In 2007, KDND-FM, a radio station in California, hosted a water drinking contest that ended in the death of Jennifer Strange, a 28-year-old mother of three.
Jennifer was from California and one of 18 people who participated in the contest in the hopes of winning the prize of a Nintendo Wii. She wanted to win the game console for her kids.
For the contest, participants had to see how much water they could drink without going to the bathroom to empty their bladders. They were given two minutes to drink a 250 ml bottle of water. Then, they were given more bottles to drink every 10 minutes.
On January 12, 2007, Jennifer consumed nearly two gallons of water in the span of three hours. During the contest, she was heard complaining about pain to one of the DJs. One of the DJs commented that she looked pregnant, while another said, “That is so funny.”
Some listeners even called in to the show to warn them of the dangers of drinking too much water. But the DJs simply stated that they were aware of water intoxication and that they weren’t responsible for anything because the contestants had signed a release.
Halfway through the contest, they doubled the amount of water given to the contestants. After taking second place and winning a pair of Justin Timberlake concert tickets, Jennifer left. She called in sick to work and was found dead in her bathroom about five hours later.
A coroner ruled that the cause of her death was water intoxication, also known as hyponatremia. The condition is extremely rare and typically only affects endurance athletes.
The first symptoms of the condition are headaches, nausea, and vomiting. It can also lead to brain swelling, seizures, coma, and death.
The winner of the water drinking contest experienced similar symptoms. They claimed to have thrown up and were unable to function. Following Jennifer’s death, 10 staff members at the radio station were fired.
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Her case went to trial. According to a kidney expert named Dr. George Alan Kaysen, who testified in her trial, drinking too much water disrupts the body’s salt balance. When this occurs, the cells in the body, as well as the brain, swell up, resulting in seizures and respiratory distress.
Furthermore, if Jennifer had received immediate medical attention, she might have been saved with an IV sodium drip to counteract the large amounts of water in her body.
Attorneys for the radio station argued that her death was not foreseeable and that she should have known that drinking too much water comes with dangers.
After two weeks, the jury found Entercom Sacramento LLC, the owner of KDND-FM, liable for Jennifer’s death. Entercom Sacramento LLC is a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based Entercom Communications Corp. The jury awarded $16.5 million in compensation.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
