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==Background== | ==Background== | ||
As prohibition was in effect in the United States in 1928, it was illegal for American citizens to possess or consume alcohol. However, Richard Byrd got around this prohibition by requesting 2,000 gallons of alcohol for medicinal purposes. This request was fulfilled by Major Campbell, the Prohibition Administrator for New York. The large store of alcohol on board the expedition's flag ship, ''City of New York'', caused significant excitement among members of the press. | As prohibition was in effect in the United States in 1928, it was illegal for American citizens to possess or consume alcohol. However, [[Richard Byrd]] got around this prohibition by requesting 2,000 gallons of alcohol for medicinal purposes. This request was fulfilled by Major Campbell, the Prohibition Administrator for New York. The large store of alcohol on board the expedition's flag ship, ''City of New York'', caused significant excitement among members of the press. | ||
On the day the expedition departed for [[Antarctica]], | On the day the expedition departed for [[Antarctica]], Byrd became angry when a reporter from the ''Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' pressed him to explain the vast stores of liquor on board the ship. He replied: | ||
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Dr. F. Dana Coman, the expedition's physician, and the man with the keys to the liquor supply, took some of the grain alcohol and mixed it with the lemon powder and the crushed orange juice concentrate. The men dubbed this extremely potent drink a "blowtorch." Bryd himself participated in the festivities and every couple of weeks, he would authorize a tub of blowtorches to be made up and a party held to help the men relax and unwind during the long winter. | Dr. F. Dana Coman, the expedition's physician, and the man with the keys to the liquor supply, took some of the grain alcohol and mixed it with the lemon powder and the crushed orange juice concentrate. The men dubbed this extremely potent drink a "blowtorch." Bryd himself participated in the festivities and every couple of weeks, he would authorize a tub of blowtorches to be made up and a party held to help the men relax and unwind during the long winter. | ||
Things got especially bad during one three-week midwinter drinking binge. Drinking contests broke out between the men, most notoriously between Danny Davies and Larry Gould, who got carried away and ordered everyone to "get cock-eyed drunk." The drinking and partying lasted until 4:00am in a "spectacular and riotous drunken orgy." | Things got especially bad during one three-week midwinter drinking binge. Drinking contests broke out between the men, most notoriously between Danny Davies and [[Gould Coast|Larry Gould]], who got carried away and ordered everyone to "get cock-eyed drunk." The drinking and partying lasted until 4:00am in a "spectacular and riotous drunken orgy." | ||
According to [[Paul A. Siple]]: "A few others drank as gentlemen." | According to [[Paul A. Siple]]: "A few others drank as gentlemen." | ||