You know the song from Empire of the Sun, “Walking on a Dream?” Or the Wiz Khalifa remix, “Thrill of It?” If not, the chorus sings, “We are always running for the thrill of it, thrill of it / Always pushing up that hill, searching for the thrill of it.”

When I listened to it the other day, it made me think of the effect all the Four Loko hoopla has had on crazy college kids and partiers alike. Why, you ask?

A Washington Post article published a little over a week ago reported how the new ban has increased the demand for what has been nicknamed “blackout in a can.” Some kids are even stockpiling it for themselves or to sell at a higher price when it is no longer available. I already smell a sequel to the Boardwalk Empire series.

But why would so many people want it when the FDA has deemed the drink so dangerous and it has been reported that so many kids have been hospitalized? Back to the lyrics, “We are always running for the thrill of it.”

“I drank Joose; it’s like Four Loko,” said Holly Jackson, senior nutrition-dietetics major. “It gets you a different type of drunk and energy. It’s more intense of a drunk. It’s a crazier night.”

Reports created hype for these drinks; that is pretty obvious. On top of that, by emphasizing how dangerous they are, they presented a challenge to partiers. I could just hear them, “Four Loko is known to get people so belligerently drunk while wide awake that it even sends people to the hospital? I’ll take it!”

“It’s the ‘in’ drink of choice,” said Quincy Bevely, senior psychology major. “What people gravitate toward is the hype or danger it’s perceived to have.”

Do mountain climbers conquer the Rockies and not wish to one day make it to the top of Everest? Did it ever make sense to jump out of a plane and hope to make it safe to the ground with essentially a bed sheet, or even push it from there to try HALO jumps or Base Jumps with a Wingsuit? To a rational person, Hell no!

Although mountain climbing and skydiving are far more impressive and legitimate methods of thrill-seeking than drinking, it’s the same concept for any skateboarder, roller-coaster enthusiast, partier or any other person with a hobby that gets their jollies off; push it to the limit. So besides just presenting a bunch of obscure observations to you, what’s my point?

We all want that rush in one form or another, but to push it to that limit requires risk, and the best thrill-seekers optimize the most opportunity while eliminating the most risk.

So if you want the best drunk, research your own body type matched against various types and amounts of alcohol. If you are one of those crazy sex-fiends, find the best methods of birth control and STD protection. If you just love dirt-bike riding, find the necessary safety gear, know the limits of your bike and scope out the course prior to riding.

No matter what, be safe while you are “searching for the thrill of it.”