Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
English Girl's Severe Stomach Injury Lends Lessons on Liquid Nitrogen
Bartenders at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas make liquid nitrogen ice cream cocktails (Photo by Krista Simmons/LAist)
()
Cocktailians know to be selective about where they belly up to the bar out of sheer taste, but it turns out that they're right to be cautious. This morning, news came across the pond that an 18 year-old English drinker had to have her stomach surgically removed in an emergency procedure due to drinking a liquid nitrogen cocktail.
Because of the alarming nature of the story, there will likely be many consumers who are a freaked out by the idea of consuming dishes made with liquid nitrogen, which is traditionally used in dermatology to freeze off blemishes, as a coolant for computers, and in studies where scientists examine the effect of very cold temperatures on materials.
Although these conventional uses for liquid nitrogen, which has a boiling point of -196C, might not sound all that appetizing, its popularity has picked up steam over the past few years with the rise of the modernist kitchen. The visual effect of the billowing gas is quite stunning, and therefore it's been used at several L.A. establishments to make cocktails: The Bazaar in Beverly Hills makes their famous salt air margaritas and frozen caiparinhas using liquid nitrogen. The Library Bar at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood uses it at special events and parties to freeze cocktails like mojitos into slushies. And at 1886, liquid nitrogen is used to insta-freeze boozy paletas, which are made with tequila, strawberries, and milk.
What happened in the case of the Lancaster teen was that the liquid nitrogen had not fully evaporated, and she drank the liquid form of the gas. According to the BBC, this is incredibly dangerous. Science writer and fellow at the Royal Society of Chemistry John Emsley said that if more than a "trivial" amount of liquid nitrogen is swallowed, the result can be horrendous.
Support for LAist comes from
"If you drank more than a few drops of liquid nitrogen, certainly a teaspoon, it would freeze, and become solid and brittle like glass. Imagine if that happened in the alimentary canal or the stomach. 'The liquid also quickly picks up heat, boils and becomes a gas, which could cause damage such as perforations or cause a stomach to burst,' he says.
However, Emsley says he would be surprised if anyone could actually swallow liquid nitrogen.
'It would be extremely cold in anyone's mouth - people would want to spit it out immediately,' he says.
While Emsley thinks the liquefied gas is safe in the hands of top chefs, and trained bartenders may be able to use it to create 'sensational effects', he says there needs to be a very strong warning not to play with it."
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist