h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

>> Nothing about opening champagne the fourth way ... i.e., on the
>> ar5e-end of a new boat?

That's not _opening_, that's _wasting_.

So the bottle's still closed after it's wasted then?

No, the bottle no longer exists as a bottle. It is possible to smash part of a container and call it opening, but at some point there is no remainder large enough to call 'container'. There's no piece left after naming a new boat that can be called 'an open champagne bottle'. So there's not opening, just a smashing, and the 's been wasted.

on the ar5e-end of a new boat?

Actually is usually on the pointy bit at the front - I believe they call it the bows. Its the ar5e-end that goes in the water first, unless it launched sidways.

Stuart

Aha! When is a bottle not a bottle? ... Here give this a read ... A899643 Holy Socks - An Ontological Dichotomy

So we have:

Pink Champagne - I think it is worth a mention
Smashing a bottle of champagne on a boat - what do you call this ceremony?
18th century people washing their carriage in champers - seems unlikely. The production of Champagne in quantity only really took of in the 19th century.

I'll think about putting the first two into the article.

I've slipped Pink Champagne into the list of words you might see on a bottle.

I've included the boat naming ceremony under "how to open"

Now tell me about using a sword. Is this done? Why?

I think the sword thing is legit... dunno where it's sposed to come from, but i've seen it somewhere before...

i guess i'll be getting off to bed, then...k

zzz
spiiifffff

Yes, opening the bottle with a saber is legit. There's a nice description of both the act and the supposed history here: http://www.acorn-online.com/food46.htm

And you can find plenty of champagne sabres for sale on the net. Like here: http://www.laguiole.com/champagnesaber.htm

Notice that you don't chop the neck off, you tap it and it breaks off at a weak spot right up at the top.

I'll put that in too.

I've added the sabre.

I've added some appropriate links.

I don't want to add a list of Champagne houses, because there are about 30 of them.

I don't know about washing their carriages in champers. If anybody can provide evidence I might put it in, but I'm not going to look for it myself.

That just leaves Mina's question about Buck's Fizz. Is it Bucks Fizz or Buck's Fizz?

I've heard that Moet & Chandon set up special pyramid displays at exhibitions, and employ someone whose entire job is to open the top bottle with a sword and a flourish, allowing champagne to cascade down the rest of the bottles in the display.

Azara

It seems to be a pretty even split on Google results, though more for Bucks, perhaps because of A762581 - h2g2's entry that cropped up as result 10 or so...

But this looks more authoritative:

Buck's Fizz

Invented by Mr McGarry, a barman at the Buck’s Club, London in 1921. He stated that the drink should have a ratio of one-third orange to two-thirds champagne.

Thanks, Spiff. I've added those ratios to the entry.

Azara, that champagne pyramid sounds fascinating. I remember Steed on the Avengers did something similar with a pyramid of wine glasses: he poured the champers into the top one and let it flow down into them all.

This is from memory - so may not be 100% accurate - Dom Perignon is supposed to have announced his discovery with the cry - "Brothers Brothers. Come quickly. I am drinking flowers."

The champagne used at formula 1 is produced especially for spraying around, and is in fact extra bubbly so you wouldn't like to drink it. This according to the man from Marlboro who was in charge of the party at the British Grand Prix I went too. McLarren won so we were all well oiled - I think James Hunt was driving.

Pouring a Champagne fountain is not at all easy - because you pour from the top the glasses are top heavy and so a steady hand is required not to over balance it. Looks very impressive if you can do it, but practise with plastic glasses and ensure the surface is level, otherwise the champagne lifts up the edge of the glass above as it fills the lower one - and down she comes.

A great entry! Well done! The only point i would make is about the phrase "French people" and "English people", would it read better as "The French" and "The English"? I'm not sure, but it jumped out at me, so i thought i'd mention it.

Tango

OK Tango, I've changed it to "the French" and "the English".

Washing down carriages with champagne - I will not rest ...

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Thanks, scout who picked my entry, and thank you everybody else who made suggestions.

Dr T, sorry but I never found any mention of the carriage-washing, so I was unable to include it in the entry.