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A British high school student nearly died last week after drinking a liquid-nitrogen cocktail and having her stomach removed in emergency surgery, the Telegraph reports. Gaby Scanlon was celebrating her eighteenth birthday with friends at a wine bar in Lancaster when she downed the Jägermeister drink, which is mixed with liquid nitrogen to produce a steaming effect. Breathless at first, then crippled by stomach pain, Scanlon was taken to a hospital and diagnosed with a perforated stomach.
Police are investigating, and the bar has agreed to stop serving nitrogen drinks for now. Seems wise, considering that the chemical is -320 Fahrenheit and can damage your insides if it hasn't evaporated before ingestion, experts tell the Guardian. They add, however, that liquid nitrogen can be used to chill glasses or freeze food without posing a health threat. As for Scanlon, she is recovering in serious but stable condition. "Maybe 'stay off the liquid nitrogen' is not a f–––––– funny thing to say to me," she tweeted. "I nearly died." (Read about an eco-friendly burial method that uses liquid nitrogen.)
