The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #72587   Message #1254241
Posted By: HuwG
23-Aug-04 - 03:45 AM
Thread Name: BS: Sniff! Dont slurp...
Subject: RE: BS: Sniff! Dont slurp...
Of course, I'm only here for the bear ... <g>

Whether or not the story in McGrath of Harlow's post is urban myth, ethanol and naked flames do not mix well. Some years ago, I was staging through RAF Gutersloh, in West Germany. The aircraftsmans' mess in which my unit was temporarily billeted had a photograph on the wall showing several people, their heads and hands swathed in bandages, being led out of a building.

Apparently, there was a craze in the RAF at one point for a cocktail known as an "afterburner". I don't know the ingredients, but the important point is that is lit before being drunk, as an encouragement to get the drink down in one. Someone either made a mess of the technique, or left the drink flaming for too long so that it was almost at boiling point before he drank it. Whatever the reason, he took a mouthful of the stuff, and rather than swallow it, spat it out with a bellow of pain. There was a spectacular fireball that engulfed the nearest drinkers, and also set several other spilled drinks alight. The result was six aircraftsmen with quite severe burns to exposed flesh, and a mess in need of refurbishment.