BORG CALCULATOR
Guesstimating + alcohol rarely results in good outcomes and so we have developed the BORG-U-LATOR 3000 – a scientific tool that will let you make your tailor-made BORG safer* based on your individual characteristics. Not everyone drinks, (according to a 2023 Survey, over 30% of undergrads said they do not drink) but some do. Of those who drink, not everyone is leaning into the current BORG rage, but some are. If you’re going to make a BORG, let the BORG-U-LATOR 3000 help you use science to reduce your risk of harm.
How it works
Input your biological sex**, your weight in pounds, and the number of hours over which you anticipate consuming your BORG. The BORG-U-LATOR 3000 will then do some pretty fancy math to determine the MAXIMUM number of shots/ounces of 80-proof (40% ABV) alcohol that can go into your BORG (regardless of how much water is in your BORG***).
More about the fancy alcohol science
Alcohol has a “bi-phasic” effect which means that it starts out with pleasurable effects, but then there’s a point where it shifts from uphill to downhill and the negative effects of drinking start to accumulate. That tipping point is what we call “the sweet spot.” It is that place where you are most likely to experience the effects of alcohol that people tend to like and not the consequences that they don’t. Way before alcohol consumption gets dangerous, it becomes self-defeating. If you choose to drink, finding your sweet spot can make your experiences much more positive and reduce harms.
*We use the term “safer” because consuming alcohol is never without risk.
**BAC is calculated based on biological sex due to how alcohol is processed in the body. Trans folx should use their biological sex for the purposes of using the calculator.
***One of the biggest misconceptions about BORGs is that the amount of hydration is in some way a safeguard. While being hydrated is good, and being hydrated may help reduce a hangover, hydration is not a variable in BAC and so it does not offset the amount of alcohol in your BORG in any way.
Don’t feel like drinking? A BORG makes a great “decoy drink” – nobody will know if there’s no alcohol in your BORG and people won’t keep offering you drinks!
Here are some other things you should consider if you choose to drink:
- Consuming alcohol under the age of 21 years of age is against the law and against WFU policy.
- You should never operate a vehicle or other machinery after consuming alcohol.
- Hard liquor (and any alcohol > 16% ABV) is prohibited at WFU, even for students who are over 21 years of age.
- The vast majority of alcohol-related conduct and medical incidents at WFU are the result of consuming liquor.
- The only thing that reduces blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is time. Your body can process approximately 1 standard drink of alcohol per hour.
- Wake Forest University makes no claim that the use of the BORG-U-LATOR 3000 Borg Calculator will eliminate risk.