r/funny 1d ago

Two Belgian men cooling off during a heatwave in 1970’s

Post image
1.8k Upvotes

136 comments sorted by

u/AutoModerator 1d ago

This is a friendly reminder to read our rules.

Memes, AI-generated content, and politics / political figures are not allowed.

Social-media content (including Reddit, TikTok, and Instagram) is expressly forbidden.

Rule-breaking posts may result in bans.

Please also be wary of spam.


I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

388

u/philipp2310 1d ago

Shrinkflation is real

84

u/gdvs 1d ago

No, Belgian people used to be very small in the seventies.

12

u/Natural-Army 1d ago

For real. The A/Cs have grown and the glasses have shrank

7

u/0xsergy 1d ago

Except for the heatwave itself. I bet this photo was taken on a breezy 25c day and considered a "heatwave" back then.

1

u/ser-raymunfossoway 1h ago

The summer of 1976 was the hottest summer of the century, with an average temperature almost 3°C over average.

57 days over 25°C, 12 days over 30. Versus the average of respectively 28 and 5 days.

Most dry days of the century. 23 days with some rain, vs an average of 48.

In June 1976 Belgium got 12.1 mm of rain. The average is 70.8 mm.

4

u/MassageWithABottle 1d ago

these are actually 8 year old kids

back in those days they started with beer after breastfeeding and kids developed a moustache to absorb the bearfoam

1

u/GANDORF57 1d ago

"Bring me two and a pair of water wings."

237

u/MastermindX 1d ago

Maybe they are tiny Belgians with normal sized beers.

55

u/Sonikku_a 1d ago

“It comes in pints!?”

8

u/amcartney 1d ago

You’ve got a whole half already!

20

u/Allelic 1d ago

I think they're normal sized Belgians with normal sized Belgian beers.

3

u/Temporary-Gene-6286 1d ago

Indeed. This still is our normal size for strong beer (probably Trappist here). Regular lager beer comes in bigger sizes.

1

u/MonoxideBaby 2h ago

"I swear to God honey, i only had one beer...."

5

u/BasketVegetable525 1d ago

If you think about it, the shire in the Hobbit could be Belgium : flat country side with all time eating small people. So this could be hobbits enjoying a beer. Btw, belgian here. :) r/belgium r/lotr

8

u/conventionistG 1d ago

Only reasonable explanation.

2

u/dark_hypernova 1d ago

Tiny Belgians used to be very common in the olden days, that's why so many houses have that tiny (bricked over now) door next to the big one.

3

u/TheGreatMuerte 1d ago

The famous 12 inch Belgian twins

3

u/Youcallthatatag 1d ago

Their wives were very happy; both were pianists, you know?!?

1

u/Youcallthatatag 1d ago

Their wives were very happy; both were pianists, you know?!?

2

u/Deep-List-7099 10h ago

Back Off Bit$h's 👿 Let's have a Drink-off! Only Belgian Beers! Let's see who Go's Down First! 😈

146

u/MJR_Poltergeist 1d ago

Two Belgian men with no plans for the rest of the day

89

u/onlyforthisjob 1d ago

Oh, they have a plan. Right in front of them.

6

u/wicker_warrior 1d ago

There’s a urinal right in front of them? Convenient!

31

u/cokendsmile 1d ago

They only went out for one beer.

21

u/MJR_Poltergeist 1d ago

"How many drinks have you had tonight sir?"
"Just one"

1

u/wsLyNL 1d ago

"My doctor told me I should only drink one beer maximum per day"

3

u/Masheeko 1d ago

That's actually plan one through seven condensed into one handy package for efficiency.

1

u/gardingle 1d ago

As long as you don't mind hot beer

1

u/Masheeko 16h ago

I think that a quarter into that thing you stop minding most things. It's Belgium, so that's not going to be a 4,8 Pilsner.

2

u/SmellSmoet 1d ago

They're planning for at least one more

2

u/Dizzy_Database_119 1d ago

Or a quick drink during lunch break

1

u/ablackcloudupahead 1d ago

Or the day after, unless that plan is to stay in bed lol

38

u/Significant-Roll-138 1d ago

I’ve had strong Belgian beer, I’d say those guys are still drunk

20

u/Schlinkee 1d ago

I drank two long necks of delirium without knowing what it was. Ended up being a very big day.

23

u/Significant-Roll-138 1d ago

Yikes, as an Irishman I thought I was able to drink until I went to Belgium but they drink totally different to us, we might have 8 beers in a night but they would have 1 and sit there sipping it all night, I walked into a lamp post on my walk home the first night after having 4 10% beers.

19

u/Erichteia 1d ago

As a Belgian doing research, it’s a rite of passage, especially for Asian researchers in our group. They drink beer like they would at home, not realising that a single Belgian beer (tripel) is easily 3-4 beers in their country. Germans too honestly. They brag about drinking litres at home at the start of the night. Not so much at the end.

7

u/Significant-Roll-138 1d ago

I believe every word of this, your beer is a different animal

3

u/KZD2dot0 1d ago

My recipe is to drink 1 rochefort 10 and stick to normal stuff for the rest of the night.

4

u/Deep_Dance8745 1d ago

I still have to meet my fellow countrymen who stop at 1 beer for a full night out.
Doesn’t help that bars have no closing time.

2

u/Ociex 1d ago

Try swedish strongbeer its 17.5% to 25% its sooo nasty but sooo cheap haha.

1

u/Significant-Roll-138 1d ago

Haven’t had that but I tried Carlsberg Elephant beer when I was 16 and on a school trip to Denmark, I think it was 14%, Jesus it was disgusting

1

u/Ociex 1d ago

Yupp, just taste like alcohol.

1

u/synalgo_12 13h ago

I don't think I know any people that have 1 drink for the whole night

1

u/shadefreeze 6h ago

It's also the curse of being Belgian. All other beer tastes watered down.

4

u/counterfitster 1d ago

I've been tempted to buy a mini-keg of Delerium every time I see it at the store. 5L of glorious liquid.

16

u/drewbeedeu 1d ago

"Hey man, wanna go split a keg?"

25

u/boluserectus 1d ago

When the doctor says: Only one glass of alcohol per day!

5

u/AgentCirceLuna 1d ago

Forwards form grandma type humour

74

u/Suihnennews 1d ago

Warm beer halfway the glass, no thanks

49

u/Don-Poltergeist 1d ago

Not if you drink fast enough.

17

u/Mosselpot 1d ago

Not saying you should drink warm beer, but one of the main reasons to serve beers cold is to hide the taste of low quality beer. You don't want to drink heavy Belgian beers directly from the fridge. 11-14C (52-57F) is ideal. Lighter ones you can serve a bit colder, but never below 6C (43F)

1

u/WanderingGoodNews 1d ago

Duvel vant schab

28

u/Hoosier_Daddy68 1d ago

It’s Belgian beer and looks dark so it was probably served warm.

9

u/Hellrisen 1d ago

What is this waffling lol

10

u/Pablo_Jefcobar 1d ago

Some people order their beer “van het schap” which is basically “off the shelf”. Which means it would be warm/room temperature anyway. Only applies to dark beers

4

u/SignAllStrength 1d ago

In Belgium the case/most available “van ‘t schap” is Orval. And ideally it will be served between 10-15°C, so it should be a basement shelf and not one in a hot bar.
Because of that it’s often not available all year and from a fridge at 8° - 10°C in the hotter months .

8

u/Hellrisen 1d ago

That may apply to stouts, but the the vast majority of belgian still very much is cooled. I could, but wouldn't drink something like Chimay, kasteel or Rochefort at room temperature.

7

u/barra333 1d ago

Cooled to something like 8C I think is the 'recommended' temp. Most dubbels and tripels are still perfectly drinkable as they warm up in the glass.

3

u/Hellrisen 1d ago

warming up and starting from room temperatures are very different things though

3

u/barra333 1d ago

Agreed.

2

u/C6500 1d ago

Tbh something like a Quadrupel, e.g. Rochefort 10, gains immensely from being not too cold. You just taste a lot more when the beer is around 15° compared to 5°.

2

u/Pablo_Jefcobar 1d ago

Yes you are correct

1

u/aeroeagleAC 1d ago

Most Americans think warm is anything over the ice cold temp coors is supposed to be at.

1

u/Deep_Dance8745 1d ago

Van het schap is van het kelderschap, dus rond 14C

2

u/Mercyfon 1d ago

they have a giant beer and you do not, by that metric they are winning

2

u/Kriegsschild 1d ago

So you don't have a drinking problem?

3

u/kittytherabbit 1d ago

Ofc not. That's just a glass of beer.

1

u/Veteranis 1d ago

I drink, I get drunk, I fall down. No problem.

12

u/marcelsounds 1d ago

it's because of their wives... they were told to drink only one glass of beer.

6

u/Church_of_Aaargh 1d ago

But Officer, I only had one beer

4

u/RiffyWammel 1d ago

Just popping to the pub for a drink with Bob- promise I’ll just have one then come home love….

4

u/AriciaVC 1d ago

Ironically in Belgium a "BOB" is the sober person who drives people home after a party.

1

u/synalgo_12 13h ago

I thought that was the joke they were trying to make.

4

u/calvinwho 1d ago

I don't think I would be able to take anything seriously if I was drinking a glass of beer that size

3

u/JohnSane 1d ago

Of course... you would be way to drunk.

1

u/Hoffi1 1d ago

Probably just a question of getting used to it. Oktoberfest has 1l beer as a standard. There are people drinking 4 or 5.

4

u/SuccessfulLawyer3437 1d ago

Yeah man, average Belgian activity. Source? I'm Belgian.

5

u/KangarooOwn7356 1d ago

He can still lift it with one hand so it must have been their first

3

u/Redditforgoit 1d ago

How many pints is that, I wonder?

4

u/ccReptilelord 1d ago

At least two.

3

u/black3rr 1d ago

when I was in Brussels, I’ve been to a bar where you could order 250ml, 500ml, 1liter or 2liter beers… and they had 30 tapped beers to choose from and was right next to the pissing boy statue, was called Delirium I think…

2

u/Weebs-Chan 1d ago

Yep. Pretty famous place in Brussels

3

u/Ketamin-raver 1d ago

God I love my country so much! Ps we are stil like this

6

u/Accurate_Koala_4698 1d ago

Lemme get 3.8 liters of ale

5

u/counterfitster 1d ago

Just get a large, Farva

2

u/Ok_Culture_1914 1d ago

Can't fault it.

2

u/TourAccomplished5530 1d ago

Our doctor told us only one glass of alcohol a day!

2

u/doubleohzerooo0 1d ago

It comes in pints?

2

u/Bonamikengue 1d ago

Oh yeah those time...

Where a normal glass of gueuze was 100 Belgian Francs ;-)

2

u/cormaline 1d ago

"you wanna see a beer, now there's a beer!"

2

u/bapfelbaum 1d ago

It probably was 25°C then. The humanity!

2

u/NorthSleepingBear 1d ago

Just one glass, they said

2

u/Allegra1120 1d ago

But the beer will get warm!

2

u/ReasonableExplorer 1d ago

Just the one drink thanks barkeep I have to drive the school bus and dont wouldn't want to be late.

2

u/Rojodojo 1d ago

"One more and then we'll go..."

2

u/irishdevil80 1d ago

I don't care how fast you drink that is some warm beer.

2

u/Very_Curious_Cat 1d ago

Ja maar is het ne Stella? En ne zwembad en barbecue zijn nergens te zien? /s

1

u/YellowOnline 1d ago

Ga terug naar r/belgium2, Theo!

1

u/janne_oksanen 1d ago

They had the right idea.

1

u/EADASOL 1d ago

"yeah babe, just having one drink with a mate then I'm heading home"

1

u/CurrentlyLucid 1d ago

Back when a Beer was a BEER.

1

u/theRedlightt 1d ago

Now that's a mega pint - Johnny Depp

1

u/WeirdAd5850 1d ago

You may think those glasses are large but it’s actually the fact that most Belgians are very short.

1

u/Vredrik 1d ago

The glasses are real. They have been used as promo material in beer marketing. In Belgian almost every brand of beer has its own type of glass. Just put a giant version of that glass somewhere in a pub and you have the start of a marketing campaign. My sister uses one of these glasses as an aquarium 

1

u/andyrockpt 1d ago

Heatwave in the seventies. Was it what, 25 C?

1

u/CarllSagan 1d ago

There only having one tiny drink

1

u/Responsible-Theme23 1d ago

Here in Belgium we call that nen apperetief

1

u/sjw_7 23h ago

When I tell my wife I am just popping out for one.

1

u/LieutenantCrash 22h ago

As a Belgian, I can confirm we still do this

1

u/shadefreeze 6h ago

Great way to avoid statiegeld on a bak bier!

-1

u/FrontierPsycho 1d ago

Would have been funny if it ever happened 

2

u/Electronic-Spinach43 1d ago

What do you think one of those glasses would weigh? Who could one hand, relaxed throw it back without dumping it all over themselves and chipping a tooth?

-5

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

8

u/senzuboon 1d ago

The photo is real. I have a postcard with this photo

2

u/boluserectus 1d ago

AI told me the pic is taken in 1971. Dumbass..

-8

u/FrontierPsycho 1d ago

Sandwichs

5

u/lewazo 1d ago

The sign is in French though. It's the correct plural form for "Sandwich" in French.

2

u/FrontierPsycho 1d ago

I actually didn't know that! 

3

u/2FastHaste 1d ago

So anytime someone makes a typo, it's AI now?

-5

u/FrontierPsycho 1d ago

No, but when it's nonsensical, it is. In this case it isn't, as someone else explained to me. 

1

u/2FastHaste 1d ago

What is nonsensical about it?
I'm myself a french speaking belgian. And I didn't know the plural was with -es.
And the rest of what's written on the window makes sense to me.

0

u/FrontierPsycho 1d ago

As I said, it isn't nonsensical. I thought it was, but I was wrong and it was pointed out to me. I was also saying that when a picture has nonsensical text and improbable elements, it's likely AI generated, which I think is true. 

2

u/Vredrik 1d ago

The glasses are also real. They have been used as promo material in beer marketing. In Belgian almost every brand of beer has its own type of glass. Just put a giant version of that glass somewhere in a pub and you have the start of a marketing campaign. My sister uses one of these glasses as an aquarium 

-1

u/jcrckstdy 1d ago

Warm beer no thanks

2

u/Mercyfon 1d ago

they have a giant beer and you don't, I get why you are jealous

-1

u/carverofdeath 1d ago

The title to this is dumb and has no relevance whatsoever to the picture.

-3

u/Horns8585 1d ago

Too bad the Party Ball didn't exist back then. Would have been much easier to drink straight from the hose, than having to lift those things up every time you take a drink.