Have you ever watched Mental Floss and thought, “This would be even more enjoyable if I had a few drinks in me”? Have you ever watched Mental Floss and thought, “I wish John Green had a few more drinks in him”? Well, if you hit the sauce a little bit before watching the above video, you can make both of those dreams a reality.
This week, the popular Internet show decided to focus on the history of alcoholic beverages and more specifically, how certain alcoholic beverages got their names. It turns out some handle choices derive from boring and obvious factors like colors (mimosa) or instruments used to pry them open (screwdriver). Others, however, have exceedingly bizarre or even nonsensical histories like old jokes that were briefly popular (Tom Collins), the combination of which make for an extremely enjoyable eight and a half minute video.
Ordinarily, Mental Floss is the type of show that prefers to speak in exact answers and researched facts. When it comes to origins of drinks, many of which were created more than a century ago, however, such guarantees aren’t always available. Instead, the tales are more often of the tall variety with the more thorough ones at least getting cited by some sources back in the day. Luckily, Green seems to have a sense of humor about the whole thing and willingly acknowledges just how many different possibilities there really are.
There are plenty of things I would rather do than invent a popular drink, but if history really did remember you through imbibing one of your tasty and boozy concoctions, that hardly seems like the worst fate in the world. In fact, I can think of more than a few celebrities who would probably fist pump at the chance to gain that inebriated status.
Since it’s Thursday and you’re probably looking for ways to kill time at work, at least if you’re one of the lucky few who can have your sound on while at work, I’ve decided to embed another of Mental Floss’ fine videos below. What follows are forty-nine hoaxes people actually believed. Watch it. Enjoy it and then head over to the Youtube Channel to subscribe for more hilarious and informative lists.
