Welcome to Aaron Manky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of I Heart Radio and

Grim and Mild. Our world is full of the unexplainable.

And if history is an open book,

all of these amazing tales are right there on display,

just waiting for us to explore.

Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. For hundreds of years, arguments and feuds were handled one of two ways, either with a healthy

conversation or with a duel. Up until the late 18th century

those duels were mostly carried out with swords until guns became the weapon of choice.

Funny enough the object of a Now a dual was considered an appropriate way to seek retribution for a long time.

But what happened if someone felt that their honor had been besmirched in a less serious

way?

Where do they go for satisfaction?

Well, if they were a German college student in 1871 then

they had an alternative. According to a book from that time students at Leipzig

University would challenge each other to a special kind of face-, but not one that would leave the other side bleeding out from a bullet wound.

Rather, they might pass out from drinking too much alcohol.

They were called beer duels, and they were part of a lengthy set of rules known as the beer code.

According to the code, students, usually male students, that is, would be split off into two groups, depending on their drinking abilities.

Newcomers were called foxes, while experienced drinkers were referred to as

beer boys.

A fox could become a beer boy, either by waiting two semesters or passing a drinking test.

Often beer boys would challenge each other to different drinking related competitions,

...