Speed Drinking
Speed drinking or competitive drinking is the drinking of a small or moderate quantity of beer in the shortest period of time, without an intention of getting heavily intoxicated. Unlike binge drinking, its focus is on competition or the establishment of a record. Speed drinkers typically drink a light beer, such as lager, and they allow it to warm and lose its carbonation in order to shorten the drinking time.
The Guinness World Records (1990 edition, p. 464) listed several records for speed drinking. Among these were:
- Peter G. Dowdeswell (born July 29, 1940) of Earls Barton, Northamptonshire, England, drank 2 litres (3.5 imperial pints; about 66.7 U.S.fluid ounces) in 6 seconds on February 7, 1975.
- Steven Petrosino (born November, 1951) of New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, drank 1 litre (33 U.S. fluid ounces) in 1.3 seconds on June 22, 1977, at the Gingerbread Man Pub in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Neither of these records had been defeated when Guinness World Records banned all alcohol-related records from their book in 1991.
Former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke held a record for the fastest consumption of "a yard" of beer. He drank 2.5 pints (1.4 litres) in 12 seconds.
Read more about this topic: Drinking Culture
Famous quotes containing the words speed and/or drinking:
“The greatest felony in the news business today is to be behind, or to miss a big story. So speed and quantity substitute for thoroughness and quality, for accuracy and context. The pressure to compete, the fear somebody else will make the splash first, creates a frenzied environment in which a blizzard of information is presented and serious questions may not be raised.”
—Carl Bernstein (b. 1944)
“There is a difference between eating and drinking for strength and from mere gluttony.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)