The Original Drinking Game

Depictions of Greek drunkenness and orgies mostly miss the mark. The ancient Greeks actually took wine drinking very seriously and denounced intoxication for its harmful effects. Still, they did know how to have a good time and even created one of the world’s first drinking games–kottabos. The game involved flinging the last few drops of wine (or wine lees) from a cup to a specific target. This messy pastime was so popular that some men even built special rooms for the game.

Of the following rivers, which runs through Burgundy, France?

A. Rhône River

B. Saône River

C. Gironde River

D. Dordogne River

The Saône River (pronounced sohn) runs through Burgundy from the Vosges Mountains in eastern France south to the city of Lyon. The Saône—a river that has approximately 30 locks, or gated sections, to assist ships in navigating the waters—is 268 miles long (or 431 kilometers) and is connected by canal to both the Rhine River and the Seine (famous as the river that runs through Paris). The Rhône River runs through the Rhône Valley. The Dordogne River is in Bordeaux and the Gironde is technically an estuary, not a river. It connects Bordeaux to the Atlantic Ocean.

Front Palate

It might seem like the term front plate refers to the front of the mouth. But front palate, mid palate and back palate are temporal terms—that is, they indicate time. So the “front palate” is… Continue reading

The Original Drinking Game

Get WineSpeed