- Sigma Pi!
- No!
(Jeff laughs)
It's perfect, you're gonna love it.
- The phrase eating is cheating.
- I blacked out. (chuckles)
(upbeat music)
Hi, I'm Tom.
I'm from the UK, land of tea, fish and chips,
driving on the left hand side of the road
and the queen.
- And I'm Jeff, I'm from the US,
land of the free, home of the brave,
(eagle screeches)
cheeseburgers and Walmart.
- And this is Brits versus Americans,
where we sit down and finally discuss our differences.
Drinking.
- Alcohol.
- Booze.
- The good stuff.
- The sauce.
You got any more?
The old ball and chain.
Tying one on.
No?
- I don't know what that is.
- When you go out to get drunk,
you're like, oh, tying one on.
- Mm-mm. - Okay.
- Our drinking cultures are just, are so different.
The age we start drinking, the ways we drink.
- Let's get into it.
(chiming)
- Okay, Tom.
So shotgunning a beer is a classic American tradition.
- Yep.
- So it's time for you to try it out.
- I'm really nervous about this.
- [Jeff] What do you think you do?
- I think you shake it,
(emoji pops)
and then you pierce it and then you,
and then you drink it.
- Yeah, that's it.
Let's try that out.
Shake it and then pierce it.
- You've got mischief in your eyes.
That's not what you do, what--
- [Jeff] Definitely don't shake it.
If you shake it and pierce it,
it's gonna like explode all over you,
which is what we don't want. - Great.
- Here, take the can,
and you're gonna pierce it right around here.
And then be careful 'cause it's full of beer.
- Yeah.
- And so with the first intimal impact,
it will probably squirt back at you a little bit.
- This is like when they teach you to drive
and it's like right, remember to do this,
and then the clutch and then the, okay.
- I know, there's a lot of technicalities in it.
- Right, okay, so.
Okay, so the more we talk about it,
the more it's stressing me out,
so thanks. - Yeah.
- I'm kinda stressed out too, but I'm ready for you to!
- Can I just do it?
- Shotgunning the beer for the first time!
- (sighs) Okay, all right, okay, let's do it.
(inhales) Oh, I don't wanna do it.
- No, you're good.
- All right, okay, okay.
- Nothing bad's gonna happen.
(can spraying)
(upbeat music)
- Is that right?
(Tom burping)
- The burp is an essential part.
The beer was clearly a little,
first of all, you did a great job.
- Thanks, Jeff.
- And it seems like you chugged it really really fast
which is good.
The beer was definitely shaken.
- It's nothing, it's like sheer panic when it goes,
I was like well this is it, now,
I'm being filmed,
two cameras. - You did it really fast.
Thank you!
Once it's going, it's good actually.
I like the flow of the thing. - Yeah.
The initial impact is something that I could do without.
- That's not supposed to happen.
- No, it doesn't normally? - No.
Okay, cool.
Great, well.
(upbeat music)
The most obvious place to start
is the fact that we can drink at 18
and you guys aren't allowed to drink until you're 21.
- 21.
- 21 is so old. - 20 (beep) one.
That's so old not to be able-- - It's so old, like.
- You graduate high school at 18
and then you go to college - Got it.
for four years.
So I couldn't legally drink
until I was a senior in college at the age of 21.
- So in the UK, obviously the drinking age is 18,
you're still in high school.
So you're coming in and doing your lessons hungover maybe.
- Oh.
- Yeah.
- I don't think anyone really would come into school
hungover because it was illegal
and you like weren't supposed to.
Like people would have parties on the weekends and stuff
but none of my friends were like,
oh my God I'm so hungover for my test today.
- Oh, for a big thing.
Drinking in the park.
Your friend's brother maybe has bought you
like a three liter bottle of like Frosty Jack's,
which is like a sort of cider sort of.
- [Jeff] Kay.
- I think I remember we did it once in like December time
and it was snowing, cold,
and we were all just like six of us sharing
this one bottle of this like nasty cider.
And just that's what you would do.
You can't drink at home. - Yeah.
Maybe one of your friends has got like a cool mum.
- The first time I ever got really really really drunk
was probably 17 or 18.
- Wow.
- I feel like some parents were more lenient,
I feel like some kids just stole it
from their parents' liquor cabinet.
- Okay, right.
Or like older sibling.
- One of my friends like,
she just looked older than she was
so she would always just like put on a pair of heels
and like go in the shop and it would work.
(chiming)
Strawpedo, very simple.
Straw in the top, bend it over, hold it like that
so the air can get out.
Don't sip it like this,
instead it'll be like completely like that.
And it's,
- How do you even?
You feel like, do like a back bend while you're chugging.
- Yeah, sure, I don't know.
- Oh my God.
Why am I so nervous?
- I know, yeah it's scary.
- It's fucking drinking related and I'm terrified.
- Go on.
(Jeff exhales)
- Yeah, okay!
Well, you didn't get the whole thing
but that was, - I didn't.
that was pretty good.
- Yo, okay.
- Do you see how fast it comes out there?
- Yeah, it goes really fast.
So that surprised me.
- It does.
(upbeat music)
It's the solitary blue. (Jeff coughing)
- It just tastes so bad.
(Jeff coughs)
- Are you okay? (Jeff coughs)
(emojis popping)
- What state you're in in the US
also depends on the liquor laws.
- Yeah, this is the most confusing thing.
- So in Maryland,
beer, wine, and liquor
all had to come from a specific shop.
So you couldn't get it at the grocery store,
you couldn't get it at the gas station,
you had to get it at a specific liquor store.
- What is liquor?
What do you mean by that?
- Spirits. - Okay, okay.
You don't call it liquor?
- No, that's so American sounding to me.
- Yeah, I got what you're saying.
- Spirits, okay.
So beer, spirits and wine have to come from a--
- Liquor, I don't even know where is that.
- Is that a thing?
- Then in North Carolina,
you could get beer and wine anywhere.
Gas station, Walmart, the drive through,
cruise through, loved driving through.
It's like going to a drive-through McDonald's
and you're just like hey, I want all this stuff
and then they give it to you.
- Really? - Yeah.
But like what, like eggs?
- I think you get anything.
But I only went there for--
- What if you have a 50 long shopping list?
And like, - I don't know if you'd go
for like your weekly shop, but.
- Okay.
- We would go to get like bags of ice and booze.
- Red solo cups.
- But, oh yeah.
But then liquor in North Carolina,
you could only get from the ABC Store,
which was like a government-run,
the scariest (beep) place on Earth if you're underage
because there's like millions of cameras, security guards,
you have to go through like two double doors.
It's like you're in - Fort Knox
like prison or something,
- That's so-- - It's (beep) crazy.
In a ABC Store?
- In California, they don't give a (beep).
They sell everything everywhere.
You can get beer, wine, liquor at the grocery store,
easiest thing.
- That's so weird.
But what if you go to a state you've never been to before?
You just have to ask a local and figure it out?
- Yeah.
- Oh.
(emojis popping)
So college, university, obviously a big drinking time,
regardless of whether or not
you're actually allowed to do it.
- Yep, college is about drinking.
Although we don't endorse it, it like kind of is.
- So we have Freshers' week in the UK.
- You don't call it freshman, sophomore, junior, senior?
- No, we don't do any of that.
We just say Freshers I guess 'cause it's the first week.
It's like, you know, jagerbombs are a pound.
You know, or like apple sours or whatever it is
and like you're just getting as (beep) up as possible.
It's encouraged.
It's almost like the university is like pushing you
in that direction, like that's what you should be doing.
- You can't go to the on-campus bars
because you need a fake I.D. to get into them
'cause you have to be 21.
(Tom groans)
Or sometimes they let 18 year olds in
but you have huge permanent marker crosses on your hands.
- To like don't serve this person.
Really?
- Yeah, so if you have a cup in your hand with an X.
(Jeff clicks)
So you go to frat parties because they let you in
and it's harder to be found out if you're there.
- So it seems to me that at frat parties,
it's all about, it's the idea of organized fun.
It's like you've planned ahead what the thing is gonna be.
- Well, there's a little bit of competition
between different fraternities.
Like you have to have the best party
'cause you want the best girls to come over to the party
and then you want people talking about you
having the best party.
So there has to be some organization.
There has to be a good theme.
Has to be good decorations or need to be good drinks, so.
- The fanciest parties I went to was like,
someone would come as like a Rubik's Cube.
You know what I'm saying?
- But then you can't post pictures on Facebook.
- No!
Come on, why would you not be able to do that?
- You can't post pictures of you drunk at parties
without it being obvious that you're underage and drinking.
- Well who's gonna, who cares?
You're not friends with the police on Facebook.
- Yeah, but like the school could see it
and then they could see you're obviously
at this fraternity's party, then they get in trouble,
like it's a whole (beep) thing.
You have to be really really careful.
There was one time I was at a party
in someone's dorm room
and there was a knock on the door
and we hid in the bathroom for like an hour
while the police searched the place.
Because I think there was a rule like
they're not allowed to go into the bathroom
because it's like a private place
and it's like, - What?
I don't know, so we hid in the shower.
I have like, I did take a selfie of me
hiding in the shower with some of my friends.
Terrified.
It's my like first week of college
and I'm gonna go to (beep) jail.
You have to like be careful about walking home
if you're like stumbling or tripping over things
or like wobbling, police could stop you.
- What?
- Like if police come into a party,
you're (beep) running out the door
because if you're caught underage drinking,
it is, you know, you're going to jail.
- (laughs) You're not going to jail!
- They'll take you to the drunk tank and put you in jail.
- What's the drunk tank?
- I think it's just where they,
- The like holding unit?
- Yeah.
(chiming)
- This is horrendous to look at.
- This is so nostalgic for me.
- Really? - Yeah.
- An activity, pastime.
The tube needs to be above the funnel
while the beer goes in.
- Got it.
- Then pouring also really matters.
- Okay.
- Just like when you're filling up a pint glass,
you don't wanna be beer bonging your phone.
You wanna be like super careful.
Super nice.
Oh, put your thumb over it, too.
- Oh. - Yeah.
I'm laughing out of sheer nervousness.
- I know, it is slightly a terrifying concoction.
Okay, so now what you're gonna do
is when I say three, you're gonna get down on one knee
and then as soon as it's by your mouth,
you're gonna let go of your thumb and you're gonna go.
And as soon as,
because of gravity, it's gonna go fast.
- I can do this.
You're gonna count me in?
- I wish you luck.
- Thanks. - Kay.
- Three, two, one.
(upbeat music)
- Oh my God.
- [Jeff] Well done!
- Thank you.
- [Jeff] You did that really fast.
- It's in my eyes!
- There was a little bit of squirting, but.
- I didn't think, (sniffs)
just give me a second here, guys.
Woo!
- [Jeff] Yeah you removed your thumb a little bit too
- I didn't realize it was gonna come out with that,
you know, vigor. - Yeah, it's fast.
Wow!
I didn't think it, okay.
Now I understand why this exists.
I thought it was just gonna like go at my own speed.
- No, no, no, no, no.
It's like the strawpedo.
- Yeah, it is.
- (beep) yeah.
Great little thing though, huh?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
Wow!
I'm like being all happy about it
for like literally beer in my eyes.
Oh, okay, right.
I don't feel bad about the yard of ale now at all, let's go.
(emojis popping)
- So you don't have road sodas?
A journey juice?
- (beep) I love the term journey juice.
- [Tom] Journey juice?
- We would call it, like we call it roadies.
Like if you were in someone's neighborhood
and you weren't expecting there to be police there,
fine, but you have to be really really really careful.
But like having a few drinks in a park
along with like a little charcuterie board or something.
- Oh!
That's the thing.
I feel like the action of drinking outside in itself
there's nothing wrong with that.
- There's nothing wrong with it.
- As long as you're able to carry yourself okay
then it's fine, right? - Right.
What is the deal with having open,
- The brown paper bag?
- Yeah, what is that?
- I think because it's sold in a brown paper bag,
it's just in that.
I don't know if they have a right to go up to you
to ask what you're drinking.
- But you know what I'm gonna say,
which is that,
- If it's in a brown paper bag,
its obviously gonna be booze?
- Yeah, 'cause why would you be hiding a soft drink?
- I don't know.
- It seems like a really weird technicality
that like you're kind of getting around,
is that just what it is?
A way of getting around the rule?
- Yeah, 'cause otherwise it would be like,
I'm clearly drinking beer.
Even though you are clearly drinking beer
'cause you're in a brown paper bag.
- It might as well be the beer itself
because it's like,
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's almost like more.
- Yeah, weird.
- I don't know why that is.
- But it's not like,
oh as long as it's in the bag you're fine?
- No, no, no.
You can't be like drinking on the New York subway.
- Wow.
- Even though people do.
(chiming)
- What do you have there, Jeff?
- I have a walking stick.
I feel like the Planters man or the Peanut man or whatever.
- I don't know what that is.
- Oh.
- Another American thing?
- This is the kind of thing that like,
bachelorette parties would definitely get in Vegas
and like sip frozen pina coladas from and be like, Whoa!
This is very very long.
- Yeah, so this goes back to like the 17th century.
No one really actually does this
in the way that people do the beer bong,
like this is just more like, I thought it would be funny.
(Tom laughs)
So.
- I just can't imagine consuming this much alcohol
in one period of time.
- Well, without further ado,
let's fill her up.
- Got it.
This just seems unfair.
- It's taking so much.
The bottom's not even full yet.
- That's so much alcohol.
- That's hella foam.
Hang on.
We might have to do this in two, yeah.
Wait that's just,
and that's just like, can you imagine you've got that,
that's a lot of head.
- The (beep) do I do with this?
(loud beep)
- We're gonna go very slowly.
- On the side, yep, yep, yep.
(tape screeches)
- [Tom] Okay, finally I think we're nearly there.
- This is,
this is ridiculous.
- I didn't realize it was gonna take so long to do this.
- This is so much beer.
Really just have to be right at the top?
- You don't have to chug it,
but you have to try and drink it in one continuous sip.
- [Jeff] And I have to turn it?
- And I think if you turn it, that helps in some way
but I'm not actually massively sure why.
- You guys wanna like go home, come back tomorrow?
- Yeah. (laughs)
- It's all good.
(tape screeches)
- A solid start from Jeff.
(tape screeches)
Yep, lovely.
(tape screeches)
Doing well.
(buzzes)
A pause.
- Okay, but I'm gonna keep going
because that's what we're here to do.
(coughs) Just keep going.
- 'Til the job is done.
I'm with you Jeff, go on.
(tape screeches)
Something I can do in the meantime?
(tape screeches)
Yeah, okay, cool.
You're on the straight and narrow here.
Look at that, oh, progress.
Lovely.
(buzzes)
- You're doing-- - (beep) hell.
- Oh, that's just rude.
- [Tom] Go on.
Might take a while, so.
(upbeat music)
- Yeah, I don't wanna do anymore.
- Yeah? (buzzes)
You're giving up, you're tapping out?
- I hated that.
- Okay.
- It's just (beep) never ending, too.
- I feel like maybe I took it too far with this.
(Jeff burps)
(laughing)
- I think people that like beer,
first of all, I don't really like beer.
I think if you're a beer enjoyer,
- Yep.
- This could be like a fun challenge.
But yeah for me, not my style of drinking.
I either wanna enjoy the drink that I'm drinking
or get it over with as fast as possible.
- Yeah, I think--
- Also rotating it was just getting really complicated.
(laughing)
- I think I'm glad to know
that we found something that is just too far for anyone.
Like this, there's something that we can agree on here
and that's that a yard of ale is too much ale.
- It's not necessary.
- Yeah, too much beer, sorry. - Yeah.
- Well, it was an unfair challenge because,
- Do you think?
- Yeah, the yard of ale has (beep) so many beers in it.
- I'll give you that, it's not fair at all.
- It's not fair.
- The beer bong is entirely dependent
on how much beer you put in it,
like you can just put half a beer in, it's fine.
- Yeah.
- Whereas that's like, it's a lot.
Like I'm sorry.
It's not fair.
- Yeah, it's also not fun.
You're just (beep) drinking it.
- Yeah.
- With a beer bong, there's at least like an element to it.
- Okay, strawpedo though.
How'd you find that?
- The straw part, fan.
- [Tom] Okay.
- The alcohol part, not a fan.
- So you like the science.
- Yeah, like I would do that to a beer,
but like why did it has to be like the blue battery acid?
- I'm sharing my experiences with you.
- Yeah, that's fair.
- I'd appreciate if you didn't (beep) all over them.
No, I think if it was a beer,
it'd be really, it would be too bubbly.
- Yeah, but that (beep) gross.
- The things we do have in common
is chugging as fast as possible.
- For sure.
Creatively chugging.
- Creatively.
- We wanna know what you want us to talk about next.
Like we could talk about anything.
School.
TV.
- Dating.
- Movies.
- Me.
- Jeff.
Jeff. (laughs)
(upbeat music)