Why Does Alcohol Burn When You Drink It?

Why does alcohol cause that burning sensation on its way down?

Annotation:

Hosted by: Hank Green
----------
----------
Dooblydoo thanks go to the following Patreon supporters -- we couldn't make SciShow without them! Shout out to Justin Ove, Justin Lentz, David Campos, Chris Peters, Philippe von Bergen, Fatima Iqbal, John Murrin, Linnea Boyev, and Kathy & Tim Philip.
----------

Or help support us by becoming our patron on Patreon:
----------
Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet?

Sources:

Images:

[dm_nimbus]

Alcohol is always lying about how hot people are :P

[Pandsu]

So that's why people seem hotter when you're drunk.

[Naiadryade]

"It's not the booze that's hot, it's you." -Hank Green, 2016

(Actually Alyssa Lerner, since she wrote this episode--great joke Alyssa! But you know, #hankgreenoutofcontext is a thing and this is a great one.)

[finnbazz]

Wow, even my throat is hotter than me...

[OneOnOne]

For all those of you who want to mess with your heat/cold sensors some more, there's a fun little thing I learned in class a few months ago called "The Thermal Grill Illusion."

Basically, you heat up wieners on a barbecue some to 40 degrees celsius, some to 20 degrees celsius. Then you put them in a grid like pattern, switching between both (so one of 40, one of 20, one of 40, etc.) with a little space in between them. Then you put your hand on all of them at once. This activates both your receptors for cold and those for hot at the exact same time, causing you some serious pain. Don't worry, this cannot actually harm your skin or hand or anything like that.

You may want to actually look up how to do it separately, in case my memory has failed me.

This was psychology student OneOnOne, signing out.

[kcwidman]

Omg Hank called me HOT! I love you too Hank!

[DizzehxxMitizzeh]

Wow, that was a real confidence booster, thanks Hank!

[dylanbreault]

I love how he says ethanol is “relatively safe to drink” it makes my choices sound dangerous like I’m living on the edge but in reality I’m just getting wasted and my body is being tricked into thinking it’s beings burned from the inside lol this is why I love science it give me answers to questions I didn’t know I had

[GoatzAreEpic]

Thanks for telling me something I already knew.

Still, I love people telling me I'm hot :)))

[PontusWelin]

So chili infused vodka, served hot then? :P

[boy]

Why sometimes you will still feel the burn inside your body? Does this mean there's taste receptors in our stomach?

[MMYLDZ]

This video is a better pickup line than any I've ever used so far.

[eyeslikeraine]

I've never really felt much of a burn from drinking alcohol, I had always kindof morbidly assumed it was because of alcoholics in my family. But this explanation leaves more to be desired as I don't have an equally high or even slightly high tolerance for spicy food?

[maylawrence]

Thank you for constantly providing me with interesting information.

[dooplon]

"Remember, it's not the alcohol that's hot, it's you!"
Guys, I think hank has a crush on me what do I do?! ;-;

[teamene]

This was genuinely the most enlightening 120 seconds I've paid attention to all week!

[Pyke]

I love eating hot food !

So if you eat hot food after consuming lots of alcohol it'll feel even more spicy ?

[DogFoxHybrid]

I have to say, the burn from the liquor going down the upper digestive tract is one of my favorite sensations. 😊

[butchersgreat]

Genuinely the most interesting video I've watched out of the 100's I've seen

[ianhall]

VIdeo: "... just remember its not the drink thats hot, its you."
Me: "Damn straight" *takes another shot of whiskey*