As Michigan college students and alumni prepare for homecoming celebrations this fall, a potentially dangerous style of drinking on campuses is going viral across TikTok.
A BORG, short for "blackout rage gallon," typically consists of a 1-gallon plastic water jug filled with a mixture of hard alcohol, water and flavor enhancement. The drinking trend has been around for several years, but is showing up on TikTok as student embrace the practice, with controversial claims BORGs help reduce drink contamination and hangovers.
A new study, the first to examine BORG use and its consequences among college students, offers a look at the trend's dangers. Nearly one-third of BORG drinkers report blacking out, according to the study in the Journal of Studies
on Alcohol and Drugs, published by Rutgers University. Another 59% report embarrassing behavior and 17% reporting vomiting.
“The thought is, ‘Great, you control your own beverage, risk contamination, especially in a post-pandemic world, and nobody could alter your beverage,’” says lead researcher Andrea C. King, professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Chicago told USA Today. “That's not really what it is."
Students often write slogans on their plastic jugs, including “BORG to be wild” and “Teach me how to Borgie.”
The drinks, which are typically made at home, can contain up to a fifth of liquor, or about 17 standard drinks, according to the study, which polled more than 100 participants from a range of private and public U.S. colleges and universities.
That amount of alcohol should be consumed over a week of time, if not longer, says Dr. George Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism at the National Institutes of Health.
“I wouldn't recommend drinking that amount of alcohol under any circumstances in the context of a party,” Koob says.
What is a BORG?
The drinks often reference popular internet phrases, pop culture moments or memes. A recent TikTok shows a pink, sparkling “Dolly Parton memorial BORG.” Others have names like “The GettysBORG Address” and “Hate being SoBORG.” The hashtag #borg has more than 31,200 posts on TikTok.
One of the earliest social media references to BORGs stems from a March 2020 TikTok. Social media has helped propel the popularity of these drinks on college campuses in the years since, according to King. Google search interest in “BORG” more than tripled in early 2023 and again during the summer of 2025.
How much alcohol is too much?
Four drinks for a womanand five drinks for a man, consumed over the span of about two hours, typically meets the criteria for binge drinking, according to the National Institutes on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
The University of Michigan's Stay in the Blue website notes people underestimate how much they have had to drink when having a BORG because they aren't using standard measurements. The site points out:
- A red party cup contains 1.5 beers
- Long Island Iced Teas at local bars typically contain 4-5 standard drinks.
- Mystery mixes in borgs, Igloo containers, or Gatorade jugs often contain 3-6 drinks per red cup, but may contain even more alcohol.
Stay in the Blue offers a blood alcohol content estimator to help students plan better.
When is homecoming for Michigan schools?
- Central Michigan University: Saturday, Oct. 3 at 3:30 p.m. against Akron.
- Michigan State University: Saturday, Oct. 10 at 3:30 p.m. against Illinois.
- Western Michigan University: Saturday, Oct. 10 at 3:30 p.m. against Kent State
- Eastern Michigan University: Saturday, Oct. 17 at 3:30 p.m. against Toledo
- University of Michigan: Saturday, Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. against Penn State.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Experts warn against 'BORGs'. Why they're more dangerous than you think
