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Maybe someone can help explain why these drinking oddities exist, because I’ve never figured it out:
1. When two or more people are going to have a drink of alcohol, why must they do it in sync after saying “cheers”? What exactly does “cheers” mean? Be happy? If I’m ready to drink something, I don’t see why I need to wait on others in order to do it in unison. The same custom doesn’t apply to taking a bite of food, thankfully. And why isn’t this custom used very often when drinking beer?
2. In the movies, after the actor takes a drink of alcohol, he always makes a particular face. He pulls his lips in tight and shows his front teeth. The impression I get is that the drink is supposed to be strong. But in real life, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone make that face.
3. I have friends who cannot or will not take a sip of alcohol unless they hit the bottom of their glass on the table/bar/counter first. I asked them and they say it’s “just a thing.” What thing?
4. Look: Sleeping pills make people tired. Coffee makes them wired. But the effects of alcohol don’t follow a set pattern. Some people get giddy and laugh. Some get mean and violent. And some get weepy and despondent. What’s the explanation?
5. Alcohol is the only consumable product we injest by mouth that has no list of ingredients, or table of nutritional facts (sugar, carbs, etc) on the label. Why not?
Maybe someone can help explain why these drinking oddities exist, because I’ve never figured it out:
1. When two or more people are going to have a drink of alcohol, why must they do it in sync after saying “cheers”? What exactly does “cheers” mean? Be happy? If I’m ready to drink something, I don’t see why I need to wait on others in order to do it in unison. The same custom doesn’t apply to taking a bite of food, thankfully. And why isn’t this custom used very often when drinking beer?
2. In the movies, after the actor takes a drink of alcohol, he always makes a particular face. He pulls his lips in tight and shows his front teeth. The impression I get is that the drink is supposed to be strong. But in real life, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone make that face.
3. I have friends who cannot or will not take a sip of alcohol unless they hit the bottom of their glass on the table/bar/counter first. I asked them and they say it’s “just a thing.” What thing?
4. Look: Sleeping pills make people tired. Coffee makes them wired. But the effects of alcohol don’t follow a set pattern. Some people get giddy and laugh. Some get mean and violent. And some get weepy and despondent. What’s the explanation?
5. Alcohol is the only consumable product we injest by mouth that has no list of ingredients, or table of nutritional facts (sugar, carbs, etc) on the label. Why not?
1. That doesn't happen all the time. Some people like to say 'cheers' or some or form of cheers in other languages, while others like to just start drinking. There is no hard written rule that you need to wait. If you choose not to wait, go ahead and drink.
2. It depends on the type of drink an actor is consuming. I've not seen that face when drinking a beer, but if it's hard alcohol then yes I have seen it. I see that with some folks when drinking whiskey straight up.
3. Maybe you should ask your friends for more clarification on the 'thing'. I've never seen that happen.
4. It all depends on the quantity of alcohol being consumed. If it is one drink, I see not difference in people. Like most drugs, alcohol affects folks differently. Just like coffee doesn't make all people wired.
5. Alcohol isn't regulated by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) so they don't have to put the drink contents on the label as foods and others drinks have to. The FDA regulates those others and requires nutritional facts on the labels. But they do need to inform the consumer for certain items. For example, wine needs to inform the consumer if they contain sulfites or are above 7 or 8% alcohol content. Hard alcohol needs to list the % of alcohol.
Maybe someone can help explain why these drinking oddities exist, because I’ve never figured it out:
1. When two or more people are going to have a drink of alcohol, why must they do it in sync after saying “cheers”? What exactly does “cheers” mean? Be happy? If I’m ready to drink something, I don’t see why I need to wait on others in order to do it in unison. The same custom doesn’t apply to taking a bite of food, thankfully. And why isn’t this custom used very often when drinking beer?
2. In the movies, after the actor takes a drink of alcohol, he always makes a particular face. He pulls his lips in tight and shows his front teeth. The impression I get is that the drink is supposed to be strong. But in real life, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone make that face.
3. I have friends who cannot or will not take a sip of alcohol unless they hit the bottom of their glass on the table/bar/counter first. I asked them and they say it’s “just a thing.” What thing?
4. Look: Sleeping pills make people tired. Coffee makes them wired. But the effects of alcohol don’t follow a set pattern. Some people get giddy and laugh. Some get mean and violent. And some get weepy and despondent. What’s the explanation?
5. Alcohol is the only consumable product we injest by mouth that has no list of ingredients, or table of nutritional facts (sugar, carbs, etc) on the label. Why not?
1) It's a camaraderie ritual.
2) It's exaggerated a bit in movies for effect but drawing your upper lip back toward your teeth re-shapes your mouth to relieve some of the burning effect in the back of your throat caused by 1) people who are generally inexperienced with drinking hard liquor, or 2) experienced hard liquor drinkers who take a sip of a hard drink that is not distilled to a particularly high standard.
3) It's shorthand for "okay, here we go." It's just a thing. Take them at their word and don't try to overthink it.
4) Alcohol enhances/amplifies mood. Just as everybody's moods are not the same, neither will their response be to alcohol as a mood-enhancing substance.
5) Because alcohol is regulated by the ATF and not the FDA.
The responses above do make perfect sense and are very much appreciated.
I do think that, regardless of what department regulates alcohol, packages should be required to include the ingredients and nutritional data. If we choose to consume the product, I think we have a right to know its contents. The same goes for cigarettes; it’s hard to believe that, despite the decades-long placement of warnings in cigarette advertising and on packages, there is still no list of ingredients. The alcohol and tobacco industries must have lobbied really hard against such requirements.
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