Trivia for the day. Alcohol thins the blood making hypothermia a higher risk thus St. Bernard’s never carried it. Typically a first aid kit may have been attached with cloth to the collar, but the addition of the cask goes back to a painting.
Monkeyhead. That’s true if you are still out in the cold. The alcohol dialates the capillaries and subjects them to the cold. Inside in the warm air it can help warm you up by exposing the blood to a warm environment.
This was a recent (New Year’s Day) Mythbusters. The alcohol does lower your core temperature by improving blood flow to the extremities; the test was done in a refrigerated warehouse. So, there’s a short-term benefit, IF the victim can be gotten into a warmer environ before the body’s core temperature falls too far - it would delay the onset of frostbite. Interestingly enough, that same day, they ran the episode on common remedies for being plastered out of your gourd (hot coffee, immersion of the head in ice water, physical exercise, and slapping. Slapping and immersion both made some improvement in cognitive ability and BAC, BTW…)
Llewellenbruce almost 14 years ago
Not if his leg is broken.
Edcole1961 almost 14 years ago
Thanks, Bernard. You’re a saint.
vlechtja almost 14 years ago
Last I heard the Bernards were supplanted by Huskies in Swiss Alps.
monkeyhead almost 14 years ago
Trivia for the day. Alcohol thins the blood making hypothermia a higher risk thus St. Bernard’s never carried it. Typically a first aid kit may have been attached with cloth to the collar, but the addition of the cask goes back to a painting.
Olddog1 almost 14 years ago
Monkeyhead. That’s true if you are still out in the cold. The alcohol dialates the capillaries and subjects them to the cold. Inside in the warm air it can help warm you up by exposing the blood to a warm environment.
alan.gurka almost 14 years ago
OH, so that’s why the St Bernard has 2 barrels! Happy hour is two for one.
Ice_Bear66 almost 14 years ago
By the looks on the dog’s face, “Happy Hour” began hours ago for him, and now again…
Charles Evans Premium Member almost 14 years ago
Our rescue dog carries Gin in one cask, tonic in the other. You’re on your own for the lime.
Coyoty Premium Member almost 14 years ago
A Brief History of the St. Bernard Rescue Dog.
COWBOY7 almost 14 years ago
The dog should have shown up with those “essential” before the accident!
apple_rules almost 14 years ago
Happy Hour, yippee!
RadioTom almost 14 years ago
This was a recent (New Year’s Day) Mythbusters. The alcohol does lower your core temperature by improving blood flow to the extremities; the test was done in a refrigerated warehouse. So, there’s a short-term benefit, IF the victim can be gotten into a warmer environ before the body’s core temperature falls too far - it would delay the onset of frostbite. Interestingly enough, that same day, they ran the episode on common remedies for being plastered out of your gourd (hot coffee, immersion of the head in ice water, physical exercise, and slapping. Slapping and immersion both made some improvement in cognitive ability and BAC, BTW…)