Borgs Are Taking Over Colleges In Real Life And It’s Dangerous, But Not As Dangerous As In Star Trek
A growing trend finds college students drinking borgs (blackout rage gallons) as a safer alternative to binge drinking, and while still potentially dangerous, they don't pose as much of a threat as the Borg in Star Trek.
A new drinking trend is taking college campuses by storm, and those who are indulging at parties are all about the borg (blackout rage gallon), according to a recent Tell Me Best article. While the term “borg” is loosely based on the antagonistic alien group from Star Trek, the real-life version is the new way that college-aged kids can get surly under more controlled conditions. Most experts agree that the best way to drink safely is to avoid binge drinking entirely, but borgs are overwhelmingly considered to be the “safest” way to consume larger quantities of alcohol. The callback to the Patrick Sterwart-led sci-fi series is just part of the fun.
So what is a borg? Do they induce rage, and what’s with the Star Trek reference? The Delta Quadrant-based Borgs in the science fiction series posed a threat because of their ability to forcibly transform the Enterprise crew into mindless drones. Leave it to college students to add some high-brain logic to their binge drinking.
The Star Trek-based drink itself is actually ingenious and came to be during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The borg has many variations, but it all starts with an empty water gallon. The gallon is filled halfway with water, then topped with vodka (or whatever alcohol of your choosing), flavoring, and electrolytes, which allows whoever is drinking it to drink at their own pace with their own closed container.
Looking back at some of the drinking habits of elder millennials, the borg is said to be a safer alternative to sharing drinks like jungle juice collectively. It will have less adverse effects on its subject than chugging a ghetto plaster, which is a two-liter bottle filled halfway with lime soda and topped off with bottom-shelf whiskey. Another way the borg promotes safer partying is by virtue of the fact that carrying a sealed gallon on your person greatly reduces the risk of your drink being spiked by a predator.
While the Borg in Star Trek are sneaky and menacing, the borg in the form of a beverage is actually good for warding off risky behavior, but as with any alcohol, consumption could always be risky.
Listen, we’re not condoning or encouraging binge drinking, and consuming alcohol responsibly should be a top priority no matter what your age, but we’re glad that younger generations are finding clever ways to let loose. And, if they’re going to drink at higher volumes, it is better that it is in a more controlled environment than some of their elders. An unfortunate part of college culture is that alcohol abuse has always been an issue.
There were keg-stands in the ’70s, and the infamous alcohol enema of the 2000s aptly referred to as “butt chugging,” so alternatives such as the borg seem to be a step in the right direction. Harm reduction advocates weighed in on the new trend by stating that if you’re going to drink heavily, it’s best to stay away from the Saurian Brandy that was consumed in Star Trek and to give the borg a chance.
In Star Trek, the crew would use Saurian Brandy as a diplomatic aperitif, as well as a means for crewmen like James Doohan’s Scotty to get rip-roaring drunk. Kids these days, while maybe curious about drinking into blackout territory, are at least trying to figure out safer ways to get sloshed, and as of now, the blackout rage gallon seems to be the new way to do it.
It goes without saying that binge drinking is not the healthiest way to consume alcohol, but if you can’t control the youth in their curiosity and self-exploration, a safer alternative is better than nothing.
