The Awesome and Cool Poll Thread - Poll #131: Would you pay more taxes if it meant receiving a pension when you retire?

[Hunchman801]

I voted no, but only because I haven't played a single year this year.

[Greengoop]

Are we ready for the next poll, Dave?

[DaveRattlehead]

So, here it is, poll #116.

There are new members in this forum, so this one may be interesting. The question is simple... Did you drink alcohol when you were underage? If so, did your parents know it?

[dr_st]

Once, accidentally. It was funny.

[Rsandee]

I had my dad's blessing to have some beers, the drinking age used to be 16 and it got changed to 18 when I was 17.
I only wanted to drink when I was 17 too coincidentally, nobody in my country enforced the new drinking age for us yet.

[Greengoop]

Well, I had a beer when I was 2, I still have a bit of alcohol now and then.

[Fifo]

I recall being curious and taking a lil sip of alcohol when I was younger.

Regardless of that, I don’t really drink much these days, even though I’m already 25.

Most of my alcohol use these days is for disinfection.

[Pirez]

Nah not really. Father always encouraged me to taste wine and beers if I wanted to but I didn't drink on a regular basis until I gained my full independance at 26.

[Magelin]

I don’t know if minors are forbidden from drinking alcohol in public places, but back at my home it seems completely socially acceptable
So, yes, my parents did let the younger me taste beer.. But the taste is god awful, even now.
Even let me drink champagne, said “it tastes much sweeter” but it literally had the same flavor as beer! What kinda scam is that?!
Funny, considering the fact that my older brother drank a lot of alcohol when he was younger and loved it, apparently.. Guess i’m just indifferent to it.

[Hunchman801]

The legal age used to be 16 for beer and wine and was changed to 18 when I was already an adult, but as far as I can remember I got drunk for the first time at the age of 13 on anise spirit while on holiday in Greece, so the answer is definitely yes. I think my parents found it funny.

[DaveRattlehead]

The legal age to consume alcohol here is 18 years old. I tried Martini when I was 14 and had my first party with alcohol when I was 15. To make it cheaper, we used to buy the alcohol in the supermarket without being asked for identification and do the botellón hiding in the orchards before going to the club. Our first time we bought vodka and I remember we were afraid of being caught with the alcohol in the street. Good times

[Rsandee]

The legal age used to be 16 for beer and wine and was changed to 18 when I was already an adult, but as far as I can remember I got drunk for the first time at the age of 13 on anise spirit while on holiday in Greece, so the answer is definitely yes. I think my parents found it funny.

The beauty of Ouzo
At that age I was drinking shandy on NYE.

The legal age to consume alcohol here is 18 years old. I tried Martini when I was 14 and had my first party with alcohol when I was 15. To make it cheaper, we used to buy the alcohol in the supermarket without being asked for identification and do the botellón hiding in the orchards before going to the club. Our first time we bought vodka and I remember we were afraid of being caught with the alcohol in the street. Good times

Oh I've participated in some botellóns myself too! Some guy from Asturias also showed me how to drink sidra in the traditional way by pouring it from a high altitude and throwing away the bottom of the bottle.

[Hunchman801]

The beauty of Ouzo

If I remember correctly, they were serving it as a welcome drink upon our arrival at the hotel and I somehow got my brothers and other friends to grab a bunch of additional glasses for me.

[Steo]

The only time I drank Ouzo I had so much that I fell over the same wall two times and remember almost nothing. I was about 16 at the time and learned the hard way to pace myself, especially with spirits.

Anyway I was allowed to drink underage as long as I was supervised. Clearly my dad wouldn't have let me get as drunk as I did the night with the Ouzo though, that was just a very weird night.

[dr_st]

The only time I drank Ouzo I had so much that I fell over the same wall two times and remember almost nothing. I was about 16 at the time and learned the hard way to pace myself, especially with spirits.

As long as you didn't swallow your tongue, had to have had CPR performed on, then rushed to a hospital for an emergency gastric lavage - yeah, no. You didn't learn it "the hard way".

The first almost happened to someone I know the first time he drank at the highschool graduation party. The second - unfortunately we don't hear much about these events, except when the efforts fail and some kid is pronounced dead.

Lots of health and responsible drinking to you and yours!

[Steo]

I think I got lucky in that way then, but really I don't think I could have gotten any more drunk unless someone had literally lay me on the floor and poured it down my neck. It would have been completely impossible for me to drink another drop. I'm surprised that stuff didn't happen to me, all I had was a lot of pain from falling, a lot of being lightheaded and dizzy of course, and a lesson to try enjoy my night without going insane and forgetting what even happened. I just drink beer instead of spirits and have for the longest time.

Anyway yeah, clearly it can be very dangerous as your stories above say. Alcohol poisoning is one of the biggest factors of it, let alone what can happen to an extremely drunk person when they're disoriented entirely.

[dr_st]

I think I got lucky in that way then, but really I don't think I could have gotten any more drunk unless someone had literally lay me on the floor and poured it down my neck. It would have been completely impossible for me to drink another drop.

I think it means you have a natural defense mechanism. I believe I have it as well. On all occasions where I found myself drinking a lot, my body started rejecting it, either through revulsion to drinking more, or if I missed the first signs - throwing up. Since I never (knock-on-wood) experienced any serious side effects, I guess it means that for me this mechanism is likely to trigger before the alcohol concentration gets dangerous. So as long as I'm not stupid enough to try to drive or operate machinery in this state, I should be OK, and looks like you will be too!

[Steo]

I think it means you have a natural defense mechanism. I believe I have it as well. On all occasions where I found myself drinking a lot, my body started rejecting it, either through revulsion to drinking more, or if I missed the first signs - throwing up. Since I never (knock-on-wood) experienced any serious side effects, I guess it means that for me this mechanism is likely to trigger before the alcohol concentration gets dangerous. So as long as I'm not stupid enough to try to drive or operate machinery in this state, I should be OK, and looks like you will be too!

Haha basically. Worst that happens is I am feeling sick or dizzy / weak, have a headache etc. All the usual hangover stuff, but it passes in time. I would never try to do anything like that when I knew I was really drunk though either, that's asking for trouble. I believe though that nothing extremely bad ever happened to me from a night of drinking, and I have heard of people getting their stomach pumped etc. I even seen people so drunk that the way they were walking made me think "whoa look how drunk he is, I can't even get that drunk". I suppose I am glad in that way since if you had literally nothing to stop you and your body wouldn't start rejecting it after a certain point, alcohol poisoning could become a factor. I'd take a hangover over that of course, even though a bad hangover can be the worst experience in the world too.

[Hunchman801]

It's true that while it's fun to laugh at our drunken antics, we shouldn't forget that there's also been some tragic accidents. May we all have fun responsibly!

[Fifo]

I don’t really drink much, just the occasional G&T sometimes, and even so, not too often.