Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [alcohol]

Commonly used term which refers to ethanol-containing alcoholic beverages. However, more broadly, the term can also be applied to any organic compound with a hydroxyl functional group bound to a carbon atom, such as methanol.

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Is the Ballmer Peak real?

There is a myth saying that having a BAC in the 0.129% - 0.138% range can improve your cognitive abilities. This effect is called the Ballmer Peak (a reference to Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft) and is pictured nicely in this xkcd. Is there any…
Alexandru
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Is alcohol beneficial in small amounts?

It's widely believed that consuming small amounts of alcohol has many health benefits. As a matter of fact, a lot of alcohol might be good for you, as Wired Magazine reports: It’s one of those medical anomalies that nobody can really explain:…
Patches
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In the American west—the world of cowboys and cowhands—was ammunition traded for alcoholic “shots” of a drink?

CLARIFICATION: Just so it’s clear, this question is specifically about the economic claims made by the meme presented below. It is a NOT question concerning the origins and etymology of the word “shot” in any way/shape/form. If there is a desire to…
Giacomo1968
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Is LSD more harmful than alcohol?

Having read this Guardian article it seems LSD is a much less harmful drug (both to the user and to others) than alcohol. I live in the UK, where alcohol is legal to buy from age 18 (and to drink from even younger), but LSD is a class A drug - the…
fredley
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Is vodka (or alcohol solutions with less than 60% concentration) an effective hand sanitizer against Covid-19?

There has been a lot of insistence in some quarters that hand sanitizers need to have > 60% alcohol contents, even against the new coronavirus and so that e.g. vodka (which typically has lower concentration) would not be effective, e.g. Almost as…
Fizz
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Does eating yeast stop you from getting drunk?

This article claims that eating active yeast powder before drinking will mitigate the effects of alcohol, by breaking down the alcohol before it enters your blood stream. You see, what Owades knew was that active dry yeast has an enzyme in it…
Nick
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Is Alcoholics Anonymous effective?

In my research I've found statistics for spontaneous remission from addiction: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10976668. The statistics for A.A. seem to be a little more difficult to find/interpret. For example:…
user776
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Do Russians drink as much alcohol as their stereotype suggests?

It's a widely held stereotype that Russians drink a lot of alcohol. Is there any research supporting or refuting this belief? Possible metrics I can think of (though you're welcome to add more) can be: Average volume of alcoholic drinks consumed in…
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Is the Japanese government encouraging the young to consume more alcohol?

In many western countries governments have been issuing advice on how much alcohol should be consumed as medical opinion about safe consumption levels has become more stringent (see NHS advice here). The specific recommended levels are controversial…
matt_black
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Does consuming different types of alcohol make you more sick than others?

A common saying about drinking is this: Beer before liquor, never been sicker. Sometimes this is followed by: Liquor before beer, you're in the clear. Is there any merit to this? Assuming one drinks the exact same amount of beer and harder…
Brian Schroth
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Did medieval Russia reject Islam because of its prohibition against alcohol?

For a long time, I have been aware of a historical anecdote about the attempt to convert Russia to Islam. I don’t know where I first heard the anecdote: I’m pretty sure it was oral, so I had to dig a bit to find notable claims. The anecdote goes…
gerrit
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Is alcohol a good enough pain killer to allow for surgery without the patient noticing?

Some urban legends and myths revolve around surgery occurring to a person who has had too much to drink. Is it possible to, as a side effect of the patient drinking too much, reach a point where surgery can be performed without the patient regaining…
blueberryfields
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Does drinking alcohol dehydrate you?

I've often thought that it doesn't and that this was just a myth, and this BBC article backs me up: but [water] can be contained in food, alcohol or caffeinated beverages. Yes, beer and coffee do not dehydrate you to any noticeable extent (there's…
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Does alcohol alter your personality?

It is reasonably well accepted that alcohol lowers your inhibitions. However, I often hear it claimed that specific alcohols "make me mean" or "I become a different person". Is this claim really the result of alcohol inducing an actual significant…
Larian LeQuella
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Is there a correlation between the quality of alcoholic beverages and the likeliness of a hangover?

There is this saying that if you drink alcoholic beverages of good quality (expensive or "well made" whiskey, vodka, wine etc.), you are less likely to get a hangover. Is there any correlation between the quality of the consumed alcoholic beverages…
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