Beer. A sweet nectar from the gods themselves. A 8,000 year old process of refinement culminated into 12 oz of sublime libation. More than milk, coffee, or even bottle water, beer is the drink of choice for thirsty Americans of age. Yes, we Americans grease the wheels of human emotion with this social lubricant like no other. Some 200 million barrels a year go down our collective hatches. But instead of a string of numbers, lets visualize our way to grasping the United States’ yearly beer consumption.
Only China is has a greater thirst, but they also have an extra billion people’s thirst to quench so with only one fourth of the population, we certainly hold our own.
Of course the US beer industry is a juggernaught. Ranking around 35th on the global GDP list, our beer sales rival nations.
War is expensive, and so is free beer. Although it’s though unlikely to ever see a politician campaign with a “Make beer, not war” slogan, it is good to know that the economics are there to make it happen.
While we are day dreaming about free beer, have you ever wanted a swimming pool full of the stuff? I sure hope not. The logistics of keeping a beer pool fresh and cold, not to mention making sure your drunk buddies don’t pee in it, are mind boggling. But for 4% of the pool owners out there, this dream could be made a reality.
With moon-landing levels of public support, cooperation and diligence, we could get this lasting testament to the wonders of Beer created, and filled too. OK, still day dreaming here, but if you just wanted to visualize 30 teragrams of liquid, here you go. What’s a teragram? It’s a scientific way of saying “that’s f@#king heavy!”
Speaking of the moon, where would a visualization attempt be without some reference to the distance to the moon? If its too big for “around the earth x times”‘ then its “to the moon and back x times”. Well this one was quite short of making it to our nearest neighbor, Mars, but this stack of cans tops out at a respectable 4.8 million miles of space. And just for you terrestrial types, that’s around the earth 185 times. But really, what a waste of beer.
Here we go, socialism I can support. Seriously though, here is our yearly consumption as it relates to you. You don’t drink, well that’s two beers a day for your neighbor. Your wife doesn’t drink? Three beers a day for your neighbor. Grandma never touches the stuff? Well then you get the idea. You might want to check in on your neighbor though, he may have a problem.
And finally, here is our yearly consumption and how it related those less fortunate. It’s all about resources, though I doubt even the starving could choke down malted meals five nights a week. Yes the United States is wealthy and enjoys the good life, but just imagine the destruction and carnage that would occur with a nation full of sober and serious people. The hungry masses just might agree.
