Interesting Facts

The UK is about to introduce a sugar tax on soft drinks, which will add at least 18p a liter to sweet fizzy drinks. (The tax will be levied according to how much sugar is added to a drink. According to the BBC, there will be two bands - one for total sugar content above 5g per 100 millilitres and a second, higher band for the most sugary drinks with more than 8g per 100 millilitres. Analysis by the Office for Budgetary Responsibility suggests they will be levied at 18p and 24p per litre. It is estimated that it will raise around £520m a year, which the government has pledged will be spent on increasing the funding for sport in primary schools. So, does this mean people will drink less sugary pop? Probably not, they'll just have less money to spend on fruit.) The sugar tax has an interesting history:- First they said they wouldn't, then they said they might, now they have: Talk about flip flopping:- http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-cameron-rules-out-s...

According to a survey run by Hotel chain Travelodge, the average British family will have their first alcoholic drink on Christmas Day at 9:05am. (Grown ups start the day with a drink at 9:05am, followed by breakfast at 9:19am. Yes, booze before breakfast. Usually disguised as a Bucks Fizz. Well, we do say, "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you may die.")

According to GoEuro , the cheapest city to drink beer in the world is Krakow, Poland.  In the UK it is Liverpool, London is 63rd. (The top 10 cheapest places, based on the cost of 33cl of beer were as follows:- 1. Krakow, Poland (£1.07) 2. Kiev, Ukraine (£1.07) 3. Bratislava, Slovakia (£1.09) 4. Malaga, Spain (£1.11) 5. Delhi, India (£1.13) 6. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (£1.15) 7. Mexico City, Mexico (£1.26) 8. Belgrade, Serbia (£1.27) 9. Asuncion, Paraguay (£1.28) 10. Bangkok, Thailand (£1.36) Well, Krakow here I come!)

According to researchers from Bristol University's Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group, the shape of a glass can affect the speed at which we drink. (They found that straight glasses cause people to drink more slowly than curved ones. In a test people with straight glasses were 60% slower when consuming alcoholic beverages than those drinking from curved glasses. Markings on a glass also slowed the speed at which people drank. People with a marked glass took an average of 10.3 minutes to finish a pint, while the non-marked glass group took 9.1 minutes. Unfortunately I think this means pubs and restaurants will soon be removing all markings and serving everything in curvy glasses.)

The ancient, 9,000 year old alcoholic drink, mead, is making a bit of a comeback in the UK. (Mead, an alcoholic drink of fermented honey and water, reached the height of its popularity in the Middle Ages, to become the preserve of medieval re-enactment groups, and pagans in modern times.  But now, thanks to the popularity of Harry Potter, historical TV dramas, and fantasy series like Game of Thrones, it's becoming trendy again. Well, you know what they say?  What goes around, comes around.)

Professor Andrea Sella from University College London says the smooth surface of a china cup or mug makes tea taste better, as it keeps the natural tannins in the tea from sticking to the side. (Professor Sella said, "You want a smooth, impervious surface, you don’t want the cup to bind the tannins." He added that the clink of a spoon on bone china, and the association of things like drinking tea with your grandmother, added a psychological aspect to the pleasure of a good brew. If you think it doesn't matter what you drink tea out of, I'm sure you will agree on one thing, steer clear of disposable cups.)

Japan 1 : Scotland 0 - A Japanese single malt has been named the best whisky in the world. (In a shock to Scottish distilleries the Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 as a drink of “near incredible genius”, awarding it 97.5 marks out of 100 in the 2015 World Whisky Bible. To add insult to injury Scottish malts failed to make the top five drams. Having tasted about 1,000 whiskies, Mr Murray said "Hic" - No, sorry, he actually said Scottish distilleries were in danger of churning out drab or mediocre malts and that it was time for “a little dose of humility” from the northern whisky makers so they could “realise something is missing.”)

According to a survey carried out by lastminute.com, Brits spend nearly nine hours every weekend in front of a TV or computer screen. (34% of Brits admitted to spending their weekend watching TV,  27% catching up on sleep, cleaning the house (11%), doing ‘life’ admin (8%), getting drunk (5%). I do all of the above from time to time.)

The lager brand, Stella Artois, is insisting that bar staff in the UK have to use the brand's full name, and not call it simply "Stella". (It is the best selling premium lager brand in the UK, but in an attempt to rebrand the drink, they are running a campaign called the Connoisseurs Programme and are using the slogan "reassuringly expensive". Why? Well - In Britain, it is also known as "wife beater", as its high alcohol content is thought to be responsible for many "domestic incidents". The company lowered the alcohol content from over 5% abv to 4.8% in an attempt to reposition it away from such connections to domestic violence.) What's in a name?

Until 2012, beer was considered a soft drink in Russia. (O n New Year's Day 2012, beer in Russia becomes classified as an alcoholic drink for the very first time. A Russian saying goes: "Beer without vodka is like throwing money to the wind." Thanks to  +Luke Pettit  for bringing this interesting fact to my attention.) 

The very first sip of beer releases a chemical that makes you want another one. (According to a study carried out at Indiana’s Alcohol Research Centre, that first sip releases dopamine into the brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter linked to the brain’s pleasure centres. That must be why my photos are always 2 beers .) Source

What do flip flops, wrist bands and space blankets have in common? They are all on offer to drunks around the UK. (In Torquay, Devon, drunk women are handed flip-flops to wear, prompted by fears that by wearing stilettos or similar footwear whilst drunk they could tumble over and hurt themselves. Space blankets are handed out in Gloucester to help prevent hypothermia (alcohol can lower the body temperature). In Cardiff, Wales, young people who drink too much are given a lift home and given a yellow wristband asking: "How did you get home last night?" Ingeniously the wrist bands will also have a bar code which they will be able to scan to read about their night's revels. Only in the UK.)

Researchers compiled a World Death Table from the 2010 Global Burden of Disease study, and  found that rising levels of drink and drug abuse are turning Britain into one of the sickest countries in the Western world. (According to research, which compares premature death rates in 19 wealthy nations, only Finland, Belgium, Portugal, Denmark and the US have worse premature death rates. The really worrying thing for me is that there is a "World Death Table". )