Friday’s ad is for Miller High Life, from 1941. It’s a two-color ad, using mostly red, but it really makes the beer bottle and glass pop. It looks this might only be part of the ad, it feels like something must be missing, and the proportions don’t look quite right, either, providing more evidence that this is only a piece of the original ad.
While I’m firmly in the “beer came before bread” camp in the anthropological debate about what sparked civilization, evidence has been mounting for that view since it was first proposed over a half-century ago. In a new opinion piece in the New York Times by Jeffrey P. Kahn, the CEO of WorkPsych Associates, entitled How Beer Gave Us Civilization, he lays out the case for why “we needed beer” and runs through an overview of early civilization’s introduction of alcohol and why it was so necessary to our development. He also brings into the debate a recent study from the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, What Was Brewing in the Natufian? An Archaeological Assessment of Brewing Technology in the Epipaleolithic, which adds new support for what I call the “beer first” theory.
He unfortunately ends with the long-discredited Benjamin Franklin beer quote, but apart from that gaffe, it’s a good read. Just stop short of the final two paragraphs, and it’s even better. He should have just finished with this sage observation. “Beer’s place in the development of civilization deserves at least a raising of the glass.” Hear, hear.
Illustration by Anders Nilsson.
For a little Friday frivolity, here’s a commercial for the Argentina beer Cerveza Andes, showing the Teletransporter devices they’ve installed in bars throughout South America. Try to ignore the misogynist overtones, and remember it’s meant to be a joke that plays on unfair stereotypes, which doesn’t mean you can’t find it funny. The idea is that Andes built transporters, like from Star Trek — sort of — to help men sneak out for a beer, without getting caught.
Here’s the description, from the ad agency that created the ads:
Many beer brands speak to men in a shared tone showing to them that they really understand their needs. Yet, up to now, all intentions were expressed by a message without and action plan. Andes, the leader beer in the Andina Region of Argentina, presents: Andes Beer: Teletransporter — a revolutionary invention capable of doing something almost impossible: men can now go to a bar and share an Andes beer with friends without having any problems with their girlfriends. Andes Teletransporter Booths have been installed at the main bars of Mendoza, Argentina. Einstein mentioned that teletransportation was impossible since objects could not conduct faster than light. Einstein was wrong!
But just watch the subtitled ad below.
While currently impossible, apparently we may actually be getting closer to teleportation, believe it or not. According to zdiaz.com :
In December of 1997, Scientists in an Austrian laboratory destroyed bits of light in one place and made perfect replicas appear about 3 feet away. In 2004 Physicists carried out a successful teleportation with particles of light over a distance of 600 meters across the River Danube in Austria. And in 2006 Physicists demonstrate the first successful entanglement of the quantum states of photons (in a laser beam) with the quantum states of physical matter. Sure this is a long way from having breakfast in Paris, lunch in New York and Dinner in Beijing, but we are almost getting there.
It was reported by the BBC in Teleportation goes long distance and in Teleportation breakthrough made and it was also done successfully in Japan, as reported in Quantum leap: bits of light successfully teleported. And then last year, they broke a new distance record when Physicists Quantum Teleport Photons Over 88 Miles. It may be a very long way off, but who knows. Maybe someday we really can say, “beer me up, Scotty.” Here’s an interesting overview of the science behind teleportation, if you’re interested in learning more about it. And here’s another one by Gary Garrison and also one from How Stuff Works?
Today’s Beers of the World infographic is a Tree of Life design “representing 120 Beers from Around the World.” It’s the work of Aristide Lex , an Architectural designer from Boston. It doesn’t appear to be a universal chart so much as an exercise in organization, and an elegant one at that.
Here’s a description of his Beers of the World:
This poster design combines elements of graphic design and information architecture. A collection of 120 beers is organized in a radial array. Like a tree of life, the information branches outward as it narrows in specificity – continents, countries, cities, and brands. Each beer has an icon identifying coast shape, color, and brew style, and a radial bar graph shows brand longevity. Many trends become evident through the heirarchical display. For example, it’s no suprise that longevity is weighted geographically.
Here’s some close-ups of the chart.
And below is a short 3-second video of how the chart is organized.
I may not be college basketball’s biggest fan, but I do still enjoy March Madness every year. The tournament is usually a fun diversion for a few weeks each year, so for the third straight year, I’ve set up a fantasy game, similar to fantasy football. It’s a bracket game through Yahoo which I call “Märzen Madness.” It doesn’t look like there’s a limit to the number of people who can play, so sign up and make your picks before March 19, which is when the first games take place.
To join Märzen Madness and play the Yahoo! Sports Tournament Pick’em game, just follow this instructions below. You’ll also need a Yahoo ID (which is free if you don’t already have one).
To accept the invitation, just follow this invitation link. For reference, here’s the group information.
Group ID#: 17084
Password: beer
Good luck everybody.
During this year’s Pliny the Younger release day at Russian River Brewing last month, I met Ron and Rob, who have embarked on creating a video series of rare beer releases under the banner of Limited Release Beer. The idea is to go around the country documenting the brouhaha surrounding each rare beer’s release. So far they’ve done videos for Portsmouth’s Kate the Great, Three Floyd’s Dark Lord, Surly’s Darkness, and the Bruery’s Black Tuesday. The latest video, of course, was just released, and it was this year’s Pliny the Younger.
The video runs about 17 minutes, and includes some background history and information, the day itself, a nice interview with Vinnie Cilurzo talking about Pliny, a Mission Impossible-style animation of stealing some Pliny to take back to their “expert taster,” which turned out to be a trick. I assume that must be part of each episode, and they included it only because it’s in the other episodes, too. Then they finish up with their take on the event and some tips to help you survive the next one. All in all, a fun effort.
Limited Release – Episode 5, Pliny the Younger from Limited Release Beer on Vimeo.
Thursday’s ad is for the South African SAB brand Hofbrau Premium Lager. It’s not particularly old, having been created in 1998, but since today is Albert Einstein’s birthday it seemed an appropriate ad for today. I assume it’s the same amount of beer, but because there are two different size glasses, our perception of how much beer is in each is relative to the size of the glass.
Today’s infographic shows the brewing process at Ninkasi Brewing in Eugene, Oregon. I’ve seen a lot of these diagrams, and even started collecting them this year in a Tumblr, Visualize Brewing, but this is one of the coolest ones I’ve seen. The detail is great, which you can see better looking at it full size.
Click here to see the poster full size, and you can also download a pdf of it at the Ninkasi website.
Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day this Sunday, the American Chemical Society released a video today as part of their Byte Size Science program all about The Chemistry of Alcohol and Hangovers.
For those celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with green beer, moderation is key. Alcohol has several negative effects on your body — many of which can amount to a miserable morning after. Find out the science behind those brutal hangovers and alcohol’s other effects on the body in our latest video, and maybe we can inspire some caution in your celebration this year.
Doubtful, but it’s certainly worth a try. The video below was created by the ACS Office of Public Affairs, explaining “the science behind these unpleasant after-effects that excessive drinking can have on the body.” DOn’t say you haven’t been warned.
Wednesday’s ad is for Hamm’s, from 1949. The beer in the ad is Hamm’s Preferred Stock Beer, and it’s pretty clear that this isn’t the whole ad, that part of it is cut off, but I’m guessing this is the main graphic element. With the looks on the people’s faces, I’m not sure what they’re going for with this scene. Anybody want to hazard a guess? All I can say is there’s more than meets the eye.
