617 275-5955
Fun Facts about Parties
Whether it’s a tea party, New Year’s Eve, Glastonbury Festival or the Rio Carnival, everybody loves letting their hair down in one way or another. Partying is a tradition that goes back to the beginning of time, and many of the most fascinating stories throughout history end (or begin with!) celebrations. Here are some fascinating facts about some of the most interesting parties and party-goers in history:
1. One of the most famous parties ever happened two days before the founding fathers of the U.S.A. signed the Constitution. The paper itself took five months to write, so when it was complete, the fathers were ready to unwind. Between 56 people, they drank 55 bottles of Madeira wine, 60 bottles of Claret wine, eight bottles of whiskey, 22 bottles of porter, eight of cider, 12 of beer and seven bowls of strong punch. That’s more alcohol consumption per person than science tells us a human being is capable of surviving.
2. Toasting is a classic party tradition, and different cultures have their own unique way of expressing good will before taking a drink. In Germany, if you clink glasses without making eye contact, then both drinkers get seven years of bad luck! In Japan, the more senior of two drinkers will always touch glasses above the rim of the other’s glass as a display of rank. Cheers!
3. The longest dance party ever lasted 55 hours and took place in Wexford, Ireland.
4. Bachelor parties, or “stag-dos” as they’re known in the UK, are a partying tradition in which grooms-to-be will celebrate with their friends before a wedding ceremony. This tradition can be traced back to ancient Sparta, when soldiers would hold dinner parties in honor of the groom’s last night as a single man.
5. Woodstock is renowned for being one of the greatest music festivals in rock history. The organizers played down the original ticket numbers to the authorities, telling them that 50,000 tickets had been sold. The actual number of tickets was 186,000, with the expectation that another 20,000 people would show up without tickets. When the day finally arrived, 500,000 came to see the show, with another million people unable to get to the site because of traffic.
6. The largest tea party ever was held in Indore, in India, and had 32,681 tea drinking attendees.
7. Oscar Wilde was one of the most prolific party goers of the 1800’s, and was famous for his excellent conversation skills and sparkling wit. He is famous for saying “Hear no evil, speak no evil – and you’ll never get invited to a party”.
8. Alexander the Great is famous for making the biggest party blunder in history. After conquering Persia, Alexander settled in down in Persepolis for a ‘symposium’ with his generals. The drinking and partying began to get out of hand, and ended abruptly when Alexander flew into a rage and burned down the city palace, which he now owned. Needless to say, he regretted it the next morning.
9. The toga party is a staple university student tradition made famous by the 1978 movie ‘Animal House’. The largest toga party consisted of 3,700 participants and was held in Brisbane, Australia.
Some party-themed vocabulary you should know:
Let your hair down: to relax or unwind
Consumption: the act of destroying something through use; eating or drinking
Toast: to say something in celebration before taking a drink
Prolific: tending to do and/or create a lot; productive
Blunder: a mistake, often obvious or easily avoidable
Out of hand: out of control
Flew into a rage: became angry
Related articles
7 Weird and Fun Facts about Portland
Fun Facts about Television
