Humberto Moura Fonseca: Student Who Died After Drinking Contest Had Written ‘Better To Die From Vodka Than Boredom’ On Facebook
Humberto Moura Fonseca may have predicted his own death long before he decided to down 25 shots of vodka within 60 seconds.
The 23-year-old student was in a drinking contest at his university in Brazil when he decided to drink close to 38 ounces of vodka in a single minute. Fonseca collapsed shortly after the contest ended, and ended up dying of alcohol poisoning.
Strangely, Humberto Moura Fonseca may have actually seen the death coming. On his Facebook profile he had written “it is better to die from vodka than from boredom.”
Humberto’s friend, Rodrigo Pancetti, said the quote was quite tragic in retrospect.
“Humberto and the others were really up for it,” Pancetti said.
“On his Facebook there’s a quote, a motto, from the Russian poet Vladimir Maiakovski which says ‘It is better to die from vodka than from boredom.’
“I never thought that would become reality. But once he had finished he said he felt ill and suddenly collapsed,” the friend added.
The University of Julio de Mesquita released a statement on the death, offering condolences on the tragedy.
A spokesman for the university said: “We very much regret the death of this young man and our condolences go out to his family and friends.
“We would like to remind students that drinking alcohol in the university is banned.”
Alcohol poisoning is also a problem in the United States. Research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests alcohol poisoning has become an increasing problem, with six people dying of it each day.The most common cause of alcohol poisoning is binge drinking, defined as consuming large amounts of alcohol during a short time period. “The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 grams percent or above,” the CDC noted. “This typically happens when men consume 5 or more drinks, and when women consume 4 or more drinks, in about 2 hours.“
According to reports from Brazil, Fonseca drank five times the amount in just one minute, not two hours.
Humberto Moura Fonseca was not the only one in need of medical help after the drinking competition. Three other participants were rushed to the hospital with alcohol poisoning, and remained under intensive care. Police said they will be charging the organizers.
[Image via PixShark]
