More than 13 million pints of Guinness are consumed on St. Patty's Day (along with some free stuff)

More than 13 million pints of Guinness are consumed on St. Patty's Day, opposed to the usual 5.5 million pints that are consumed on any other day of the year. This is just one of the many reasons that St. Patrick's Day is one of the BEST holidays of the year (aside from May 10).

Since I will not be in the continental US on March 17 (no worries, I'll be celebrating with a green margarita under a green palm tree) I am holding my second annual St. Patty's Day contest now. All you have to do is guess how much treasure is in my Pot O' Gold (below).


Guess correctly and you win... an ENCYCLOPEDIA BRANIGAN drinking pack for two, because lets face it, its not (as much) fun drinking alone.


The rules:

• Please list your guess in dollars and cents - $0.00 - with a valid e-mail address (unless you KNOW I know you)
  
• No duplicate guesses
  
• Submit your entry in the comments section below
• You must submit by 11:59 AM EST on Friday, March 5. The winner will be announced that afternoon (just in time for Hoboken!)
  
• Price is Right rules - guess over and you lose!
• NEW RULE - No partnering (JEREMY)
• NEW RULE TWO - People who attend the PRSA 3-on-3 Hoops Tournament will receive an extra guess!
  

There are no tricks, no $20s hidden in the back of the cup or fake coins.

Good Luck!!!

Merengue is a dance of sympathy

Merengue is a dance of sympathy, well according to one version of the story. There was a great hero who was injured in one of the many revolutionary wars of the Dominican Republic. When the hero returned to home, the villagers threw a great celebration where they danced dragging one foot, out of sympathy for the limping soldier.

Another version of the origin of Merengue is that chained sugar field workers were forced to drag their feet while harvesting to the beat of a drum, thus creating the dance.

Merengue is the official dance of the Dominican Republic, where it is regularly seen in bars and discotheques (especially ones with tourists who have a tendency towards the "drinky drinky").

El diablo bila berecha! haha

Would you like to dance Merengue too? Here's a little video to get you started.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday which celebrates the Mexican defeat of the French army at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. It is celebrated mostly in the region of Puebla and is not a federal holiday in Mexico.

In the U.S., however, Cinco de Mayo is widely celebrated (or has been since I turned 21) by Mexican-Americans, college students and twenty-somethings. So this Cinco de Mayo, get out there, have some fun and commemorate those who fought in Pueblo so many years ago...

For more information on Cinco de Mayo, click here, or visit your local liquor store.

Enjoy!

The first St. Patrick's Day parade did not take place in Ireland (nor did they give away free stuff)

The first St. Patrick's Day parade did not take place in Ireland, it took place in New York City on March 17, 1762. Two hundred and forty-seven years later the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade is now the world's oldest civilian parade. With 150,000 participants, it is also the largest in the U.S.. Other major cities have similar parades such as Boston, Chicago and Philly.

I loveee St. Patrick's Day parades (and St. Patrick's Day -- no wonder as my last name supposedly translates as a drunken brawl, ask Amelia) I would go to everyone in the area (if I could be in two places at once). While each parade is unique, there are a few things that stay the same; beer and public intoxication, corned beef and cabbage and of course, PARADE SWAG!

St. Patrick's Day Parade Package

Yes! There is no better way to celebrate this joyous holiday (might be my favorite of the year) then covering yourself in green clothing and glittery light-up accessories. So I figured, why not start the party a little early and give out some gaudy green gloriousness before the parades start (then maybe you won't have to chase the Guinness girls down for a 2 cent necklace. I did get lovely St. Patty's suspenders last year, thank you Heineken).

Here's how it is going to work, below is a beautiful Pot o' Gold (ok, it's a Solo Cup o' Change...it's a recession).

Solo Cup o' Change - click on the image and it will appear bigger in a new window, if you want to be all exact and actually count the change.

Now all you have to do is guess how much change is in the pot (aka Solo cup) and you win the St. Patty's Day Parade Package! Awesome right! I thought so (and no, I did not get these last year at the bar - they are new, with tags). Simple enough... here are a few rules (follow them, or else!).

• Your guess must be in the following format: $0.00. This is not the gas station, no fractions of cents.
• You cannot guess a number someone has already guessed (there are enough numbers for all of you)
• You must MUST include your e-mail address in anti evil robot format i.e. lrbranigam AT gmail DOT com - entries without e-mail addresses are disqualified, you can't win if I can't e-mail you
  
• Submit your entry in the comments section below
• You must submit by 11:59 PM EST on Thursday, March 5. The winner will be announced on Friday, March 6
• Closest number wins (rounded up, for example, if the number is 12 and there is an 11 and a 13, 13 wins)

There are no tricks, no $20s hidden in the back of the cup or fake coins. Just take a stab at it. Ready, set, GO!

For more information of the history of St. Patrick's Day visit History.com.

Beer pong can leave you with more than a good buzz

According to a recent report on Fox and Friends, beer pong can leave you with more than a good buzz, it can also leave you with the flu (ugh), mono (bummer) or herpes (ewwww).

Click here to watch the segment. It's pretty funny.

That is exactly why I prefer flip-cup (or maybe it's because I am terrible at beer pong, haha).

All balls in this game were sanitized before use, and no cups were shared or reused

Best line of the segment: "There is bacteria on my ball!"

If anyone has an embedded link to the video, please share!