Did You Know This Stuff About Booze?

In America, it's a hot topic that never ends, along with gun control and abortion.  For centuries, the world has brewed, distilled, mixed, poured, drank and argued over booze.  Here are some facts that I thought you would all find interesting about the world as it relates to booze.

Did you know that the United States has the highest legal drinking age in the world?  There are only 11 other countries in the world that make young people wait until they turn 21 to drink alcohol.  The United States also has some of the toughest criminal laws associated with drinking and some of the most stringent regulations in the world.  Coincidentally or not, the United States also has one of the highest death rates associated with alcohol.  Countries with a low or no drinking age, have less deaths from alcohol than any other countries in the world on average.  They also have less commercially produced alcohol and less people and less cars.

Another interesting fact is that the temporary prohibition of alcohol in America started the very year that women gained the right to vote.  Did they have anything to do with one another?  Interesting question.  Other facts about prohibition include that the major manufacturers of alcohol did not go out of business during the 13 year fast.  NASCAR was a direct result of rum running and bootlegging during that time.  Crime rose and deaths did not stop.  I would guess that's why booze is back.

But, drinking is a thing around the world.  There is no alcohol in Arab countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and so on.  Most countries in Africa have no real drinking age.  Not all, but most.  Europe regulates drinking to anywhere from 16 to 19 years of age, depending on the country.  There are some nations around the world where the drinking age is only 10.

All that being said, there are many interesting facts about people and alcohol.  Alcohol has been part of travel for a long time.  The country that we know as the Czech Republic these days has been a tourist spot for drinking for millennia.  They have an amazing history of beer in particular, and Prague is home to the oldest pub in Europe.

France is famous for wine and other spirits.  Absinthe is a French spirit that was banned in many countries for years.  Famous for being forbidden, it is now legal in most places again.  Champagne, as we know, comes from a province of France, as do Bordeax, Burgundy and many others. 

Guiness comes from Ireland and is one of the most popular beers around the globe.  Travelers come every day to take a tour of the main brewery in Dublin and learn how to make the shamrock in the head when they pour the beer.

There are also famous cities when it comes to drinking.  New Orleans in the U.S. is famous for partying.  They have so many ways to drink that no one can count them all.  They have alcohol slushies, voo doo pubs, entire holidays devoted to partying, and over 40 parades every year.  They are ground zero for American Mardi Gras and world famous for their pub crawls.  They now have a place called the Remedy Room where you can go to get hydrated before or after a wild time.  This is a medical style facility with IV's and B12 injections.

Munich is one of the most famous drinking towns in the world, with Oktoberfest at it's Zenith.  Every fall people from all over the world descend on this town just to drink beer.  It is one of the world's biggest parties, coupled with some lenient drinking ages in Germany.  They do not hold the world record for the world's biggest single party.  That too, belongs to New Orleans.

Some countries are a little different and so are their liquors.  It's called the Black Death and it is an Icelandic liquor.  This potent drink is the national drink of Iceland, which didn't have a national drink until 1989, when it's prohibition finally went away.  The lack of alcohol over the years made it extremely expensive to drink in Iceland.  They now have some locally produced beer and liquor, so the prices are getting better, but if you want to drink in Iceland; bring a lot of money.

Drinking and driving is a problem all over the world, so there are always drinkers looking for a solution.  The Netherlands came up with something that has become known as the Pedal Pub.  This is a moving bar.  It's a modified bicycle with the bartender steering.  The patrons pedal the bike, which is no longer a bicycle, but it gets people around without them driving.  It started in Amsterdam, like most other party things and now is available in many metropolitan areas around the world.

The pub crawl is another idea that has helped drinking and driving. This concept of walking from bar to bar in a single neighborhood and then calling an Uber has cut down on drinking and driving problems in cities dramatically.  There are pub crawls in most cities listed on websites with maps and meeting places.

So, what if you don't like to be told what to do?  What if you want your own booze?  What if you don't want to buy someone else's alcohol?  Then go to Washington State.  This place is home to over 1000 micro distilleries and micro breweries.  They make almost one fifth of all the micro concoctions in the United States.  You can try just about anything out there, and they have resources on the web that will help you find them all.

All my life I've been told about responsible drinking.  If that means peddling my bar, walking and calling an Uber, or driving through a package store and taking it home; then so be it.  I've often wondered if making less of a big deal out of it might make it less of a problem.  It works for other countries.  I don't think that it's a coincidence that we have strict laws and big problems.  America is a country of people who don't like to be told what to do.  We took prohibition and turned it into a major sport.  Is it any wonder that we aren't interested in following strict regulations and laws?

At any rate, there are some interesting tours, parties, festivals, parades, and cultures built on booze.  So, check the rules before you go and have a great time participating in some of the oldest traditions in the world.  Enjoy!

 


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