Every year, I teach the production possibility frontier in terms of the two outputs that students can produce-fun and learning. To introduce technical progress, I ask for examples, first sector-specific progress, then general improvements in technology.
This year’s students came up with an example of technical progress in the fun sector-the beer bong. Apparently students attach a funnel to a keg of beer, attach a tube to the funnel and are able to ingest more beer more rapidly than before. Unfortunately, I guess this does increase “fun,” at least as defined by some students. It enables them to get drunk more rapidly, releasing time for learning (assuming they can sober up quickly)!
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. You can also watch it on 
I’m completely appalled that this is an allowed post on this blog. Not only did I not learn anything from this, but it is also not factual. I’m not usually one to critcize and I’ve never posted a comment here before after having read this blog for a long time.
The freakonomics blog needs to have a serious sitdown with itself and decide what it wants to be. I don’t think many would be too proud of this post.
I can hardly wait for “beerboarding”
Beer bongs have existed for at least 20 to 30 years if not longer…
Improvement on the beer bong: the beer bongtopus – a beer bong with anywhere from four to eight tubes, allowing anywhere from four to eight people to get drunk at the same time, instead of wasting time taking turns. Even faster, so they have even more time to study.
Nobody is going to bring up eyeballing vodka?
Beer bongs are hardly new. In fact, nearly as old as ivory towers. The first ones were almost certainly invented by high school drop-outs.
Beer bongs are by no means new – a classic fraternity item which range from garden hose and a funnel to customized, colored and/or logo emblazzened drinking machines for 6 or more people. Also, they traditionally do not involve a keg but rather just pour beer into the end of the funnel while holding the end of the tube higher than the level of beer.
Daniel cracks me up, written like a true professor