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Wine Glasses Are Seven Times Larger Than They Used To Be (theguardian.com)

An anonymous reader shares a report: Our Georgian and Victorian ancestors may have enjoyed a Christmas tipple but -- judging by the size of the glasses they used -- they probably drank less wine than we do today. Scientists at the University of Cambridge have found that the capacity of wine glasses has ballooned nearly seven-fold over the past 300 years, rising most sharply in the last two decades in line with a surge in wine consumption. Wine glasses have swelled in size from an average capacity of 66ml in the early 1700s to 449ml today, the study reveals -- a change that may have encouraged us to drink far more than is healthy. Indeed, a typical wine glass 300 years ago would only have held about a half of today's smallest "official" measure of 125ml.

1 of 220 comments (clear)

  1. where's James Burke when you really need him? by Thud457 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm not impressed unless you can trace it back to the average width of a Roman horse's ass.

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    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff