What is the origin of beer pong?
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So you've probably seen American teenagers experimenting with this game in a series or a movie. Maybe you've even played it before?! 😝
You'll finally know everything about this drinking game that's starting to become popular in our country! After reading this article, you'll want to buy a beer pong kit ! 😉
Birth, rules and development of Beer Pong
Where was Beer Pong born?
In your opinion, who apart from the Americans could have imagined such a game??? Certainly not the Eskimos! 😂😂😂
It was some students in the United States who invented this game more or less by chance, but we'll get to that later.
What are the rules of beer pong?
The current version of the game is intrinsically linked to the consumption of alcohol. It is therefore an alcoholic game in which players stand and throw a ping-pong ball across a table into a cup/glass of beer/goblet located on the other side of the table. It should be noted that initially, it was played with ping-pong paddles , but over time, the paddle-less version took over.
What are the rules of beer pong , or should I say what is the beer pong rule ? I'm putting it that way because I'm putting myself in the shoes of an American asking this question!
Here is how the beer pong game works, which is generally played with 2 teams :
- Each team has 10 cups/glasses/beer tumblers placed at their end of the table. The glasses must be arranged in a triangle, with the point towards the opposing team. It is customary to fill each glass with beer, at least half full. The teams also have an 11th cup, filled with water to rinse the ball between each throw. Well, yes, otherwise it would be a bit dirty! 😖
- During the game, each team takes turns trying to get their ball into one of their opponents' cups. If the team that throws their ball manages to get it into one of the opposing team's cups, the receiving team must drink the contents. Once the glass is finished, it is then removed from the table.
- The winning team is the one that first reaches all 10 of the opposing team's glasses. Contrary to popular belief, the principle of the game is not to drink but to make the opponent drink. It is clearly a game of skill .
- A variation of the game exists in the principle of ball throwing . It is no longer a question of directly hitting the glasses in front of you but of imposing one or two bounces in order to increase the difficulty .
If you want to know the rules even more precisely, even if we've already covered everything: rules according to Beer Pong France
And now that you're a pro at beer pong rules, you can start playing some wild games! But where are you going to find enough ping pong balls and cups? Look no further, here's our ready-to-use beer pong kit . Just click on the link below the photo to access it:
With 24 yellow ping pong balls and 24 red cups like a real American, you should have enough to do for a good while! 😆
How did this beer pong game start?
The version differs according to the many legends circulating, but in the 1950s and 1960s, students at Dartmouth College played ping-pong in the university's basement. Student years are obviously for studying, but if you've been through it, chances are you took the opportunity to rinse your throat between revisions.
Our youngsters used to quench their thirst while playing table tennis. Table tennis players prefer this term, so we'll use it at least once in this article! 😜
One of these students was Crispus Knight, who later wrote “Three for Ship: A Swan Song to Dartmouth Beer Pong.” He said he was talking on the phone with a friend who lived in Brooklyn. As he continued his conversation, he brought up the idea of aiming for the cups and incorporating this rule while still playing ping-pong.
Several variations have been created based on the same principle, including using a racket to hit the ball so that it hits the glass and forces the opponent to drink his beer in one go . This is why there are several beer pong games .
How did beer pong develop?
Beer pong has spread to other colleges as quickly as rumors and gossip can circulate in a small town. Strangely enough, this type of information is transmitted much faster than revision techniques or revolutionary mathematical theorems. Isn't that crazy?! 😆
Knight likens its spread to a game of telephone, where everyone calls each other and spreads news quickly. The paddle version of the game reached Pennsylvania, notably a student organization at Lehigh University called “The Hill.” In February 1979, the word “beer pong” first appeared in the student newspaper “Brown and White.” This was indeed the version of the game that originated at Dartmouth.
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Growth and Variations of Beer Pong
What is the difference between Beer Pong and Throw Pong?
In the 1980s, a wind of change was blowing, threatening Pennsylvania's hegemony in the world of beer pong .
Indeed, a variation of the game was very popular: Throw Pong . In this version, you don't need a ping pong paddle to play. The principle, however, remained the same: to reach your opponent's drinks. On the other hand, the pace of play was faster, and by increasing the speed, the consumption of beer went hand in hand. Thus, this game was more of an excuse to get drunk quickly than a competition of skill .
Some addicts even looked for a beer pong table, even though a regular table is enough by default. What is true, however, is that it all started with a ping pong table, of course.
Here's an example of what a beer pong table can do (don't look for it on our site, we don't sell them!)
How did Throw Pong become Beirut?
At that time, Pennsylvania students were reading the most popular newspapers in an attempt to find a new name for their favorite game. They clearly wanted to differentiate it from the Dartmouth version of beer pong. Yes, it's funny to see the pride some of these protagonists had in wanting to distinguish their game from the first version!
According to a Lehigh University graduate, he and his friends in 1986 came up with an “ analogy between the way a ping-pong ball flies over a table and lands on the enemy side and the fact that the US would bomb Beirut in retaliation for previous bombings in 1983. ”
3 years later, The Hill (the student organization) tried to name the game Libya after a military operation was carried out by the United States against that country in 1986. But these students had not considered the fact that the players, once well drunk, would have the greatest difficulty pronouncing the second syllable of the word “Libya”. Aaaaaah these Americans and their ease with pronouncing foreign words! 😁
When Lebanon was once again in the media and tabloids because of a deal with Iran, anti-Lebanese sentiment took over. The paddle-less version, originally called Throw Pong, was finally and officially named Beirut .
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Which is more popular: Beer Pong or Beirut?
In the 1980s and 1990s, Beirut spread like wildfire, mostly on college campuses in the northeastern United States. One after another, universities adopted this game with its simple rules, which allowed its players to drink beer in a festive manner .
Beirut clearly gained a head start when the Ivy League, an association of eight American universities, adopted it over Dartmouth's regional beer pong game . This popularity was mainly due to the fact that it was considered simpler and easier. Indeed, the Dartmouth game required specialized paddles and equipment that not all students necessarily had access to.
The advantage of Beirut is that it only requires a flat surface, players, cups and...beer! The concept of geometry in the placement of beer pong glasses does not require 10 years of study... It was easier than going on a beer pong road trip .
It is obviously difficult to date things precisely, but it is estimated that towards the end of the 90s, Beirut became the main version of this game.
Why does no one know the term Beirut then?
As you can see, Beirut and Beer Pong differ mainly in the use or not of rackets and a ping pong table. Paradoxically, it is the name Beer Pong that is universally known . The most plausible theory is that it is much more politically correct because by its name, Beirut referred to a troubled period in global geopolitics.
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Beer Pong Goes International
Did you know that there are Beer Pong World Championships?
Yes! You should know that at the beginning of 2006, the annual Beer Pong World Championships were launched in Mesquite, Nevada (in the United States). At first, everyone thought it was a joke, especially with the announcement of the $10,000 grand prize promised to the winners . No one thought this championship would actually take place.
Beirut was by far the most popular game among American students, sure. But would you have thought that adults would pay to enter this championship to throw ping-pong balls into cups filled with light beer, all in a large hangar 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas?
Well, yes! It was an immediate success! Beer Pong thus became a “sport” in its own right and began to generate a real business around its universe.
Today, over half a million dollars have been awarded in prizes and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise are sold each year. Sponsors have also stepped into the fray—including beer brands, of course!
Beer Pong soon at the Olympic Games?
Well, we shouldn't push Grandma into the nettles here either! It seems logical that if new sports can be integrated into the Olympics, Beer Pong won't be among the leading sports. There would also be the question of alcohol consumption in this game, even if a soft drink variant could see the light of day.
In anticipation of the Olympics, you can already start training in the pool thanks to our beer pong mat . Simply click on the photo to see it.
And France in all this?
Well, that's all well and good, but what about us frog-leg eaters? Okay, I know we also have readers from Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Canada, and other French-speaking countries, but you see where I'm going with this. What about Beer Pong in our country?
It turns out that thanks to the might of the US film and TV industry, this game has gradually become known. Who hasn't seen movies like American Pie or others where we see young students drinking beer from their famous red cups ? It's hard to have escaped!
The game has been around for about fifteen years now and is gaining more and more followers. This phenomenon is also linked to the fact that young people are drinking more and more beer at the expense of wine. Can you imagine getting a Villageoise butt because your opponents managed to throw their ball into one of your cups ? 😵 Yuck!
Did you know that there are even beer pong competitions in France ? Funny, isn't it? If you want more information, click here .
So we come to the end of this wonderful adventure that is Beer Pong , and I hope you enjoyed reading it. If you want to check out the much less fun definition of the game on Wikipedia, here it is: Beer Pong
Beer pong , Beirut and the other variations are in fact just the same principle of wanting to link skill and...booze! Well yes, we might as well call things by their name after all. At the same time, admit it, if you arrived on this article it's not only for love of skill games , is it? 😉
Now you know there are different variations of the game, and I know you also know there are different types of beer. Yes, but do you realize how many variations there are on beer? We actually have a poster that describes all the branches between beers and the different families. It's our beer types poster:
We'd love to hear your feedback on our articles or suggest topics for us to cover. Feel free to contact us at info@chopedebiere.com . Thank you to our loyal readers! 😍
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