Many great science fiction novels present us with futures where capitalism has gone awry. Huge, international companies run the world, buying and selling anything they like with reckless abandon. Well, the future is now, ladies and gentlemen, because the food and drink companies we view as nothing more than the providers of our delicious treats are much more powerful than you realize. For example, did you know that…

10 They Break Down Language Barriers

Imagine you’re in a foreign country. You don’t know the city, you don’t know the people and most unnervingly, you don’t know the language. It’s hot and you are dying for a Coke. But how do you order one when you don’t know how to speak to the shopkeeper? Cultures differ drastically, even with the simplest of things. So what possible chance do you have of guessing how to order your desired fizzy beverage? Apparently you just say ‘Coca-Cola’. An international survey revealed that the words ‘Coca-Cola’ were the second most universally understood term on the planet, losing only to the positive affirmation ‘OK’.

9 They are Multiplying Rapidly

Sometimes it seems like a new fast food or café chain opens every day. Well it seems that way because it’s true. KFC is planning to open one hundred new stores every year in India until 2015. In the last few years McDonalds has opened an average of one new store every day in China. Between 1987 and the mid 2000s Starbucks opened an average of two stores every day. They famously were ridiculed for what seemed like too rapid a growth and many stores were closed down. But that didn’t seem to phase them, at the end of 2012 plans were announced to open more stores in America—approximately 3000 more.

8 They have Economies Bigger Than Countries

GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product and countries are often ranked this way, with the list giving rough ideas and estimations of a nation’s wealth. But the GDP of developing and third world countries aren’t just dwarfed by the GDPs of large Western nations—they’re sometimes significantly smaller than the GDP of individual companies.

In 2010, McDonald’s’ revenue was larger than the country of Latvia’s entire GDP. Oman, a small country bordering Saudi Arabia has a GDP smaller than the revenue of Pepsi, with a difference of over two billion dollars.

7 They Feed Our Armies

Surely one of the worst things about living on an army base would be the food, right? Not if you like Burger King. In the 1980s, Burger King received a major contract with the US Army and Air Force and to this day just about every key Army and Air Force base plays host to a Burger King restaurant.

And that isn’t just the bases located in America, even the Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan has one. Though it was closed in 2010 due to suggestions that it took up space that could be used for mail or ammunition, a drop in soldier morale brought about the BK’s return in 2012. And if the soldiers get tired of Burger King? Not an issue, there’s also a Popeye’s Chicken and a Pizza Hut.

6They Have Absurd Amounts of Products

Most people know that Coca-Cola don’t just make Coca-Cola. There’s Coke Zero, Diet Coke, Vanilla Coke, heck even Coke two was a thing. And on top of that, Coke also distributes Dasani bottled water, Vitamin water, and Poweraid. So with all the diet, new flavors and sugar free options of their most known drinks the number of beverages the company actually has on offer rises pretty dramatically, but how many drinks would you guess they sell worldwide? Twenty? Fifty? Try three and a half thousand.

5 They are Bigger Than Religion

Religion is relatively universal. It frequently transcends languages and is present in some way all over the world. Individual pieces of religious symbolism, however, are apparently not as recognized around the world as fast food symbolism.

In various studies the McDonalds ‘golden arches’ logo was more recognizable than the Christian cross. Other studies as well as scenes from the 2004 film ‘Supersize Me’ have shown that most American children will recognize fast food mascots such as Ronald McDonald and Wendy but will be unable to identify religious characters such as Jesus.

4 They Give you the Illusion of Choice

Who would you rather give money to Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut or Taco Bell? Well it doesn’t really matter because all three are owned by the same company: Yum! Brands Inc.

Many familiar companies have a hand in a much more varied range of products than you would expect. Pepsi Co owns Quaker oats, which means it owns a huge variety of cereals, rice snacks, pasta dishes and even baking mixes. Pepsi also owns several chip companies and even some types of coffee.

But hey, maybe those types of products aren’t your thing, so you’re gonna completely ignore Pepsi by sitting home and enjoying a nice cup of Lipton Tea. Yeah, you see where this is going: Pepsi owns Lipton too.

3 They’ll Completely Change their Product

Most products have a certain demographic. If what you’re selling doesn’t match everyone’s needs there’s not much you can do right? Well, most fast food companies are happy to completely change their image, even if it make them unrecognizable.

For example, KFC is hugely popular in China, but it’s not KFC as you might know it. Chinese KFC stores often serve shrimp burgers, fried dough sticks, egg tarts and soy drinks as well as a huge list of other foods specific to China.

What if you’re a company wanting to open a store in a country where the food you are famous for is religiously banned? No problem, just get rid of it completely. Many Indian McDonald’s stores don’t sell beef or pork products at all. In fact the first vegetarian only McDonald’s is set to open in India within the next year.

2 They Convinced us Water is Bad

Water is pretty essential to the whole ‘being alive’ thing, which is why most people have it on tap, basically for free. And that’s bad for companies trying to sell you beverages of their own.

Robert S. Morrison, chairman of Pepsi Co., apparently said that tap water was his company’s biggest enemy, and the H2NO campaign planned to do something about it.

Founded by Coca-Cola, the H2NO operation sought to dissuade people from ordering (free) tap water in favor of more enjoyable (that is, profitable) beverages. It’s aim was to convince people tap water was boring, and what’s worse is that it started to work. Olive Gardens restaurants took part in the campaign, attempting to convince people to avoid tap water and drink soda instead.

It worked.

1 They Want to Hire Everyone

Are you a teenager living in Brazil? If so, you probably work at McDonalds. McDonalds has gathered a huge following amongst the youth of Brazil, to the point that the company has become the leading private-sector employer, with over 36,000 Brazilians working under the name. Of those employees almost 90 percent are under 21 years old.

But don’t think those astonishing numbers are specific to Brazil. McDonalds announced plans to hire more than 75,000 new employees in China over the next year. In America fast food companies are also the go to job for youngsters, in fact it is estimated that one in eight people have been employed at McDonalds at some point in their lifetime.

Scott tweets @frigginboom. He also friggin films himself.

Belgians are crazy about beer. Young Belgians are weaned on beer with soda, and old Belgians drink it with breakfast. Even the monks in Belgium make beer. The country has been in the brewing tradition since the 1100s—before it even was a country—and time has only served to open the doors for more and better ways to make the inebriating honey of the gods.

SEE ALSO: 10 Legendary Beer Facts To Get You Drunk Off Knowledge

We visited a few places in Belgium where beer is nigh religion and tasted for ourselves the holy fervor that has stood to make this country a bastion of alcoholic enlightenment. In the process, we’ve come to an inescapable conclusion: These guys are crazy about beer, and we love it.

10Beers Per Capita

Belgium has more individual styles of beer per capita than any other country in the world. With a population barely scraping past 11 million, they produced a whopping 1,132 distinct types of beer in 2011. Fast-forward to 2013 and that number is a mind-blowing 3,043 beers that were brewed among all 10 provinces of Belgium. The Flemish Brabant, a province in the north of Belgium, makes 457 beers on its own.

The region’s interest in beer began when the Catholic Church sanctioned the use of abbeys to brew and distribute beer to raise money for upkeep near the end of the 10th century. Over the years, the nuns in the abbeys began pioneering new ways to brew, strengthening the diversity that was available to the locals in brewing villages. At the turn of the 20th century, there were over 3,000 breweries in Belgium, but the two World Wars had a devastating effect on the Belgian economy that reached deep into the brewing industry. Now, there are only about 180 breweries in Belgium.

9Spontaneous Fermentation

Known in Belgium as lambic, spontaneously fermented beers have been brewed since the 14th century. The process isn’t at all unique to Belgium, but they’re certainly pioneering the modern form of spontaneous fermentation. Normal beer is made with three ingredients—malt, hops, and yeast. The malt makes it sweet, the hops add the bitter taste, and the yeast ferments the whole thing into alcohol.

Typically, the yeast is added from a package or a live culture. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a common brewing yeast, although there are others. But in spontaneous fermentation, the malt and hops are left to cool in the open air. This introduces wild yeast into the mixture, giving the brew a quality that is unique to the region where it was brewed, since it depends on the natural yeasts in the air to start the fermentation. Lambic is made exclusively in Belgium’s Zenne valley, where the wild yeasts Brettanomyces bruxellensis and Brettanomyces lambicus thrive.

Lambic by itself is acidic and flat, but if there’s one thing you can say about Belgian brewers, it’s that they never give up on a beer. To fix it, they brew a batch of lambic and then age it for six months. Then, they brew a fresh batch and mix the two together. Finally, while it’s still fermenting, they bottle it, trapping the carbon dioxide and keeping it nice and bubbly. When you throw all those steps together, the result is an even more unique beer type known as Geuze (pronounced like a heavily accented “goose”). Now that’s dedication.

8Beer Cocktails

Jurgen Bollion and his brother Steven are the joint owners of the Taste M, a little bar bolted to the front of a small art museum in Leuven. Jurgen, a jovial man with a linebacker build and perpetually flushed cheeks, visits each table in person with a tray full of “fixings” for his signature drinks: beer cocktails.

The only way to describe a beer cocktail is “whatever Jurgen wants to put in it.” But you’re in good hands. As he works, he explains what each ingredient does for the drink: Sweetwood (part of the licorice family) for a tart flavor, tonic for a bitter middle taste, several shots of gin for strength, a bottle of Caulier 28 tripel for the beer, and ice to give the flavor more variety. He explains that, as the ice melts and the sweetwood seeps into the drink, the flavor changes, making each sip a little different. Then he makes a round of the table to tip more gin into each glass with a gruff “drink more.”

And that’s just one cocktail. Jurgen has created hundreds of recipes for unique beer cocktails, each one meant to emphasize a different taste profile. One of his goals is to get past the perception that beer is a “man’s” drink. In his words, everybody likes beer, you just have to find the right one—“They say to me, ‘I don’t like beer.’ And I say, ‘No, you don’t like the beers that you have tried up to this point.’ ” He wants to find everybody’s perfect beer. That’s a man with an admirable mission.

7“The Longest Bar In The World”

This is a local colloquialism for a square officially known as the Oude Market, located in Leuven. The market is basically a long, open courtyard with a line of businesses running along one side. So why is it called the longest bar in Europe? Well, over 40 of those businesses just happen to be bars. Since each bar has an outdoor patio, the experience is one of an unbroken outdoor terrace that runs for nearly half a kilometer (0.3 mi).

Of course, despite its name, it’s not actually the longest bar in the world, or even Europe. There are several contenders to the title, most of them named by generations of locals who grew up with the phrase and simply want to keep it alive in their home town. Nevertheless, the Oude Market is a unique place to visit, and one of the bars, Domus, is even supplied by a direct pipeline to its nearby brewery.

And the other side of the square? That’s a university. In many parts of Belgium, especially Leuven, college students get beers for €1 as a thanks from the brewers to their best customers.

6The Bruges Beer Pipeline

When the De Halve Maan brewery opened up a new bottling plant at the outskirts of Bruges, they hit a snag: As the last brewery in downtown Bruges, their facility has become something of a cultural icon. Bruges was once the proud home of dozens of breweries both large and small, but one by one they each closed their doors for the last time. De Halve Maan has been standing since the 16th century, and over 100,000 tourists flock to Bruges to view their brewery and beer museum every year.

So moving the brewery closer to the bottling plant is definitely not an option, but as it stands now, a fleet of 500 trucks is required to transport the beer from barrel to bottle, a fleet that accounts for 85 percent of Bruges’s current commercial traffic. The streets are literally clogged with beer.

That’s all going to change with an underground beer pipeline. It won’t be the first in the world—Germany has a beer pipeline running under the Veltins-Arena football stadium, and the Great Lakes brewery in Cleveland has a small underground system. But while Great Lakes only pipes their beer across the street, De Halve Maan is building a monstrosity that runs 3 kilometers (1.8 mi) under the city. It’ll pump 100 liters (26 gal) of freshly brewed beer every minute.

5The Farm Brewery

In the fields outside the tiny town of Tildonk, father and son team Andre and Dries Janssens operate one of the most unique breweries in the world: Hof ten Dormaal. What started as a simple barley farm slowly evolved into an international brewing venture. Looking for ways to make their farm more efficient, the Janssens decided to set up a small brew operation to get rid of the extra barley. Then, they decided to grow their own hops instead of buying them.

From that point, they settled on a unique concept: Everything in their beer would be made or grown on their farm. Soon, they were also bottling the finished creations right beside the haystacks. A state-of-the-art bottling line lets them cap 2,000 bottles of their farm brews per hour.

Even after they began shipping 90 percent of their output to willing buyers in the US, the Janssens weren’t content—they decided to try aging some of their beers in old liquor barrels, and so they took off on a trek across Europe to find wooden barrels that had spent years soaking up the flavors of cognac, armagnac, port, sherry, and whiskey.

4Trappist Beer

In the silent halls of a 17th-century Trappist monastery, something dark is brewing. The Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, commonly referred to as the Trappists, is a monastic order that focuses on the work of one’s own hands as the true path to salvation. Although they don’t take an official vow of silence, Trappist monks avoid speaking unless absolutely necessary, and any speech that mocks or puts down someone else is a sin. All in all, they’re not bad fellows.

But regardless of any religious affiliation, Trappist monks brew some of the meanest beers in the world. There are only 10 authentic Trappist breweries in the world, and six of those are in Belgium. Westvleteren XII, a Trappist beer brewed not far from the city of Ypres, is often called the best beer in the world. Everything the Trappists make from their beer goes back into their abbeys in accordance with their vow of poverty.

3World’s Largest Beer Menu

The current holder of the Guinness World Record for most available beers on the menu is Delirium Cafe, located in Belgium’s capital city of Brussels. They have 3,162 beers available on their shelves. You’d have to drink 8.5 beers every day for a year just to taste them all.

We didn’t have a chance to visit Delirium Cafe, but we did stop in for a brew at Belgium’s valiant underdog: The Capital, located in Leuven. With the distinction of second largest beer menu in the world, this unassuming little place looks just the same as any other bar on Brusselsestraat—on the outside. Even the inside, at first glance, looks like your typical bar. But then you realize that the frosted tiles on the floor aren’t tiles—they’re windows. And through the windows is a vision of Valhalla: an entire lower level with row after row of beer-filled shelves standing dark sentinel like Belgium’s answer to Qin Shi Huang’s terra-cotta army.

It works like this: A customer orders a beer. The waitress passes the order to The Capital’s underbelly, where a “beer finder” locates the brew. He places it on a vertical conveyor belt that runs up behind the bar, and it’s served. It may take longer than a traditional bar, but what are a few minutes compared to the option to drink thousands of beers you’ve never heard of?

2Unholy Consumption

As a country, Belgium has been drunk for over a millennium, but to say that Belgians drink a lot of beer is like saying the ocean has a lot of water—we need some specifics. Country by country, Belgium currently stands at No. 18 on the global list of beer consumption by country per capita. On average, each Belgian drinks 74 liters (19.5 gal) of beer every year.

But that’s a symptom of modern times. In 1900, Belgians were guzzling an unholy 200 liters (53 gal) of the fizzy brown stuff each year. One of the reasons for the drop in beer sales is the rise of soft drinks, and even the beer capitals of the world are getting hit by the shift. Many breweries have even begun to reduce the bitter qualities of their beer in an effort to keep up with a customer base that’s gravitating toward sweeter drinks.

1A Glass For Every Beer

The above photo is just a fraction of the absolute insanity of everyday drinking in Belgium. Every beer comes with a specially designed glass from which to drink it. This isn’t a suggestion—it’s a cardinal rule. When you order a new beer, your old glass will be removed so that a new goblet will have a place to rest its crystal stem. The glass styles are split about evenly between the typical beer-style mugs, pints, steins, and plenty of wine-style flutes. One beer even comes in a bowl.

The idea of using a specific glass for every beer is so prevalent in the region that many breweries start a new recipe by first designing the glass. And believe it or not, this long-standing tradition has been backed up by a handful of studies that conclude that the shape of a glass definitely affects the flavor and aroma of the beer inside.

So what’s in a glass? Quite a lot, apparently. We’re just happy as long as one of those things is beer.

We’d like to thank Marie Venhellemont at Leuven Leisure for the instructive beer tour on our first day. We’re sorry we were so jet lagged. And of course, thanks to Marcos Stupenengo at VisitFlanders for making the whole trip possible. Hope to see you again soon, Belgium!

Getting drunk is never technically a good idea, but it’s definitely a popular pastime for many of us. If you’re a responsible drinker, then that’s okay! Don’t drive, don’t hurt yourself, don’t hurt anyone else, try not to text your coworkers and things should work out fine. But we’re not here to talk about the responsible drinkers.

There are some people in the world for whom getting drunk is an even worse idea than normal. Doctors, for instance. Pilots. And soldiers. There are a few soldiers in history who should have stuck to milk. 

10. General James Ledlie Got Drunk Before the Battle of the Crater 

In the military, you have a command structure. Many people are on the bottom and a few are on the top. You hope that, at the very top, the person in charge of how the military runs, and how a battle unfolds, is smart, calm, and sober. That’s not always the case, and it wasn’t at the Battle of the Crater in 1864.

The battle took place during the Civil War, and General James Ledlie was a former engineer working with the Union Army. Before his involvement, there was an ongoing issue with Petersburg in Virginia, which became known as the Siege of Petersburg.

A colonel came up with an idea to end the siege by digging a mine and filling it with explosives. This would blow up enemy lines and clear the path to the city. General Grant was ready to use the explosion to seize the town and declare a victory. A day before the mission, the unit selected to lead the charge was replaced by the unit run by Ledlie. He got the job by drawing straws.

Ledlie was not a good soldier if the fact he’s been described as a “drunken coward” is any indication. 

Four tons of explosives went off, the biggest explosion in history to that point. It created a 130-foot by 75-foot crater. It was also 35 feet deep. Many soldiers died instantly, and the force stunned others. Ledlie was drunk and hiding in a bunker when he was supposed to lead the charge. His men ran right into the crater instead of around it. The result was a bloodbath. Thousands died and Ledlie, who never joined the fight, was dismissed from service.

9. Van Zandt County Tried to Secede, Then They All Got Drunk and Captured

Back in the 1860s Texas was all about seceding. Or it was an idea that was popular at the time, at least. But not everyone was on board with that plan and, so the story goes, the people of Van Zandt County voted to secede from Texas. One of those “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander” scenarios. 

The county tried to secede first when Texas left the US during the Civil War and then again but this time not just from Texas, but from everything. The county formed its own rebellion and declared war on the United States. 

Because of the rural location of the county, troops could not reach Van Zandt to quell the uprising so after war was declared, no one fought back. That was essentially a win by forfeit and what do you do when you win? You celebrate. So, everyone in the Free State of Van Zandt got drunk.

The next day, federal soldiers moved in and pretty much arrested the entire drunken county. Some of them escaped but by that time the idea of war was not floating anyone’s boat so they settled back in as proper American citizens.  

8. Soviet Soldiers Drank the Cooling Alcohol Needed for the Mig25 

Russians have a bit of a reputation as heavy drinkers and stories like this one will not change that perception at all. Back in the Soviet days, Russian troops had jets called the Foxbat, or the MiG-25. These were interceptors and recon jets and they were as fast as anything. But they were also nicknamed the Flying Restaurant. 

The MiG used alcohol for a lot of things. It was a hydraulic fluid; it cooled the engines; it de-iced the planes and because it was so important they kept a hell of a lot on board. There was a 132-gallon tank of it on board and Soviet troops were known to dip in and drink some when the opportunity arose. The fact that they ended up giving it a nickname ought to be some indication of how often it happened. 

7. Three Russian Soldiers Got Drunk and Blew Themselves Up at a BBQ

In 2023, three soldiers on a supply run in the middle of the Russian war with Ukraine decided to have a stopover at a house party, complete with a barbecue. The group was three out of five who had a few days to head out for supplies and used their downtime to get a little drunk and grill up some meat.

At some point, the drinking led to arguing. While two soldiers left, the three that remained pulled out a grenade and things got out of hand when it went off, killing all three of them. It’s not clear how or why it went off. Whatever the reason, it’s a solid demonstration of why you shouldn’t get into drunken fights with people who have grenades. 

6. US Soldiers in WWII Mixed “Torpedo Juice”

With a name like torpedo juice you know this has to be good. Or horrifying. Or maybe both. In any case, in the modern world, you can go to a bar and order a torpedo juice right now. What you should get is a simple cocktail made of alcohol and pineapple juice. The basic makeup can change a little — maybe you want rum, or vodka, or gin. Who knows? But that’s it. Two parts booze to three parts juice. So what does that have to do with torpedoes?

Back in WWII, sailors on submarines were more hard up for drinks than most since, you know, they were underwater. A sub didn’t have a ton of storage space for booze at the best of times and, if they were on a mission, what little they might have had would inevitably run out. But the torpedoes on board used 180 proof grain alcohol as fuel, and it was more or less drinkable.

Once the Navy found out sailors were pinching the booze, they tainted it with croton oil to make it give the men cramps and diarrhea, and, well; they underestimated how much a man in a metal tube under the sea wants to drink. They simply had to distill the booze over again, remove the oil, and add juice to taste. Thus, torpedo juice was born. 

5. Charles Jenkins Got Drunk and Defected to North Korea

Some people make terrible decisions when they get drunk. And then there’s Charles Jenkins who defected to North Korea. That ought to put all of your poor decisions in perspective.

Jenkins was stationed along the border between North and South Korea in 1964 when he was just 24. After 10 beers, he told his squad he’d heard a noise that he was going to check out and that was the end of that. He surrendered to North Korean officers because he was afraid of being sent to Vietnam. 

Once in the country, he got to spend seven years studying the writing of Kim Il-Sung until he memorized it, in Korean. They also cut off his army tattoo with scissors. They forced him to marry a Japanese woman who had also been held against her will. They eventually fell in love for real and when North Korea released some Japanese prisoners years later, Jenkins’ wife was one. He, and their children, were later allowed to join her. That was in 2004, 40 years after his arrival.

4. A Town Escaped Destruction in the Thirty Years War Because of a Drinking Contest

You have to respect someone who can perform an incredible feat of strength, endurance, or drinking. It’s just hard not to. The mayor of the German town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber is one of those people who deserves respect. He saved the entire population of his town because he was an absolute monster at drinking wine. 

In 1631, during the Thirty Years War, a Catholic named Count Tilly planned to sack and destroy the protestant town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. The people tried anything to get him to leave but there was only one deal he was willing to make. They had given him a tankard of local wine that held 3.25 liters. If anyone in town could chug the whole thing, he’d leave. 

The mayor, with the powerhouse name of Bürgermeister George Nusch (Burgermeister basically means mayor), took up the challenge and downed that remarkable volume of wine in a single gulp. And, being a time of honoring one’s word, the Count left the town as he found it. 

3. A Spanish Invasion Ended When the Invading Brits Got Too Drunk at a Winery

In 1625 things in Spain could have gone badly for the locals if not for the fact Brits really like to drink. A pair of noblemen had convinced Charles I that invading Spain would be a fine idea and maybe they’d get rich off of Spanish gold at the same time. One man, George Villiers, had a beef with the Spanish who hated him so much on his previous visit that they’d asked the King to execute him.  So they hatched a scheme and set off for Spain.

Nearly everything that could go wrong did. Storms forced many of the ships back and also were avoided by the Spanish so there were no ships to loot. The British were running out of food and water and had to land at a city sacked years in the past that had long since improved its defenses – Cadiz. 

The British couldn’t get past the wall so they plundered the abandoned buildings outside. There was no food, but they found stores of wine and proceeded to get incredibly drunk. By the time the Spanish arrived, all the British were drunk. Those that could escaped, and over 1,000 were slaughtered, probably still very inebriated. The expedition returned to England with nothing.

2. In 1916, Thousands of Drunken Aussie Soldiers Caused a Riot

Australia is known as a pretty tough place and the Aussie population are no strangers to enjoying a frosty, adult beverage now and then. They’re also known as a sometimes unruly bunch, which may explain the events of the 1916 Soldier’s Riot.

About 3,000 Aussie troops stationed in Sydney were already displeased with their lack of space, lack of leave time, and lack of alcohol in the canteen. Someone then informed them, on Valentine’s Day, that they were going to be doing four and a half hours more of training per week, putting them over 40 hours total. The men did not approve.

The Australians immediately left camp and went on strike. 3,000 of them headed into Liverpool, a small suburb of Sydney, and trashed the place. They broke into businesses, filled anything they could with alcohol, and trashed anything that sounded German. 

The events turned violent, soldiers clashed with police and at the end of the day several were injured and one man died.

The events of the day ended up leading to a report on the military camp in Liverpool which suggested liquor should not be provided to soldiers from local hotels or public houses.

1. During Their Celebrations After the End of WWII Russia Ran Out of Vodka

Back to Russia for one last tale of absolutely epic drinking that seems like an impossible feat. There was once a time, at the end of WWII, when Russians ran out of vodka because they drank it all in celebration of the end of the war.

The end of the war was announced on the radio at just after one am on May 9, 1945. The entire country went ballistic and, a mere 22 hours later when Stalin made his address to the nation, no one had an ounce of vodka left to their name. Reports said no one had any left in stock on the 10th. 

People were in the streets in pajamas getting drunk and everyone seemed to be getting drunk with everyone else, even those who never normally drank. In fairness, production had been limited because of the war so there was already less vodka in the country, but the celebration ensured that everyone had to start from scratch to get new stuff.

There are a small handful of basic things we deem necessary for life. Food, water and shelter are often considered the basic three and, in a pinch, you might just get away with food and water. And even then, if you had to choose between the two, water is the one you need most.

A human can only survive three or four days, at most, with no water. In extreme conditions this number can even reduce further. But for some animals in the world, dependence on water is barely a thing at all. Just the smallest amounts can keep all kinds of creatures going.

10. Freshwater Fish Don’t Drink Because Of How Salty They Are

You’ve probably heard the expression “drinks like a fish” in reference to someone who can pack away a lot of booze. On the surface it seems to make sense. What creature could possibly drink more water than a fish? They’re immersed in it all the time, they must constantly be pulling in the liquid, right? Not exactly.

Freshwater fish don’t actually drink water at all. As counterintuitive as it sounds, it’s true. That’s not to say they don’t absorb water, which they do through their skin and across their gills through osmosis. But it would be dangerous for a freshwater fish to actually drink water in the way humans and other animals do.

Because of the salinity of a fish’s bodily fluids they can’t ingest that freshwater without potentially killing themselves. Their kidneys would have to filter it incredibly fast or the fish would risk exploding thanks to the imbalance of salt in their blood and organs. 

Instead, they use their gills to filter water to allow them to maintain the balance of salt in their body without risk to their health.

9. Mountain Gorillas Very Rarely Drink Water

Mountain gorillas are massive primates and can weigh as much as 400 pounds. Despite their bulk, the majority of the nutrients they eat comes from plants including leaves and stems, plus a small amount of roots, flowers, fruits and insects. They barely drink any water at all. 

When it comes to moisture, they get what they need from succulent plants which can be neatly 50% water, as well as morning dew that may have accumulated on the plants as well. 

Those who study gorillas and have done so for years have only noticed an increase in water drinking by the apes recently, arguably a result of climate change and increased temperatures in the natural habitat of the gorillas. Because it’s getting hotter the apes are more likely to feel the effects and risk dehydration if they aren’t supplementing their diets with actual sources of water. 

Under ideal conditions, however, a mountain gorilla may never need to find a pool to quench its thirst. 

8. Marine Mammals Get Most of Their Water From Their Prey

We already saw that fish aren’t big drinkers because they use their gills to get water through osmosis and that sounds great. But what about the mammals of the sea? Without gills, they’re just like the rest of us. They have to be drinking water, don’t they? Well, no, they found a workaround, too. 

For the bulk of mammals in the sea, in particular cetaceans like whales and pinnipeds like seals, water is absorbed through what they eat. For whales in particular, metabolizing both protein and fat from the creatures they eat can often provide all the water they need to survive. In certain circumstances, however, it’s believed these mammals could supplement their diet with sea water if they are losing too much moisture because of evaporation.

Even tiny krill, which massive blue whales feed on, are able to provide enough water in most cases to keep the marine mammals going. 

Incidentally sharks, though not mammals, are like some of their smaller cousins. That means they are saltier than the water in which they swim. As a result, they don’t drink water either and simply absorb water through osmosis as well. 

7. Koalas Can Usually Get All the Water They Need While In Treetops

Koalas are like the unofficial ambassadors of Australia and everyone seems to love the cute little guys if for no other reason than they look cuddly and small. They’re also pretty remarkably little guys who have had a few hard years thanks to awful weather conditions down under.

Normally, a koala doesn’t need to drink water often at all. As hard as it is to believe, their very limited diet of eucalyptus leaves gives them some of what they need in terms of liquid. Or it used to, anyway. In addition, it’s been observed that they just lick water that runs down the trees during rain as well. 

In recent years, soaring temperatures in Australia have driven koalas to the ground in search of new water sources. It’s more and more common to see videos and stories about koalas approaching people and seeming to beg for water from water bottles, which many people are happy to do. 

6. Frogs Absorb Water on Their Skin

Frogs spend the bulk of their lives in the water but surprisingly enough they are not big drinkers. How they do stay hydrated can be more clever than you might think, though. Not all frogs just sit in a pond absorbing water through their skin, after all.

Green tree frogs in Australia make use of something referred to as “lemonade physics.” They will go outside in the cold for a while and then return to their warm tree home. Water condenses on their skin, like those inviting little beads of moisture on a glass of cold lemonade on a hot day. They can absorb that water into their flesh and it provides the hydration they need. 

While not all frogs mimic glasses of lemonade, they are still designed for absorbing water rather than drinking it. Many frog species can sit in water and absorb it through patches of skin on their thighs and bellies that are known as drinking patches.

5. Kangaroo Rats Metabolize Water From Seeds

Most people aren’t big fans of rats due to that whole “brings of plague and death” thing they’re so often associated with. But not all rats are created equal. Take the kangaroo rat, for instance, which actually isn’t a rat at all but got stuck with the name.

You can find these creatures in the Sonoran desert and are so well adapted to desert life they literally never need to drink water in their entire lives. Their bodies are almost miraculous in the way they are able to extract water from things that humans would consider devoid of water entirely.

Kangaroo mice eat seeds which are not typically known for their juicy consistency. Despite this, the metabolism of these little animals is able to turn one gram of seed into a half gram of water. To further extend their own hydration their kidneys are able to super process urine to the point that what comes out is basically crystallized, ensuring no liquid goes to waste.

4. Thorny Devil Channel Water Out of Sand

Of all the desert dwellers who have unique adaptations for staying hydrated, few are as remarkable as the thorny devil. This intimidating looking little beast doesn’t drink water, and it doesn’t even need to absorb it through the food it eats, although they do seem to have the ability to absorb it through capillaries in their skin. The thorny devil is so good at hydrating itself where no water exists it just pulls it right out of sand and into its body.

In and among its many spikes and bumps, the thorny devil’s flesh is made up of microscopic grooves. When it’s touching sand that has even a trace of moisture, these grooves can pull the water from the sand. The water is then channeled along these little grooves into the lizard’s mouth, so its whole body is kind of like a bumpy, spiky straw. The deeper it immerses itself in slightly moist sand, the more liquid it can pull in.

Interestingly enough, the lizards couldn’t actually drink water if they wanted to. Their mouths have not adapted to licking water out of a puddle or stream and are essentially only useful for eating ants. So their method of drinking isn’t just unique and clever, it’s essential.

3. Naked Mole Rats Get Their Moisture From Roots

Naked mole rats are not known for being particularly attractive beasts though they do have a very cool name. They’re also well adapted to their environment and are tough and rugged animals to the point that scientists have noted that they almost never get cancer. But even beyond that, they almost never need to drink water.

Living underground, naked mole rats are prone to eating the parts of plants that also grow underground, chiefly roots and tubers. This is where they got their water from and the rats are smart about it. They only partially eat the roots so that the plant won’t die. That means it will continue to grow and provide a future meal for the mole rat at a later time. 

2. Sand Cats Will Drink Water But Don’t Need To

How much do you know about sand cats? These broad faced but fairly small wild cats can be found in parts of Africa and Asia living, as their name suggests, in sandy, desert climates. It stands to reason that, as a desert species, they may have adapted to environments with little water and that’s very true of these small creatures.

At a maximum weight between three and about 7.5 pounds, these animals are smaller than most house cats though they do have dense hair that makes them look a little bigger than they truly are. 

Life in the desert has allowed sand cats to adapt to weeks without a source of water. Like other predators they will simply take what they need from their prey, like adorable little vampire kittens. If water is available, they will drink it but otherwise prey animals like rodents, birds, even spiders and insects will get the job done. 

1. Gerenuk Never Need to Drink 

Gerenuks are slender, graceful animals whose name means “giraffe necked.” They’re a type of antelope found in Africa but they appear to be much smaller than most species. Their heads, in particular, are rather tiny which, combined with their large eyes and ears make them look almost cartoonish.

Like many animals of the savannah and hot climates it’s well adapted to life in a place where water is scarce. Unlike most of the animals the gerenuk has taken this adaptation to the next level. It’s possible for one of these animals to live its entire life having never tasted water. 

They eat plants and their long legs and necks allow them to reach higher into branches to get more coverage. Their populations are also dense in the driest areas that many other animals can’t survive in for lack of water, ensuring that the gerenuk has plentiful food because of the lack of competition. 

To help ensure they start hydrated they have evolved nasal passages that actually keep moisture in instead of allowing it to be lost to exhalation. Their urine is incredibly concentrate and they also live incredibly sedentary lifestyles so they’re not wasting energy or water unless they need to.

Cooking and baking today are fast, easy, and convenient. You can find an appliance or tool for everything, and an instruction on how to make anything with fairly easy steps. Home cooks have never had it better and great home cooking has become more normal than not.

However, back in the days before all of our modern methods, many people had to struggle much harder. They had to get more creative when preparing their food and sometimes use methods we wouldn’t think of now because we don’t need them. Due to the need for different processes, as well as being cultures from the past, their tastes were often quite different as well. 

10. Hot Chocolate Used To Not Be Sweet And Was More Like Coffee

In the days of the Aztecs and Mayans they invented the drink we know now as hot chocolate, however, it was quite different from the sweet, milky beverage we know today..Hot chocolate was prepared using chocolate that was not refined using the processes we are used to today, which made it a lot fresher, but it also meant it had way more caffeine. This, of course, meant that the Aztecs and Maya of old figured out how to exploit the drink and use it as a stimulant like coffee or tea. This was probably helped out by the fact that chocolate naturally contains another stimulant as well called theobromine. 

The other thing we would have found odd apart from the more concentrated and fresher chocolate flavor and the extreme energy boost, would have been that they used very little if any sweeteners at all. They occasionally used a little honey to offset bitterness, but this was often left out entirely, which is something many of us would have trouble finding enjoyable to drink today. They of course also used spices in it as well, something that you can see in Mexican variants of hot chocolate today, although most of them use much heavier amounts of sweeteners than did their ancestors.  

9. Wine Was Much More Sour And Often Greatly Diluted 

Well before modern refrigeration, especially back in the days of Ancient Rome, wine was drunk very differently. Many people saw the idea of drinking wine early in the day and getting drunk to be very uncouth. They also considered those who drank wine without water to cut it were barbarians in the literal sense. They would cut their wine with water and sometimes even seawater, both to cut down on how alcoholic it was, and also to make it more palatable to drink. 

It was this last part that was probably why the Romans insisted on cutting their wine with water so much, rather than just their claims about drunkenness and the usual needs for safe drinking water. The problem is that before modern preservation methods, Roman wine would go rancid really fast. It was usually only good on its own the first month after harvest. After that, they would mix it with honey, myrrh, ash, spices,l and a host of other things in order to attempt to make it taste somewhat drinkable — they would even sometimes put in lead, in the hopes of balancing out the sourness. 

8. Bread Was A Bit Different But Goes Back to Prehistoric Days

While our ancient ancestors were still figuring things out, there is now evidence that humans were making bread as early as 14,000 years ago. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen were looking at a site in Jordan and they discovered bread crumbs that were incredibly old. The bread was made using oats, barley, einkorn and fibers from something  called a papyrus plant. The bread was not leavened, but it gave researchers some very interesting clues about ancient life. 

The people, identified as the Natufians, were possibly cultivating the grains for use in bread, and if true this could mean that people had a different relationship with going from hunter gatherers to farmers than some previously thought. They believe this could indicate that the desire to eat bread after its initial discovery from wild grains may have actually caused people to start attempting to settle down and farm, because it was such a desirable food.  

7. The Amount Of Sugar In Our Foods Is A Very Recent Addition 

In Colonial days the average American consumed about six pounds of sugar per year, today, the average American consumer about 130 pounds of sugar per year. This consumption of sugar, according to some experts, could lead to obesity or at least be one of the risks, although of course it is hard to say conclusively. One thing for certain is that there are a whole host of health factors associated with consuming too much sugar, and the May Clinic recognizes added sugar as one of the biggest threats to health that most people don’t think much about. 

Now when you think about it, we have had a well over 2,000% increase in sugar consumption since the days of the country’s founding. Some may wonder where things all went wrong, and the answer is the rise of certain types of farming. Sugar beets became a massive crop and then in 1876 the United States signed a treaty with Hawaii which gave them more access to sugar cane. After that, the obsession took off, and with the nation’s corn plants allowing for cheap high fructose corn syrup, the rest is extremely unhealthy history.  

6. Salted Meat And Salt Fish Were Incredibly Common And Required Special Preparation

Back before modern refrigeration and food preservation, salted meat and salt fish were basically a staple of many pantries. Salting was required in order to preserve meat and fish stores long enough to avoid wasting them. Along with smoked meats, salted meat was instrumental in keeping people alive long enough for us to exist today. 

While preservation methods could vary, such as in Ireland where they used ash made from seaweed instead of regular salts, the techniques required for making the meat edible were all the same. You had to soak the salted meat or fish overnight in water, to make it ready to cook and then serve without salt poisoning. This excess salty water that was leftover could be used for stews, soups or other similar applications. 

5. Much Ancient Beer Was Low In Alcohol And Considered A Nutritious Drink 

Some people think everyone was drinking beer all the time in ancient days, and this was because it was the only way to make their water safe. However, the truth is the evidence suggests this really isn’t the case. Many ancient cultures frowned on certain members of their society, especially the women, drinking at all, and most cultures did actually have access to relatively fresh drinking water. The truth though, is that like most things, there is something in a rumor for it to get legs in the first place. 

People did often drink weaker beer, sometimes called small beer in the days of the middle ages especially and in other time periods of ancient culture as well, but they didn’t do it so they could have safe drinking water that didn’t get them drunk. The main reason most of them drank this substance was because it was considered a high calorie, more nutritious alternative to water. It provided farmers and workers with carbohydrates and energy, while not really getting them drunk as it was low in alcohol. 

4. Cheesecake Goes Back To Ancient Greece But It Was Quite Different

As far as most people are concerned, cheesecake was invented in New York and Cream Cheese, which is required to make it, was invented in Philadelphia not much more than a hundred years ago. However, while it is true that the modern take on cheesecake is quite new for obvious reasons as it involves cream cheese, the idea of cheesecake goes all the way back to the Ancient Greeks. Back in their day, cheesecake was made with flour, eggs, ricotta, honey and sometimes lavender. It was often served in a small pastry shell.

Today, of course, we use eggs, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and sometimes flavorings. If we are making a no bake cheesecake, we may even use gelatin instead of eggs. In Japan, cheesecakes are made with very little cheese, and lots of egg whites. While our modern recipes are quite different, that doesn’t mean the ancient recipes are out of reach.With a little creativity, food bloggers have recreated ancient goat cheese and honey cakes made by the Ancient Greeks, and reviews from those who tried them found them to be quite delicious.  

3. Rosewater Was Used To Flavor Baked Goods Instead Of Vanilla

While today neutral baked goods are flavored with vanilla, up until around the early 19th century, rosewater was actually the choice most people made as an agent for adding flavor to their baked goods. Many today would find the very concept to be rather icky. Most in the Western world in modern times have little taste for floral flavors, but they were once very popular. 

While this may sound strange to us, floral flavors have been in use in baking and cooking for many years and throughout many cultures, it just isn’t something very popular in current Western cooking.  Still today, floral flavors like Rosewater can be found in treats like Turkish Delight, which features in The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe as a treat so good that a teenage boy literally betrays his siblings to the devil so he can have some. 

2. Fruit And Nuts In Baked Goods Were Once The Height Of Luxury

Today most people think of fruitcake as rather gross. However, things used to be quite the opposite. Back before the industrial revolution really took hold and we started having so many food processing and preservation methods, fruitcake was considered to be the height of decadence. In olden days desserts meant for holidays pften featured as many nuts and fruits as possible. It was a way of showing off how much you could afford, even if only once in a while and a way of feeling for a time like you were a rich man enjoying the finer things in life. 

Today, things have come full circle and we just really do not understand this. Johnny Carson even made a famous joke about how he thought there was only one fruitcake, and the same stale thing kept getting regifted and passed around year after year.The point of all the fruit and nuts and its decadence is lost on us. With modern refrigeration and nut processing, eating a bunch of them at once doesn’t feel nearly so luxurious. Due to this, people’s taste for this sort of dessert has faded over time. However, you can still see the vestiges of it, in desserts like carrot cake where raisins and nuts are often still recommended.  

1. Baking Has Come A Long Way, And Home Baking Is Much More Recent 

Today anyone can easily be a home baker, and during the pandemic many people tried their hand, even getting so good as making their own sourdough starters. However, back in the day, most of this was way more difficult and for many people next to impossible. In colonial days, many people did have sourdough starters they used to make their own biscuits and flapjacks, but making things accurately could be tricky and bread was harder to make. They used bee hive shaped brick ovens that only regulated temperature by burning the right amount of ash beforehand, and then letting air out or adding more ash as needed.

Bread was considered such an important part of life that everyone from soldiers to citizens saw it as an important part of a balanced diet and quartermasters had to build ovens at any long term base for the baking of bread. In the late 1800s gas stoves started to appear and in the 1900s electric stoves began to become a regular thing. Still, it wasn’t until World War II that active dry yeast was invented and effortless home baking of bread truly became a normal thing in most of the world.