Beer Pong Day

In season 3 of House of Cards, Claire, the wife of American President Frank Underwood, plays litreball with Catherine Durant. The First Lady, a Harvard graduate, fails in a competition with the Secretary of State, a Tulane University Beer Pong champion. And although according to classical rules the glasses standing at opposite ends of the table should be filled with beer, Claire and Catherine had whiskey poured into them. The game involves throwing a ping pong ball into a mug of foamy drink that belongs to your opponent. If the ball hits the target, you need to drink alcohol. It is no coincidence that the heroines of “House of Cards” mention the names of their alma maters before the game. It is believed that beer pong was invented in the 50-60s of the twentieth century. members of the Dartmouth College fraternity. The game is very popular among American students, football fans, and visitors to pubs and bars. To celebrate the fun, Beer Pong Day was created in 2006. The holiday is celebrated annually by student fraternities and fans of the foamy drink on the first Saturday in May. Initially, the game was called "Beirut" by analogy with beer (in English - "beer") and the capital of Lebanon, which was under mortar fire during the civil war in 1975-1990. Beer Pong balls were thrown over a net, similar to table tennis. The balls were thrown using rackets into plastic cups arranged in the form of equilateral triangles connected at the vertices. The situation when players get into all the “cups” of the opposing team without losing any of their own is called a short-out. The losing participants fulfill the wishes of the winners - they drink a few pints of beer, strip naked and walk through the streets, and do other ridiculous and funny things. In the 1980s, another version of the game appeared at Lehigh University - "Throw Pong". The net was abolished, as were the rackets, and the number of glasses was reduced to two, containing strong alcohol. In case of loss, the player was obliged to drink a shot, which did not improve accuracy: after 30 minutes of the competition, the participants could barely stand on their feet. It was this type of game that White House Secretary of State Catherine Durand excelled at in her youth. Beer Pong is played not only by characters from the films “21 and Over” and “Project X”, but also by real people. Beer Pong is a favorite pastime of college fraternities, despite the fight against alcohol consumption in many American higher education institutions. Since January 2006, not far from Las Vegas the World Series of Beer Pong is held, in which teams from the USA, Canada, France, Ireland, Japan and other countries take part.The World Series of Beer Pong prize pool often reaches up to 70 thousand dollars. Beer pong is also played in Russia. Thus, since 2018, Beer Pong Jam competitions have been held in St. Petersburg. Beer and other alcohol poured into classic red glasses with a capacity of 500 ml can be replaced with water if participants wish. Dozens of teams compete in tournaments organized by the St. Petersburg Beer Pong League. The game is no less popular among residents of Moscow and other Russian cities. Therefore, beer pong fans not only participate in competitions, but also celebrate Beer Pong Day on the first Saturday in May.