water... the silent killer

[Roderick Usher]

Woman Dies After Water-Drinking Radio Contest
January 15, 2007

A 28-year-old mother of three died from water intoxication after taking part in a water-drinking contest for KDND (The End)/Sacramento on Friday. The contest, Hold Your Wee for a Wii, involved drinking as much water as you could without going to the bathroom in order to win the much-coveted Nintendo Wii video game console. Contestant Jennifer Lea Strange died after drinking well over a half gallon of water during the Morning Rave program, said the Sacramento Bee.

As part of the contest, participants were each given eight-ounce bottles of water. They had two minutes to drink a bottle, waited 10 minutes, then drank another bottle. Some of them kept drinking for up to three hours. Another contestant, Gina Sherrod, said that a nurse was on the air warning that drinking too much water is dangerous. Sherrod told The Bee that a deejay rebuffed the nurse and that the contestants signed waivers that addressed only publicity issues and made no mention of health or safety concerns.

The CBS television affiliate in Sacramento reported that Strange called a co-worker shortly after bowing out of the contest. She was in tears and said that she felt ill and could not make it to work. Family members later found her unresponsive at home.

John Geary, GM of Entercom Sacramento, which owns KDND, sent an e-mail to The Bee saying, "We were stunned when we heard this news. We are awaiting information that will help explain how this tragic event occurred. Our sympathies are with the family and friends of Jennifer Strange, as they deal with circumstances that are so difficult to comprehend.":eek:

[the_real_linda]

OMG! i read this in the paper today....i didnt know what to make of it....how can they sue it was there choice...no way right but there choice

[XtRaVa]

The radio station should be shut down ;)

[the_real_linda]

i dont know how they could do stuff like that....is it just how far we can push it and be cool and daring...or so they think..........its always funny and cool till someone dies

[crabapple]

Same thing with "extreme" competition and "dare" TV shows...they'll be really popular until one horrible incident occurs. In a way, this is that incident, but it was for a radio show. I suppose pie-eating contests are out now, too.

[newb]

hmmm....a "Strange" case indeed.

very tragic

[XtRaVa]

Originally Posted by newb

hmmm....a "Strange" case indeed.

Badum tst! goes the drum kit.

[Roderick Usher]

Sounds like she had a faulty system to begin with. A half gallon of water killed her? Come on. A half gallon is 4 pints.

I'll drink four pints of beer at least once a week and have been known to double that from time to time and I rarely get hungover, let alone ill or close to death.

I understand that you can thin your electrolyte balance by overhydrating, but what was wrong with this woman before the competition started?

Is water that much worse for you than beer?

[BlackSunProductions]

Originally Posted by Roderick Usher

Is water that much worse for you than beer?

Yes it is. :p

[crabapple]

Well, we've finally figured out what the main problem with beer is: It contains water! Too damn much water.