Vodka and Mythbusters

....do not mix.

Well, they mix. A little. See below for details.

Hypothesis:
Ted is a hardass.

Methods:
I was enjoying a day off work, honestly kind of bored, watching some Mythbusters and having a vodka/tonic or two. The Mythbusters episode was, interestingly enough, about pain. They took random folks, stuck their hands in ice water, and waited to see how long they could take it. Apparently, the average for men is about 90 seconds; for women, 100 seconds. There was a "safety limit" of 3 minutes, presumably to prevent frostbite.

Results:
Since I'm an idiot, I decided to see how I measured up. One bucket of ice water and a stopwatch later, my hand was cold. About 45 seconds in, I noticed significant discomfort (3/10 analog pain scale). At 90 seconds, I was in real pain, but not unbearably so (8/10 analog pain scale). Immediately thereafter, the dogs came in to the room and informed me that the ball needed throwing. Since I cleverly used my off-hand for the experiment, I was able to pet dogs and throw dog toys without interrupting the experiment. The next time I looked at the clock I was 25 seconds past the safety stop time. I stopped the experiment, but honestly by then my hand was numb and I felt like I could have gone indefinitely.

Conclusion:
At greater than 200% of average pain tolerance, Ted is, in fact, a hardass.

Discussion:
The results are unsurprising, but there are several confounding factors. One is the alcohol involved, which is a well-known anesthetic. The other is the dog issue: petting and playing with domestic pets has been postulated as an endorphin-releasing activity. Both of these may have increased my pain threshold. Also, my status as a dignitary of both the People's Republic of Insomnia and the Potbelly Republic may indicate firmer-than-average moral fiber. Further experiments recommended by these results include repeating the test without alcohol, without dogs, and with other members of the PBR.