'Hold your Wee for a Wii' competition has devastating consequences

[Steven W]

Woman dies in a bid to win a Wii. I know this was obviously meant to be a bit of fun, but a 'holding your wee' competition?

Check out the Headline

[kalniel]

What a totally stupid competition. Where was the risk assessment on that?

[MadduckUK]

Comedy Gold

[jonathan_phang]

Probably not *comedy* seeing as someone actually died from it - but it wasnt the best way to go. I guess that most people know you can die from lack of water, but not too many know the opposite is true too.

Its rather a sad story, really.

[Bull Dog]

Sad.

(and stupid that someone would drink water like that)

They should have made the contestants drink saline solution

[UKMuFFiN]

So did she win?

[Steven W]

So did she win?

As awful as it may seem, I wanted to ask that question but didn't dare.

[UKMuFFiN]

As awful as it may seem, I wanted to ask that question but didn't dare.

We're all friends here, I felt comfortable asking.

[kalniel]

So did she win?

No.

[noTHINGface]

One for the Darwin awards me thinks....

[charleski]

They started out giving the contestants 225ml of water to drink every 15mins. This is already on the borderline of safety: a normal kidney can produce 1.5l/hr, but it's quite possible to suffer from mild kidney disease without feeling any symptoms.
After a few people dropped out they started giving the contestants bigger bottles to drink, which is just insane.

No matter what waivers they got the entrants to sign, it sounds like this station is facing some massive lawsuits. Everyone who made it past the first stage will need medical care.

[Dooms]

something doesnt sound quite right..

Contestants were first given eight ounce (225 millilitre) bottles to drink every 15 minutes.

Contestant James Ybarra told Associated Press news agency: "They told us if you don't feel like you can do this, don't put your health at risk."

Mr Ybarra said he quit after five bottles but remaining contestants started on larger bottles.

So she drank 1.125lr over 1hr 15min and died?! Thats not alot of water when its recommended you drink 2 ltr's over the day.

[charleski]

So she drank 1.125lr over 1hr 15min and died?! Thats not alot of water when its recommended you drink 2 ltr's over the day.

She drank more, that was the point at which Ybarra dropped out. Obviously drinking 2l over 2hrs is very different to drinking 2l over the 16hrs of a waking day.

"They told us if you don't feel like you can do this, don't put your health at risk."

Apart from wanting to pee, you won't feel a thing until it's too late...

[UKMuFFiN]

She drank more, that was the point at which Ybarra dropped out. Obviously drinking 2l over 2hrs is very different to drinking 2l over the 16hrs of a waking day.

Apart from wanting to pee, you won't feel a thing until it's too late...

2lr over 2 hours shouldnt be that bad, They say to drink about a lr an hour when exercising so I wouldnt have thought it was life threatening to drink that much when not exercising

Edit: except for the not peeing bit, forgot that minor detail. :S

[5lab]

water intoxication happens when you drink too much and flood all the minerals out of your body, causing organ failure. you dont have to drink much - as little as 1.8 litres in a sitting..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

[charleski]

2lr over 2 hours shouldnt be that bad, They say to drink about a lr an hour when exercising so I wouldnt have thought it was life threatening to drink that much when not exercising

Edit: except for the not peeing bit, forgot that minor detail. :S

When you exercise, you sweat, and can sweat up to a litre an hour - those are the losses that you should replace. You're also breathing more rapidly, and there's some water loss through that.

If you're perfectly healthy, you can drink a litre an hour without any problems (for a limited time - keep doing it and other sorts of damage can happen). But you only need 5/8ths of one kidney to live, and it's possible to suffer from kidney disease without knowing it. Checking this only needs the most basic blood test, but then there's a good chance that people entering a grueling competition in the US to win a $250 item probably don't have medical insurance and haven't had a check-up for several years.

Not peeing means that after a while your kidneys will begin to shut down, but by the time that happens you're already in trouble.