10 Fascinating Facts About Alcohol You Didn't Know

8. Drunken Weddings And The "Bride-Ale" Party

Few other occasions in Western culture are quite as drunken as the wedding - it's an event in which society has sanctioned the most debauched levels of alcohol consumption, as if the celebration of two lovers in marriage can only be validated by drinking as much booze as you possibly can in the space of a day. If it seems as if drunkenness at weddings is almost mandatory, that's probably because throughout history it's been so completely ingrained in the occasion that even the words around it derive from booze. By the thirteenth century, the English were practically weaned on beer from cradle to grave, and the wedding was no exception. Many popular events known as "ales" were celebrated, from church-ales and midsummer-ales to bride-ales. Today shortened to "bridal", even the word "bride" can be traced back to "brew". Given that the word "bridal" is made up quite literally of booze, perhaps it's no surprise that the wedding celebration remains to this day one of excessive drinking and debauchery - although today we've largely abandoned the practice of selling surplus beer to passing travelers.