Study

The <http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/">National Highway Traffic Safety Administration</a> recently sponsored a study about what were peoples final words when they were in a SUV crash. I know, weird thing to study but you know the government. They found something very interesting in this study. Throughout the US, with the exception of Montana, the last thing people said before their SUV crashed was "OH SHIT!!!" In Montana though, it was a little different. The last thing in Montana before a SUV crash was "Hey, hand me another beer."<br />n<br />nI recently heard this joke and <a href="http://www.bigskyblog.com/index.php/2007/07/26/beer-up/">this post about beer consumption</a> reminded me of it. In a way the joke is way to true to be really funny. The amount of drinking that goes on in Montana is truly staggering.<br />n<br />n<blockquote>Montanans, on average, each guzzle down 41 gallons of beer per year, or a little more than one 12-ounce can of beer per day.</blockquote><br />n<br />nI will guarantee you, someone is drinking a whole lot of beer to make up for what My Darling Wife and I don't drink. I might, I repeat might, drink 10 glasses of beer all year long and My Darling Wife doesn't drink any. Why is it that Montana has such a high alcohol consumption? We live in "The Last Best Place" and it shouldn't be necessary to drink until we can't see straight any more. I will admit at one time I did drink a lot more and I am sure glad I quit. I feel better and healthier now that I don't.<br />n<br />nI guess this is just one of those things I will never understand. The need for Montanans to drink and get drunk to think they are having a good time. the real funny thing about this then is when people do get together for any reason, the stories are always about drinking and who got drunk when. You explain it to me, It's a cultural issue that I have broke past luckily.<br />n<br />n<strong>If you want to change the culture, you will have to start by changing the organization. Mary Douglas</strong>