Paris Hilton’s Margarita
I am neutral in the Culture Wars. I view this war as a surrogate for real war – namely the war against Islamic Fascism. However I recognize that when people are bored with reality, they will satisfy their boredom by turning to the Surreality provided by Hollywood and the stars that pepper its universe.
Paris Hilton is one of those stars. I doubt I have ever written about her for the same reason I don’t write about rich kids who are famous for being beautiful and cutting their own porn. However Paris crossed into familiar territory with her misdemeanor arrest for DUI last night in Hollywood.
Several points should be mentioned:
1. DUI is a misdemeanor in Hollywood?
2. Her PR firm leapt to her defense:
“She’s absolutely fine,” Mintz said. “She didn’t appear in the least bit to be intoxicated.”
That conflicts with the LAPD’s Officer Isabella: “Police stopped Hilton because she was “driving erraticly,” he said.”
Mintz also said:
At the time of her arrest, Hilton was driving home in her Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren from a charity event where she had one drink, a margarita…
Let’s see how big that “single marguerita was:
Paris Hilton is 5’8” or 68 inches. At her height, according to the BMI index she would weigh 122 lbs if we considered her to be just at the beginning range of “normal” BMI - which is 18.5 at 122 lbs for someone her height.
According to this website, Paris would have had to consume 3 ounces of Tequila one hour before her arrest in order for her to have a BAC of .08.
Moving on to Wikipedia, we find that Margaritas are made with 4 different ratiosof ingredients:
2:1:1 = 6:3:3 (50% tequila, 25% Triple Sec, 25% fresh lime juice).
3:2:1 = 6:4:2 (50% tequila, 33% Triple Sec, 17% fresh lime juice).
3:1:1 = 6:2:2 (60% tequila, 20% Triple Sec, 20% fresh lime juice).
1:1:1 = 6:6:6 (33% tequila, 33% Triple Sec, 33% fresh lime juice).
Using the the first ratio, we find that the Margarita Paris drank was 6 oz – having 3 oz of tequila, 1.5 oz of Triple Sec and 1.5 oz of fresh lime juice.
This assumes that her PR flack is correct and that Ms. Hilton threw the drink back a few minutes before leaving an event and driving away.
However the accuracy of her flack is called into question by this statement:
The driving under the influence symptoms were “probably the result of an empty stomach and working all day and being fatigued,” Mintz said.
Um… No. The “driving under the influence symptoms” (there’s an odd term for drinking and driving: “symptoms”) can only be the result of knocking back a 6 oz Margarita then getting behind the wheel. One does not blow a .08 for being tired after making a music video. Granted, an empty stomach will speed the uptake of alcohol into her system, but beyond that it will not have any impact on her blood-alcohol level.
Finally, the law really doesn’t differentiate between lightweights like Paris Hilton who can knock back a single (albeit potent) drink and blow a .08 – and those of more hefty stature who might have to consume half a case of Chivas in order to catch a buzz (Tubby Reifenstahl anyone)? If you have a BAC of .08, you get arrested no matter how many drinks it took to get to that level. Unfortunately in California, a .08 nets a misdemeanor whereas in other states it can cost you a lot more.
This is my first post about Paris Hilton and drinking, but given the nature of alcoholism, I doubt it will be my last.
Arthur:
Hi everyone! I just wanna say that politics is a favorite subject matter of all people—from youth to elders. When it comes to the topic of Politics, each individual is anxious to speak his mind and so are squabbles that are ready to explode. For all we know, Swiss politics has been silent in the global village; whereas U.S. and Asian politics are so alive. On the contrary, Swiss politics is also an extraordinary hotspot of debate and a favorite past time of each opinionated Swiss inhabitant.
2 October 2006, 3:00 amDavid Hancock:
Re: Paris in Margaritaville
15 November 2006, 4:28 amA couple of points.—You gave the heiress a break by not even counting the alcohol content of the Triple Sec.—In the United States, a first DUI offense is universally a misdemeanor.
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/lis/dui/felony.htm
Adrienne:
What we are going to conclude from this debate is that Paris Hilton takes bad substance and must be banned for 2 years. Am I right?
Adrienne
18 November 2006, 8:03 pmas ‘Fan of Don Lapre’
http://www.adriennebraswell.com