In humans’ pursuit of achieving anything other than complete sobriety, daring individuals have taken to everything from rotten meat to milking toads to get high. Now, reports are cropping up in India of people turning to an even more unusual source of feel-good fluid: the broth of boiled flavored condoms.
The first reports of the questionable pastime came in from CNN-News 18, says Gizmodo, as they spoke with a shopkeeper who had been experiencing above-average sales of flavored condoms. The shopkeeper questioned a buyer as to whether there was an explanation for the surge in sales, to which they replied the condoms were good for getting intoxicated.
People curious as to how a boiled condom might inch one closer to nirvana are in luck, as the viral news story has prompted many to attempt a scientific explanation in response to the reports.
Speaking with Dheeman Mandal, who works at Durgapur Divisional Hospital where the surge in condom sales is reportedly happening, CNN-News 18 learned that aromatic compounds in flavored compounds may break down releasing chemicals that are found in certain glues and alcohols.
Releasing these feel-good chemicals requires boiling the flavored condoms for several hours, polymer chemistry research scholar Udayan Basak told Vice, and results in a high that’ll supposedly tick over for up to 12 hours. However, like many of the things in life which can make us feel good, the condom cocktail apparently comes with some pretty serious side effects, too.
Everything from organ failure to increased cancer risk and neurological dysfunction is up for grabs when messing around with the kinds of hydrocarbons and alcohols such DIY experiments can cook up. The reliability of stories of teens going to such lengths to get high is arguably questionable, coming from just a few observational reports – but what’s clear is that spending your nights boiling up flavored condoms is a bad way to feel good.
Just look at this photo of a duck instead.
