Shotgunning
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- This article is about the drinking practice. For other uses of shotgun, see shotgun (disambiguation).
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Procedure
To shotgun a beverage, one rubs for about 15 seconds a spot on the bottom of the can straight down from where one drinks out of a can. Then one punches a small hole in the side of the can near the bottom where one has rubbed before the tab is pulled; this is usually done using a key or other sharp instrument. The drinker then places this hole to his or her lips, tilts the can right-side-up, and pulls the tab in the usual manner. The combined effects of gravity and the pressure change that follow when the tab is pulled cause the beverage to be forced out of the can, and into the drinker's mouth, very rapidly. Unless one is skilled in the technique it is easy to become soaked as the drink rushes out of the can. Depending on the beverage and the way the technique is performed, a beverage of twelve US fluid ounces can be consumed in well under 10 seconds. Accomplished shotgunners can consume this amount in several seconds. The method of shotgunning a beer is demonstrated by John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga in the 1985 film The Sure Thing. A more updated film featuring the art of shotgunning can be seen in the 2002 film [[FUBAR: The Movie|FUBAR]].Scientific explanation
It can readily be seen that when one pours liquid from an open vessel such as a glass or mug it emerges in a steady stream, whereas when one pours a liquid from can or bottle it 'chugs' from the container somewhat more slowly.The reason for this is that as a liquid leaves a container the space it once occupied must immediately be filled by the surrounding air. This is because otherwise a vacuum would result. Because "nature abhors a vacuum", as a liquid leaves a container atmospheric pressure forces air into the vessel to take its place. This process is usually unnoticeable in the case of a glass or mug because the surrounding air has no difficulty gaining access to the vessel. However this changes in the case of a container with a single, narrow opening such as a bottle or can.
When a liquid is poured out of such a container quickly, surrounding air has no easy way to gain access and take its place. For this reason the stream leaving a can or bottle is regularly interrupted to allow air to enter, resulting in the familiar 'chug-chug' sound.
Shotgunning works by creating a second hole in a can so that air can enter one hole (the can's original opening) while the beverage can be poured, in a rapid, uninterrupted stream, through the remaining hole (cut in the side of the can). Tilting the can ensures that gravity is also put to maximum effect.
Strawpedo/shnorkelling
Strawpedoing, or shnorkelling, is the equivalent of shotgunning when a glass bottle of alcohol used. A bendy straw is inserted into the top of the bottle and the small end is bent down and held over the edge of the bottle. To drink, the mouth of the bottle and the elbow of the bendy straw is put in the mouth and upended. The bendy straw ensures a steady flow of air into the bottle, and the beer can therefore be consumed very quickly.
Inverted Shotgunning/Blowholing
A recent variation of shotgunning apparently arose out of the necessity of not spilling beer. In this method, one must drink about 1 inch of the liquid inhabiting the can, and then poke a hole near the top, above the liquid level, on the side of the can that does not have the tab hole. In other words, the side of the can that faces upward when drinking. The beer is then drunk from the normal drinkning hole in the can. Inverted shotgunning is actually a less acurate name for the method, because it is not actually shotgunning. The word "blowholing", while more acurate (the added hole emualtes a sea mammal breathing in through its blowhole), is not used as commonly as it has a sexual connotation attached to it.See also
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