Beware the Pangalactic Gargleblaster

The news this weekend was about a bar in the Glockenbachviertel called Die Bank where they'd been serving their own version of the Pangalactic Gargleblaster described in the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. A woman celebrating her birthday there was served one of these only to have the thing explode in her face. Last news was that she was still in critical condition with 2nd degree burns on her face, chest and arms.

The Pangalactic Gargle Blaster:

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy says that the best drink in existence is the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. It says that the effect of drinking a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is like having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick. The Guide also tells you on which planets the best Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters are mixed, how much you can expect to pay for one and what voluntary organizations exist to help you rehabilitate yourself afterward. "

I had the date from Hell in this bar. Is it jinxed?

Ok.. Ok... I'm confused... I may not be the sharpest tac in the box... but how the hell does a drink just explode ??? Do they set fire to it ? or is it something they bottled themselves

Yeah, they did set fire to it. Like a B-52 or the like. Apparently contained Absinthe, Myer's rum, and some other stuff.

Ouch... Poor lass. Won't be going there in a hurry !

Damned "Boulevard Presse" writing "73%" in the damned headline. The Absinthe was 73%, Meyer's is close to that, but not the vodka and the gin, each only around 40%. Maximum alcohol in that drink was about 60%. No matter how warm or cold you make them, drinks that you flame don't essplode.

Germans often drink their flaming drinks while still lit (silly, really: burns off the alcohol!). The only thing I can think of is that the girl blew into the straw, and hard, rather than sucking up the drink. A few air bubbles pushing everything up and out, plus vapour plus more surface area... yeah, that might hurt.

But the drink didn't essplode on its own, not even 100% (190°) pure ethanol. Alcohol burns but it doesn't go boom.

woof.

More likely it was just a case of the Cocktail glass shattering while it was still lit because it got too hot. & your probably right.. it was still lit while she was trying to drink it. daft & very sad if she is scar'ed for life, which would appear to be the case !

Always seems a bit pointless to me - why buy a drink that has too much alcohol in it only to have to set fire to it to burn off some of the alcohol.

Personally I'd rather buy something that I could drink without having to set fire to first and after this incident I won't be changing my opinion. Very sad.

I remember reading about this at the weekend. The paper gave a fairly detailed explanation of the science behind the "explosion". But it wasn't convincing. They said there are three kinds of explosion. These are: detonation, deflagration, and burning. Detonation is like a TNT bomb or something, deflagration is a powerful firebomb, and burning is, well, gentle burning where the flame progresses no faster than 1 meter per second. The accident in the bar was of the third type. I.e. burning. Not what you would normally consider an explosion.

I suppose Die Bank will have taken the Pangalaktische Gargleblaster off the menu now. Shame, because EVERYONE will be asking for it.

You mentioned this @ the boozefest...am still thinking it'd be fun to do, just need one of those lighters you'd usually use for a grill and stand the hell back...but in a bar, that's dangerous

I'm reminded of this scene...

[img]http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c5/woeii/ShareForumUse/5720322434.gif[/img]

Holy shit!!!

Deflagration can also happen with explosives, and true, it's all a matter of the speed of the wave of burning through the medium. If I have it correct, above the speed of sound in the specific medium (i.e. the explosive itself) results in explosion, beneath that is deflagration.

Die Bank is a cool bar, I often escape in there for last orders when I'm out and about locally.

Can I just say..Ouch!

Guess I won´t be getting anymore flaming Dr Peppers anytime soon...though you really shouldn´t drink fire in the first place.