Drinking from shoes

A man drinking from a shoe

Drinking from a shoe has historically been seen as both a bringer of good fortune and as a hazing punishment, and drinking champagne from a lady's slipper became a symbol of decadence in the early 20th century.

Drinking beer out of one's own shoe is a ritual popularly undertaken at parties and events in Australia (where it is referred to as a "shoey"[1][2]), and in 2016 the act was adopted by some motor racing drivers, performed with champagne on the winner's podium.

Performance

To perform a shoey, the drinker either removes their own shoe, or nominates a friend's shoe to be used as the vessel. The shoe is tilted and the entire contents of a can of beer are poured into the shoe's opening. Once the beverage has settled, the beer is drunk by tipping the shoe up to the mouth and chugging it.

The drink most commonly used for a shoey is beer, however other alcoholic beverages are also used. Australian Formula One racer Daniel Ricciardo has said "If the sparkling wine is cold, then it tastes good. If it's warm then you might get the sweat through it but the cold taste kills the bad stuff... so it's delicious."[3]

History

During the Middle Ages, drinking from a shoe or boot was thought to bring good luck.[4] In the 20th century, the act of drinking champagne from a lady's slipper became a shorthand for decadence and sophistication.[5] The practice is thought to have originated in 1902 at the Everleigh Club, a high-class brothel in Chicago. When a dancer's slipper fell to the floor, a member of Prince Henry of Prussia's entourage picked it up and used it to drink champagne.[6]

A glass Bierstiefeln

Drinking from another soldier's boot was a traditional hazing ritual in the German army, and soldiers would drink from the general's boot after a victory.[7] The German Bierstiefeln is a boot-shaped beer glass[8] said to have been created by a Prussian general in an unnamed war who promised his troops that if they were victorious in an upcoming battle, he would drink beer from his own boot.[7] After they won the battle the general had second thoughts, and instead ordered a glass imitation to be made.[8] During World War I, German soldiers were said to pass around a leather boot filled with beer, for good luck.[7]

One example of a shoey being performed in the media is a 1972 episode of the US television series M*A*S*H. In the episode "Yankee Doodle Doctor", a black and white film is made by the doctors where they are seen at party drinking from shoes

The shoey gained widespread popularity in Australia in 2015, and received media attention in 2016 after MotoGP rider Jack Miller celebrated his first win by drinking from a shoe.[9] [10]

Daniel Ricciardo introduced the trend to Formula One when he celebrated a podium finish by performing a shoey[11] and again on the podium of the Belgian Grand Prix, this time sharing it with Mark Webber. On the podium of the Malaysian Grand Prix, winner Ricciardo shared his shoey with his second-placed team mate Max Verstappen and third-placed Nico Rosberg, as well as his team boss Christian Horner. Scottish actor Gerard Butler drank Red Bull from a shoe with Daniel Ricciardo at the US Grand Prix podium.[12] Following a podium at the 2016 San Marino MotoGP round, Italian racer Valentino Rossi became the first non-Australian competitor to embrace and perform a shoey.[3] Ricciardo has attributed the shoey to "a few Aussies called the Mad Hueys", saying that they "basically travel the world fishing and surfing and they like to drink a lot of beer – so that's where the shoey began".[3]

The shoey was popular during the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2016 season when it became a tradition for fans to perform shoeys at games. This coincided with the club winning the premiership at the end of the season, with numerous players such as James Maloney doing shoeys at celebrations.

Commonly, Hash House Harriers who wear new shoes to an event can be required to drink from that shoe.

References

  1. ↑ "Mad Hueys share clip of Swiss Bachelor drinking bubbly out of high heels - Daily Mail Online". Mail Online. 21 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "How Stereosonic's drug culture hides behind a playful language - Daily Mail Online". Mail Online. 7 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/24239/10578877/daniel-ricciardo-explains-his-shoey-podium-celebration-and-the-taste
  4. ↑ Friesen, Ilse E. (2001). The female crucifix images of St. Wilgefortis since the Middle Ages. Waterloo, Ont.: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. p. 37. ISBN 9780889209398.
  5. ↑ Schmidt, John R. (2014). On this day in Chicago history. ISBN 1626192537.
  6. ↑ Martin, Scott C. (2014). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Alcohol: Social, Cultural, and Historical Perspectives. SAGE Publications. p. 368. ISBN 1483374386.
  7. 1 2 3 Hines, Nick (26 October 2016). "The Surprisingly English History Of Das Boot". VinePair. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  8. 1 2 "A Brief History of German Beer Boots, and Where You Can Find Them". The Huffington Post. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  9. ↑ "Jack Miller celebrates maiden MotoGP win". Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  10. ↑ Jack Miller drinks champagne from his boot
  11. ↑ "Daniel Ricciardo asks Mark Webber to drink champagne from his boot on Belgian Grand Prix podium". Fox Sports. 29 August 2016.
  12. ↑ "Daniel Ricciardo and Gerard Butler's 'shoey' at US GP". 24 October 2016 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.