Any avid Game of Thrones fanatic has seen the Lanisters down glasses of wine by the dragon's-ass full. Glass after fermented glass, surprisingly the inbred lushes appear to be guzzling gallons without so much as an accidental late-night crow to an ex-lover. They're champions of the drink.
But it appears that may have been one thing staff historians have gotten wrong (because the legendary series is all based on true history, didn't you know?). Wine glasses, experts now surmise, have gotten over 7 times larger than they were 300 years ago. The Lanisters should essentially be drinking out of shot glasses if the series wants to be more historically accurate.
Scientists with the best job in the world at the University of Cambridge measured over 400 different glasses from the 1700s (a period of time wine consumption became more of a "thing") to right now. Back in the day, old-schoolers were drinking about 66 milliliters per serving, compared to the average of 417 milliliters we drink today. Single shot glasses, by comparison, are about 46 milliliters, give or take on the heavy hand that feeds you.
Glasses from only the past few years have far surpassed even that average though, coming in at around 449 milliliters in 2016 and 2017 (or maybe try this one on for size? the "Ultimate Wine Glass" holds up to 18,000 milliliters). Oddly enough, how the volume of the wine we drink increased was relatively steady for almost 300 years, all the way up until the 1990s, when it hit a massive swell.
Though as other science suggests, we've reached "peak human" as a species and might no longer be able to challenge our bodies to ridiculous feats of strength. Maybe 24 bottles of wine in one serving isn't the best idea right now?
Cheers.
Leave a Reply