I keep on reading references to a champagne bottle some Doper keeps with Vorfreude* to be drunk at a special event. This event seems to often involve a certain person, but champagne is also drunk at anniversaries, weddings, and all kinds of celebrations. So I wondered on which day humanity celebrated the most and drank the most champagne in the opinion of the Dope, or, if this day has not happened yet, when it will happen. Could it be the end of WWII? There were fewer people alive then, and champagne was more exclusive and the worldwide distribution probably less efficient compared to today. The fall of the Berlin Wall? Even if we count cheap Rotkäppchen Sekt as champagne it was a rather local event. Y2K celebrations? The death of trump, or Putin, or some other widely loathed person? The day we establish contact with an extraterrestrial civilization?
And was that / will that be the happiest day in history? Is champagne the right proxy for that?
I personally think it will be the day trump croaks, because the demographics of the people celebrating and their affluence, and because champagne production and distribution are at their peak and still improving. But I am not going to tag this thread with his name. And it will not be the happiest day in humanity’s history, but there will be a great sigh of relief if all goes well and without violence, which will in turn depend on how his demise comes along (natural cause vs murder, basically).
Does anybody have a better idea? Or a funnier one? Any thoughts?
*Vorfreude is anticipation, but exclusively positive (vor = previous, in advance; Freude = joy), without the elements of fear or anxiety that can be present in anticipation. Thus my use of the German term.
Apparently, the record year of champagne production was 2007, and buyers of champagne normally drink it relatively quickly after purchase rather than letting it age (unlike wine). So I would guess it would have to be a date within a couple of years from 2007. Possibly it would simply be New Year’s Day, or Chinese New Year, 2008 or 2009 or 2010.
From the invention of Champagne (more generally sparkling wine) to now, there have been many record-setting days, each larger than the last. By definition. And right now there is one day in history that was the largest ever. Even if no one quite knows or agrees which date that was. Although IMO @Schnitte just above has a darn good suggestion.
Just based on headcount growth, economic growth, and more global distribution in recent years and decades, I’ll say one of the recent New Years was probably that occasion. Perhaps the one just before COVID hit the scene so the 2019 → 2020 transition. If we haven’t yet re-passed that last pre-COVID NYE celebration, I bet we will again within a couple more years. Most other economics measures have surpassed their pre-COVID maxima already.
As to the future …
And as long as humanity keeps growing in headcount and in world GDP and champagne retains its celebratory cachet, it’s a good bet that record-setting champagne days will keep happening now and again.
A question I know nothing about is how much the Indians and Chinese have culturally bought into the champagne-celebration mystique. Europeans and Americans & the UK-like parts of the former British Empire add up to about ~1.1B people. China and India are ~1.5 and ~1.4B respectively. IOW, taken collectively the traditional champagne-drinking cultures are just ~25% of that whole. As goes India and China, so will go the whole.
Assuming champagne has made some decent penetration into the richer parts of Indian and Chinese culture, I’ll suggest that the next record setting event needs to be something of worldwide significance. Whether that’s New Years or some other similar date. (Do the Chinese celebrate Dec 31 → Jan 1? I know they’ve got their traditional calendar and Chinese New year in IIRC Feb, but have they joined in with also celebrating according to the other calendar most everyone else uses?).
Within any single country I could see records set when something special happens within that country. Their team wins the World Cup, their despot dies or is assassinated, some war comes to an end, etc. But something like that is unlikely to unite the rest of the populous world in celebrating with enough vigor to surpass last New Years.
The last US president to die in office was Kennedy (w/ a little assistance from L H Oswald); there’s a good chance he’ll be out of office before he passes.