A questionably heroic overdose “treatment” that originated in Bangor, Maine during the early 2000s opioid surge. Locals, for reasons still unknown to science (or common sense), began shoving ice cubes into the rectums of overdose victims, believing the shock of cold would magically kickstart breathing.
Spoiler: it doesn’t.
But somehow, even decades later, the practice refuses to die — much like the patients who actually get real Narcan.
EMS crews across Maine still tell tales of rolling over an OD patient just in time to watch a few half-melted cubes fire out like a frosty 12-gauge blast. The Bangor Ice Tray: a chilling reminder that some folk remedies should stay on ice.
Spoiler: it doesn’t.
But somehow, even decades later, the practice refuses to die — much like the patients who actually get real Narcan.
EMS crews across Maine still tell tales of rolling over an OD patient just in time to watch a few half-melted cubes fire out like a frosty 12-gauge blast. The Bangor Ice Tray: a chilling reminder that some folk remedies should stay on ice.
“He wasn’t breathing so we tried the Bangor Ice Tray.”
“You mean… you shoved ice up his—?”
“Bangor style, baby.”
“You mean… you shoved ice up his—?”
“Bangor style, baby.”
by Queen City Definition Dept. October 7, 2025
Get the Bangor Ice Traymug.