Beeramid
Encyclopedia
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
made from discarded beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
cans
Beverage can
A beverage can is a tin can designed to hold a specific portion of a beverage. Beverage cans are made of tin-plated steel or aluminium.- History :...
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Found in places frequented by drinkers
Drinking
Drinking is the act of consuming water or a beverage through the mouth. Water is required for many of life’s physiological processes. Both excessive and inadequate water intake are associated with health problems.-Physiology:...
, a large beer can pyramid was often a monument to the local party scene. Inspired by films such as National Lampoon's Animal House
National Lampoon's Animal House
National Lampoon's Animal House is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis. The film was a direct spin-off of National Lampoon magazine...
during the heyday of party culture
Party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, or recreation. A party will typically feature food and beverages, and often music and dancing as well....
, beer can pyramids were most frequently seen during the late 1970s, the 1980s, and the early '90s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
, and could often be found in fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
houses, dorms, and other collegiate locations throughout the US, and other places where canned beer was consumed in volume. Beer can pyramids are rarely erected in commercial establishments, however, due to the potential impedance to service and possible liability of the owners. Although occasionally retailers stack beer packages in elaborate ways in an effort to gain consumer attention, these would not be considered normal beer can pyramids.
Beer can pyramids are built as empty beer cans became available, slowly growing as the night (or week or month) wears on. In most cases, though, it is a temporary structure, eventually giving way to the inevitable clean-up or accidental destruction. The impermanence of the structure lends itself to easily removing it from wherever it has grown; combined with the great ease of creating a structure of relatively impressive size, beer can pyramids remain popular today, especially when one considers it is often easier to contribute an empty beer can to the beeramid, than it is to deposit the can in the appropriate recycling receptacle.
A beer can pyramid was shown on the outside of Duff Gardens in The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode 9F11 "Selma's Choice
Selma's Choice
"Selma's Choice" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons fourth season and originally aired on the Fox network on January 21, 1993. In the episode, Selma decides to have a baby, inspired by her late aunt's wish that she would not spend her life alone. She experiences a life with children by...
", in 1993. The pyramid is a pointed parody of Cinderella's Castle at Walt Disney World. While Bart is awed to be standing in the presence of the real thing, Lisa points out that "twenty-two immigrant laborers died in its construction.".
On 23 September 2000, the Malaysian Can team, consisting of 12 college students from the INTI College Subang Jaya, Malaysia built a free standing can pyramid created from 9,455 empty aluminium drink cans in 24 minutes at the Mid Valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It had a square base of 30 x 30 cans, measuring 1.98 m x 1.98m (6 ft 6 in x 6 ft 6 in). This feat made a successful entry into the Guinness World Record and to-date this record has yet to be broken.
Another attempt to break the world record Beer Can Pyramid was made with beer cans over 5 meters tall and contained 10,660 cans. It was built by the Melbourne University Student Union in 2005, and was featured on Blokesworld
Blokesworld
Blokesworld is an Australian television lifestyle series. It was originally shown on Channel 31 in 2003, then on Network Ten from 2004 to 2005, usually anytime between 11.30 pm and 12.30 am on Friday nights ....
and in mX
MX (newspaper)
mX is an Australian free afternoon daily newspaper in the cities of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, owned and produced by News Limited. Targeted at commuters, its main channels of distribution are inner-city railway stations, tram and bus stops, and major CBD intersections.-Beginnings:The first mX...
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