why is it cool to drink? more to the point, why is it cool to be able to drink a lot before you get drunk? how it works, is that normally, people drink a certain amount, and they can process alcohol at a certain rate. one beer is worth .02. the legal limit for driving is .08. a regular person can metabolize .015 per hour. how the stuff is metabolized is that there's enzymes.....hmm. i don't remember exactly. i believe it's a two step process. you use one enzyme to break it down, then you use another enzyme to break down the results of the previous breakdown, and you end up with presumably water and sugar or something like that. these two enzymes cannot be sped up. however, there is an alternative pathway, that uses only one enzyme to do it. this is what gets increased when people are able to increase their alcohol consumption. they are able to increase the rate of metabolization by 30%. so that means that they can metabolize about .2 per hour. so what it means when somebody can hold their liquor is that they basically have faster metabolic processes. now why is this cool? i don't get it. i guess it's somewhat akin to being able to eat a lot. wow, teck can eat so much, or something. but drinking.....well, drinking itself is cool i guess, right? things are fun when you drink, certainly. i don't think it's bad to think that drinking is fun. but i mean, if it takes you more to get buzzed, all you're basically doing is spending more money for the same effect. what's so cool about that? oh, i found this little chart. so basically, beer is what, like 5%? 7%? something like that. one beer is .02. wine would be around 11% i believe. so something like twice as much effect for the same amount. oh excuse me. one CUP of beer is .02. so one can would probably be more like .03. those big glasses you get in pubs or something are pints right? maybe? a pint is .473 litres. so that's close to .04. two and a half of those and you shouldn't be driving. shots are 40%.....but how much is in a shot? i would guess that a shot would be around .02 for each one? right, well, i gotta go. hope you found this somewhat enlightening.

I found this chart on a website somewhere.

The effects of alcohol intoxication are greatly influenced by individual variations among users. Some users may become intoxicated at a much lower Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) level than is shown.

0.02-0.03 BAC: No loss of coordination, slight euphoria and loss of shyness. Depressant effects are not apparent.

0.04-0.06 BAC: Feeling of well-being, relaxation, lower inhibitions, sensation of warmth. Euphoria. Some minor impairment of reasoning and memory, lowering of caution.

0.07-0.09 BAC: Slight impairment of balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing. Euphoria. Judgement and self- control are reduced, and caution, reason and memory are impaired.

0.10-0.125 BAC: Significant impairment of motor coordination and loss of good judgement. Speech may be slurred; balance, vision, reaction time and hearing will be impaired. Euphoria. It is illegal to operate a motor vehicle at this level of intoxication.

0.13-0.15 BAC: Gross motor impairment and lack of physical control. Blurred vision and major loss of balance. Euphoria is reduced and dysphoria is beginning to appear.

0.16-0.20 BAC: Dysphoria (anxiety, restlessness) predominates, nausea may appear. The drinker has the appearance of a "sloppy drunk."

0.25 BAC: Needs assistance in walking; total mental confusion. Dysphoria with nausea and some vomiting.

0.30 BAC: Loss of consciousness.

0.40 BAC and up: Onset of coma, possible death due to respiratory arrest.

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