Pea jackets, rain jackets, and fleece jackets can be sporadically seen throughout the campus on any given weekday. But once the weekend starts, a slightly different jacket makes its appearance around Iowa City.
That’s right, it’s the liquor jacket.
Students have recently been seen flocking to the Pedestrian Mall donned in short-sleeve shirts with only a layer of alcohol to protect them from the arctic tundra that’s become Iowa City.
University of Iowa sophomore Nicole Enright said she has worn her “liquor jacket” out while partying every night of the past week.
“When you’re so intoxicated, you just don’t notice the cold, or if you do, you don’t care,” she said. “Jackets are just inconvenient.”
However, even though alcohol may make it seem as if our bodies are heating up, in reality, it actually decreases our core body temperature, according to a report released by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
So, basically, students need to start wearing actual jackets instead of depending on their good old friend Captain Morgan to keep them warm at night.
Not only do jackets keep you warm, but heavy alcohol consumption actually puts you more at risk for frostbite. Sure, you might look like the Michelin man if you throw on a puffy coat, but at least you won’t go numb.
If frostbite isn’t enough to scare someone straight, there’s also the chance of developing hypothermia.
In fact, more than 700 deaths occur annually from hypothermia in the United States, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.
However, not everyone seems to be bothered by these conditions.
Sure, it may be more inconvenient to spend the entire night having to look like a mother at the zoo with her jacket tied around her waist than to endure a 15-20 minute walk in the cold, but having to cart around a coat isn’t the worst thing in the world.
Anyway, if your body ends up looking like Adam Sandler’s foot in Mr. Deeds because of frostbite, then you’re going to have way more problems than finding a stool to set your sweater on.
