When you're young and desperate (and/or broke), you've probably realized that mouthwash contains alcohol—score! But can drinking the stuff really give you a buzz? Also, is it even cost efficient? I mean, how expensive is cheap alcohol anyways? Most importantly, will drinking actually Listerine kill you? No worries, I've done the hard part for you. No, not drink it—research!

Of course getting Listerine is infinitely easier than getting regular "drinking" alcohol because it's sold in most grocery stores and convenience stores, but also can be purchased at any age.

Original formula Listerine is 26.9% alcohol, making it approximately 54 proof. According to the US, one "standard" drink contains roughly 14 grams of "pure" alcohol—so one standard drink of Listerine is 2.2 fl. oz. (so there are about 23 standard drinks in one 1.5 L bottle of Listerine).

A pack of two 1.5 L Original Listerine goes on Amazon for about $21—which makes it $0.45 per drink.

To put all that in to perspective, one standard drink of Bud Light is $0.67, one standard drink of cheap wine is $0.50 and one standard drink of cheap vodka is $0.66. If you ask me, I would rather spend the extra $0.20 on the trouble of getting the cheap alcohol than drink mouth wash.

But OK, angsty teens, you win this round... but who wants to drink mouthwash? Not me, that's for sure. How broke do you actually have to be to consider this stuff as liquid courage?

If I still don't have you convinced, let's take a look at what it does to your body. Mouthwash is designed to be spit out, not swallowed. Hopefully you've learned that by now. 

Some mouthwash contains hydrogen peroxide, which can cause damage to the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in upset stomach, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. Many mouthwashes contain compounds such as menthol, eucalyptol and thymol. These ingredients can be toxic when consumed in amounts large enough to become drunk from mouthwash. Just in case you think I'm making this stuff up, there is a case study of fatal mouthwash ingestion. 

So the short answer is yes, drinking Listerine will get you drunk. The long answer is that along with getting you drunk, it could also get you killed. I think it's safe to say that your life is worth a lot more than the $0.50 gap between Listerine and cheap liquor. Plus, there's nothing like the classics.

 Please swish responsibly, my friends!