"Beyond Tomorrow"

Beyond Tomorrow is a cable show which airs a variety of geeky and interesting things. Today's episode did a myth buster on beating a breathalyzer test. Have you seen this done on shows like Myth Busters before? I've seen this exercise performed in any number of ways, but never with successful results. Here's the haps:

Two guys got good and drunk; one on scotch, one on vodka and cranberry juice. Thirteen total drinks apiece in a three hour time frame. Best case scenario, with time to metabolize the booze, at the end of the drinking spree, both gents have a minimum of 10 drinks in their system. When they blew, the first guy blew a .11 and the second a .09.

After trying peppermints, mouthwash, batteries, hyperventilating and cigarettes, neither was able to decrease their BAC. Findings are always the same - the only way to truly lower one's BAC reading is by lowering the BAC itself - and that takes time.

What I found most surprising was that after a three hour bender, one drink every 15 minutes, both guys weren't all that high. Thirteen drinks is a task-one must be TRYING to get drunk if they're drinking that heavy.

This is why I shoot holes in the usual argument of how folks are afraid to have a drink or two with dinner. Afraid they might be picked up for DWI on the way home. Yet, these tests indicate one could have at least eight drinks within a few hours and be under the presumptive legal limit. That's not a mistake made by having a drink or two with dinner - that's only going to happen with hardcore drinking.