Charles Joughin was one of the disaster's most unlikely survivors and he did it thanks to industrial amounts of liquor. The warming sensation of a glass of brandy (and the telltale red cheeks that sometimes result) is caused by vasodilation, the phenomenon of warm blood rushing to the surface of the skin. In a survival situation, having all that warm blood away from the vital organs means that the drinker is at greater risk of hypothermia. However, Canadian hypothermia expert Gordon Giesbrecht figures that in the -2 C temperature of the North Atlantic, the water was cold enough to quickly tighten Joughin’s blood vessels and cancel out any effect of the alcohol. What Joughin would have had, however, is the awesome, life-saving power of liquid courage. The baker had nonchalantly stepped off the stern of the sinking liner. Then, as 1,500 screaming, panicked souls drowned and froze to death around him, Joughin calmly paddled around until dawn.

Source: National Post