What Is Blackout Wednesday? Risks & Dangers

As Thanksgiving approaches each year, you may notice social posts, memes, or group chats buzzing about “Blackout Wednesday.” For many, the night before Thanksgiving has become an unofficial celebration filled with bar meetups, heavy drinking, and catching up with old friends who are home for the holiday. While it’s often framed as a lighthearted tradition, Blackout Wednesday carries very real dangers. Understanding what it is and why it’s grown in popularity can help reveal why normalizing holidays and events centered around binge drinking like Blackout Wednesday can be harmful.

Related Articles: Sober Tips for Thanksgiving

What Is Blackout Wednesday?

Blackout Wednesday, sometimes called “Drinksgiving” or “Thanksgiving Eve,” refers to the night before Thanksgiving when people crowd into bars, clubs, and house parties to kick off the holiday weekend.¹

Although it isn’t recognized as a real holiday, many bars treat it like one of their busiest nights of the year, often seeing major jumps in alcohol purchases compared to a standard Wednesday.²

Meeting up with friends before Thanksgiving may seem like a harmless, nostalgic tradition. But labeling the night as a “blackout holiday” often encourages binge drinking and risky behavior that can have serious consequences.

Dangers of Blackout Wednesday

Even though Blackout Wednesday may feel like a social ritual, the behaviors surrounding it often involve excessive drinking, which can lead to alcohol poisoning, accidents, impaired judgment, injuries, and a sharp rise in drunk driving. Treating the night casually can mask the very real hazards tied to overconsumption of alcohol.

Blackout Wednesday Binge Drinking Risks

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) defines binge drinking as a pattern of alcohol use that raises a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 percent or higher—typically four or more drinks for women or five or more drinks for men within roughly two hours.³

Binge drinking occurs across all age groups, though it remains most common among adults ages 18 to 25.³ Even one night of heavy drinking like Blackout Wednesday can lead to immediate dangers, such as:³

• Blackouts
• Alcohol poisoning
• Unsafe sexual decisions
• Increased risk of injuries from falls, car crashes, drownings, or burns
  

Long-term patterns of binge drinking can also lead to chronic health conditions, including liver disease, heart issues, and certain cancers like breast, liver, and colorectal cancer.³

Signs of Alcohol Poisoning

Alcohol poisoning, also referred to as an alcohol overdose, happens when a person’s BAC becomes so elevated that essential life functions begin to fail. Breathing, heart rate, body temperature, and the gag reflex can slow or stop, putting the person at risk of brain injury or death.⁴

Because alcohol continues to enter the bloodstream even after someone stops drinking, their BAC can keep rising. This is why letting someone “sleep it off” is extremely dangerous.⁴

Signs of alcohol poisoning include:⁴

• Vomiting
• Confusion or inability to think clearly
• Unresponsiveness or difficulty staying awake
• Irregular or slow breathing
• Weak or slow heartbeat
• Cold, pale, or bluish skin
• Lowered body temperature
• Seizures
  

If you think someone has alcohol poisoning, call 911 immediately. While you waiting for help be sure to stay with the person and keep them sitting upright to prevent choking. If lying down, turn them onto their side to prevent choking. When first responders arrive, give them as much info as possible like the amount they drank, any other substances they may have used, or any health conditions you’re aware of. Avoid giving them food, coffee, or cold showers—these do not reverse alcohol poisoning and may worsen the situation.⁴

Binge Drinking and DUIs

Another significant risk tied to Blackout Wednesday is impaired driving. Heavy drinking often overlaps with holiday travel, increasing the likelihood that people may drive under the influence or ride with someone who is impaired.

Between 2019 and 2023, drunk driving led to 868 deaths during the Thanksgiving holiday window—accounting for roughly 35% of all fatal crashes during that period.⁵ Drivers ages 21 to 34 were involved in the highest proportion of fatal drunk-driving crashes in 2023.⁵

In that same year, 174 people were killed in crashes involving drivers with a BAC of .08 or higher during the Blackout Wednesday and Thanksgiving timeframe alone.⁵

Nighttime driving is particularly dangerous, as drivers involved in fatal nighttime crashes are nearly four times more likely to be impaired compared to daytime crashes.⁶

Alcohol Abuse Treatment in Kansas City

What may start as a single night of heavy drinking can sometimes turn into a pattern of binge drinking, alcohol dependency, or ongoing substance use. If alcohol has begun to negatively impact your life and you can’t seem to quit, reaching out for help could be the next step toward change.

At Empowered Recovery Kansas City, we offer personalized addiction treatment programs designed to meet people wherever they are in their recovery journey. Our rehab admissions team can walk you through our various addiction treatment services, as well as payment options and our accepted insurance plans so you understand what to expect.

If alcohol use or repeated binge drinking has started to take a toll, we’re here to help you find a safer and healthier path forward. Contact our drug and alcohol rehab in Kansas City to learn more about how treatment can support lasting recovery.

References

1. Wikipedia. (n.d.). Blackout Wednesday. Retrieved November 26, 2025, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackout_Wednesday
2. Newsweek. (2025, November 26). Blackout Wednesday: The worrying trend ahead of Thanksgiving. Retrieved November 26, 2025, from https://www.newsweek.com/blackout-wednesday-thanksgiving-binge-drinking-11112104 
3. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (n.d.). Binge drinking. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Retrieved November 26, 2025, from https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/binge-drinking
4. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (n.d.). Understanding the dangers of alcohol overdose. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Retrieved November 26, 2025, from https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/understanding-dangers-of-alcohol-overdose
5. U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (n.d.). Thanksgiving: Buzzed driving is drunk driving. Traffic Safety Marketing. Retrieved November 26, 2025, from https://www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/safety-topics/drunk-driving/buzzed-driving-drunk-driving/thanksgiving 
6. NKyTribune. (2025, November 25). Motorists reminded of driving risks during ‘Blackout Wednesday,’ and throughout Thanksgiving weekend. NKyTribune. Retrieved November 26, 2025, from https://nkytribune.com/2025/11/motorists-reminded-of-driving-risks-during-blackout-wednesday-and-throughout-thanksgiving-weekend/?utm_source=chatgpt.com