Bierleichen Gone Wild: Record Beer Consumption -- And It's Only Half Over

[marmar]

from Der Spiegel:





The Munich Oktoberfest may be heading for a new beer-guzzling record this year after 3.6 million liters were downed in the first week alone. But the number of people passing out or losing their children is up as well.

The first week of this year's Oktoberfest is over, and as ever, the half-time statistics are almost as overpowering as the high-octane Munich beer served in the tents.

A clear picture is already emerging: there are more visitors, and they're drinking a lot more beer, and that is having predictable consequences.

The number of Bierleichen, or "beer corpses" -- a term referring to people who have drunk themselves into a state of unconsciousness -- jumped by almost 20 percent to 445, most of them aged 30 or under, according to the Red Cross. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/2012-oktoberfest-nears-record-beer-consumption-in-first-week-a-858919.html