Freddie's special drink

Yes, they did...and do.

I caught a patient sucking on his wash cloth. When I checked it, it was soaked in rubbing alcohol.

Freddie used whatever was at hand to make his concoctions.
He took pride in his skill as a mixologist.



"a malcontent who knows how to spell"

I remember hearing how derelicts used to cook 78 rpm records in a pot, to reduce them to chemicals, which they drank (shudder).

Are you familiar with moonshine? This is home made grain alcohol made with a home-made still, usually outside in the dark with moonlight as the only visible light so as not to attract attention. It's very cheap to buy, and dangerous to consume. But people drink it because it's cheaper than the gallon of vodka you can get at the drug store. That's how desperate very poor people who are alcoholics are for booze. It's a matter of availability too. The paint thinner is all that is available for the soldiers. Soldiers have also been known to use the chemical in their shoe shine kits to get a buzz. Prisoners make their own liquor using fruit cocktails, called pruno.

I know a fair amount about booze but I had no idea guys in the navy really made cocktails from grain alcohol used for the torpedo motors. TORPEDO JUICE ... wow.

Various poisonous additives were mixed into the fuel alcohol by Navy authorities to render the alcohol undrinkable, and various methods were employed by the U.S. sailors to separate the alcohol from the poison. Aside from the expected alcohol intoxication and subsequent hangover, the effects of drinking torpedo juice sometimes included mild or severe reactions to the poison, and the drink's reputation developed an early element of risk.