R
Roy Kristiansen
Member
Substance Abuse Counselor: "Have you ever had any blackouts?"
Patient: "None that I can remember."
Patient: "None that I can remember."
Michael H. Standart
Member
>>I believe he said about a tumbler full.<<
How big was the tumbler? 
Seriously, I don't know that we can ever be entirely certain. It's not as if Joughin had an incentive to be completely candid about it after the fact if he got himself totally plastered. For whatever it may be worth...and that may not be much...the detail of his testimony doesn't sound like that of a man who would have been playing with the pink elephants at the time.
How big was the tumbler?
Seriously, I don't know that we can ever be entirely certain. It's not as if Joughin had an incentive to be completely candid about it after the fact if he got himself totally plastered. For whatever it may be worth...and that may not be much...the detail of his testimony doesn't sound like that of a man who would have been playing with the pink elephants at the time.
R
Roy Kristiansen
Member
A tumbler is considered to be a general term for any drinking glass without a stem, which would give Mr. J some considerable leeway - unless we could establish that it was a WSL glass of a standard size, of course.
'-)
Michael, I agree, he was fairly conscious of what was going on around him. I don't believe, though, he ever said anything about his alcohol capacity. Somewhere I recall reading a comment from an acquaintance to the effect, "that man loved his grapes."
Roy
'-)
Michael, I agree, he was fairly conscious of what was going on around him. I don't believe, though, he ever said anything about his alcohol capacity. Somewhere I recall reading a comment from an acquaintance to the effect, "that man loved his grapes."
Roy
Michael H. Standart
Member
>>Somewhere I recall reading a comment from an acquaintance to the effect, "that man loved his grapes."<<
He may have, but then so do I. I don't take it to excess, but that's just me. He may have had a Liver that would make W.C. Fields wince for all I know, but as lucid as his account is, I don't think it was an issue that night.
He may have, but then so do I. I don't take it to excess, but that's just me. He may have had a Liver that would make W.C. Fields wince for all I know, but as lucid as his account is, I don't think it was an issue that night.
David G. Brown
RIP
Hypothermia almost rules out any alcohol in Joughin that night. Alcohol makes the drinker feel warm because it increased blood flow in the skin. When a swimmer is in cold water, that increased blood flow causes rapid loss of body heat which brings on hypothermia and probable death.
Joughin's survival argues against him being even tipsy when he rode Titanic down. However, once in the water he was exposed to heat loss and hypothermia even if sober. One of the early signs is a loss of clear thinking coupled with decline in fine muscle control. These two symptoms of hypothermia mimic the effects of too much alcohol. Hypothermic people are often mistaken for being "over-served" with alcohol.
So, I think it's probable that he did have something to fortify himself, but not enough to be life-threatening in the water. He most certainly would have acted much like a drunken sot even after being taken aboard Carpathia until his core temperature recovered. And, a tale of high imbibing while the ship sank probably would have done him no harm in his social circles.
-- David G. Brown
Joughin's survival argues against him being even tipsy when he rode Titanic down. However, once in the water he was exposed to heat loss and hypothermia even if sober. One of the early signs is a loss of clear thinking coupled with decline in fine muscle control. These two symptoms of hypothermia mimic the effects of too much alcohol. Hypothermic people are often mistaken for being "over-served" with alcohol.
So, I think it's probable that he did have something to fortify himself, but not enough to be life-threatening in the water. He most certainly would have acted much like a drunken sot even after being taken aboard Carpathia until his core temperature recovered. And, a tale of high imbibing while the ship sank probably would have done him no harm in his social circles.
-- David G. Brown
