye to life precisely because of alcoholism. If we take into account that 25% of the male population of Russia dies before 55 years of age (for various reasons), then the effect of alcohol on life expectancy is terrifying.
For comparison, in the UK only 7% of men die before age 55, in the United States the rate is slightly higher (10%), but still significantly inferior to mortality in Russia. The health hazard is 1.5 liters of vodka per week, which does not allow us to make optimistic forecasts about the average life expectancy in our country in the near future.
9
Vodka Atomik
Chernobyl by a wide margin ranks first in attendance among all the attractions of Ukraine. Every year, the accident site is visited by tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world. Recently, thrill-seekers can pamper themselves with vodka, which is made from water and wheat, collected in the exclusion zone. Earlier visits to these places were banned. After the explosion of the reactor in 1986, nuclear pollution made an area of 2.6 km² unsuitable for life for a period of 24 thousand years.
Today, the Ukrainian authorities claim that the danger was somewhat exaggerated. However, tourists still cannot get to some places of the accident. As for cereals, they are especially susceptible to radiation.
You may not believe it, but the distillation process was able to destroy all traces of radiation, and numerous tests have proved that Chernobyl vodka is absolutely safe. She got the meaningful name Atomik, and is the first consumer product made from Chernobyl raw materials after the accident. The alcoholic drink will be sold to Chernobyl “stalkers”, and ¾ of the profit will be transferred to support the villages in the exclusion zone. Would you dare to try this drink?
10
Deadly fake
British vodka lovers risk their health due to more frequent cases of artisanal production of an alcoholic beverage. Thousands of bottles of suspicious quality and contents were seized across the island. Among them were fakes of such famous brands as Red Admiral, Stolichnaya and Smirnoff.
The seized bottles had a much higher alcohol content than indicated on the labels, but this was not the biggest problem. Laboratory analysis showed that the composition of "vodka" included ingredients, the use of which can lead to death.
In one British region, they covered a batch of fake Glen’s vodka, which included a portion of methanol exceeding the permissible maximum by 235 times. The substance is used to create antifreeze, and its ingestion leads to blindness.
Four fake brands in West Sussex contained isopropyl alcohol, used in industry as a solvent. And manufacturers of fake Drop vodka added chloroform to it. Consumers were warned not to buy too cheap vodka, as well as products with a lack of liquid and spelling errors on the label. However, the number of alcohol poisoning continues to grow.
And if for the British this is very unusual, for the residents of Russia, the confiscate is, unfortunately, quite an ordinary event.
Finally
So our article on the "folk" drink came to an end. We hope that the stories and facts about vodka presented by us will contribute a small part to the promotion of a healthy lifestyle for all people on our planet. The editors of most-beauty.ru asks you not to stand aside, share this article on social networks, and also write a comment about the benefits or harms of vodka. Or maybe you have some fascinating story that you can share with our readers.