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February 07, 2011

Keeping Warm, Baby

A drunk man found lying on a frozen park bench in his underwear survived because of the amount of alcohol in his blood.

Aleksander Andrzej, 32, was spotted in the Warsaw park - where the temperature was -5C - and taken to hospital by police, reports Metro.

A breath test showed he had 1,024 micrograms per 100ml, nearly 30 times the legal limit for driving, which doctors say helped him live.

They believe alcohol in his blood acted like anti-freeze - on the other hand it may have played a part in him ending up on a frozen park bench in his underpants.

Doctors say he is lucky to have survived - even 300mg of alcohol per 100ml can be deadly - but he is expected to make a full recovery.

I can't add anything to this. On one hand I am glad the guy survived; on the other hand I hope he doesn't do it again.

Photo found on Google.

39 comments:

May said...

Gosh!! Interesting. This is the first time I am reading about alcohol saving life...:D

Shadow said...

i'm with you on that...

LL Cool Joe said...

Interesting story, but sad to think a 32 year old man was so drunk he ended up on a park bench in his underwear. Somehow the fact he survived could lead him to believe he's indestructible.

Betty W said...

Some people are just lucky beyond comprehension.....

Brian Miller said...

yeah. wondering what got him to that point in the first place...and i imagine without the alcohol he never would have been naked on teh park bench...

Andrew said...

I wonder if he will take the experience as a wake up call.

Anne H said...

See? Two sides to every story!
Cheers!

Jeanie said...

Interesting two sides to that story. He was a very lucky young man....let's hope he know gets smart.

DJan said...

That's an amazing amount of alcohol to imbibe. I wonder what caused him to do it. He's lucky to be alive, I hope he realizes it.

Lori said...

Wow! Hopefully almost dying will be his wake up call.

Cindy said...

I wonder if the cold helped him to survive, sad and scary no matter how you look at it. take care.

Sarah Sullivan said...

LOL one of those dumb luck things I guess...brrrrr..he is lucky he didn't loose bits!!! Hugs hon, Sarah

Anonymous said...

Those Eastern Europeans know how to hold their liquor! WOW!

Stickup Artist said...

Sounds like a wake up call. I wonder if he will listen? Hopefully he will count his blessings, realize how close he came to harm or death, and turn over a new leaf. Addiction is a terrible cross to bear for both the addict and society.

TALON said...

How bizarre! I can't help thinking he must have been like a human slurpee!

Kristina P. said...

So weird! Usually, alcohol takes on the temperature of the body so it does no good to drink it if you are stranded in a frozen tundra. But maybe because it was so much, like the doctor said, it acted like antifreeze.

Maude Lynn said...

I guess God really does look after fools, drunks, and children.

Momma Fargo said...

It's true. We have a lot of bums that are pickled and they never freeze. Even when it's below zero. Oddest thing.

Bill Lisleman said...

These "funny" stories usually have a sadder background story but I admit getting a laugh from some of the stories. Yes I hope this guy doesn't continue these types of nature outings. Wonder if he had frostbite.

Maggie May said...

Thats quite amazing! Hope his liver holds out though, in the long run!
Maggie X

Nuts in May

Hilary said...

Wow.. I hope this is a pivotal experience for him. Love the photo you used to illustrate.

Suldog said...

As the old saying goes: "God takes care of drunkards and idiots." Having been both, and sometimes in conjunction, I can testify to the truth of that statement.

Liz Mays said...

I seriously can't believe he survived. That is amazing.

Owen said...

If he was trying to win a Darwin Award, I guess he failed, for now...

Bernie said...

So sad, obviously so drunk he didn't know where he was, how he was dressed or even the cold temperatures. I hope he gets help and accepts it. Drunk people make me nervous, I never know what they will say or do but I still feel bad for this guy....:-)Hugs

Land of shimp said...

Oh dear, on the one hand, thank goodness he was okay. On the other hand, good luck explaining that one to your mother, dude.

Lisa said...

Good on the police.

Joanna Jenkins said...

Whoa! I'm shaking my head.
The things some people will do.
Sheesh.
xo jj

heartinsanfrancisco said...

He probably will. Anyone who can imbibe that much liquor will not stop easily, and the fact that it helped him survive will serve to justify his drinking to himself. It's really sad.

Rock Chef said...

Ha, and they say that drinking is bad for you! :-)

Julie said...

Wow. That is mind blowing. I agree with you. It's amazing that alcohol saved him, but I hope he doesn't do it again. I knew a guy who died of alcohol poisoning (and overexposure) when we were kids. I hope this man realizes how lucky he was. Maybe ending up in the press will embarrass him into changing.

Kazzy said...

Yes, an interesting mix of emotions on this one, huh? Glad he is going to be ok though.

Vinny "Bond" Marini said...

good news bad news story...guy is lucky not to be a Popsicle

secret agent woman said...

If he's that big a drinker, you can bet he'll do it again.

Dave King said...

I'm sure it would have acted like anti-freeze. There are creatures - can't recall which! - that have anti-freeze in their blood, I believe.

Kathy M. said...

Wow. I don't even know what else to say. Thanks for sharing.

Big Dave T said...

Amazing that somebody knew there was somebody buried under that snowman. Maybe the snow helped to insulate him too, but that was a pretty cruel trick for someone to make a snowman of a half-naked guy, drunk as he might have been.

Robert the Skeptic said...

More likely the cold slowed down the metabolizing of his alcohol which, at body temperature, would likely have killed him. Some traumas and certain surgeries are performed after cooling the body to a lower temperature to inhibit some functions.

The volume of alcohol in the blood is still insufficient to keep his blood from freezing, which likely would have happened had he remained there.

Cricket said...

... on the other hand it may have played a part in him ending up on a frozen park bench in his underpants.

Jeez, ya think maybe?