Newman Day
Encyclopedia
Newman Day is a collegiate drinking ritual where 24 beer
s are consumed over 24 hours. It is named for the late beer-drinking actor Paul Newman
and his apocryphal remark made during a campus speech: "24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not." Another reported source comes from a scene in Cool Hand Luke
, in which Newman’s character eats 50 eggs in an hour. Newman Day occurs on April 24, and is celebrated at many colleges, particularly Princeton and Yale. At Bates College
it happens on the Friday nearest the actor's January 26 birthday. Kenyon College
, Newman's alma mater, has observed Newman Day on March 30, the anniversary of the actor's first Academy Award.
as early as the late 1970s, including alumni who remember days of cafeteria food fights following each year's celebration. Bates Student research indicated that the tradition was founded by several first-year men living in Milliken House in 1976, spreading to the entire campus and, years later, other institutions.
Newman opposed the tradition,
which received media attention in 2004 after his lawyer sent a letter to Princeton and Bates registering Newman's disapproval. However, the drinking continued unabated.
Newman Day participants indulge during the stipulated 24-hour period, and should neither sleep nor vomit. They also attend their normally scheduled classes.
in which students celebrate by having a dinner-party consisting largely of Newman's Own
brand food. A classic Paul Newman movie is viewed and whenever Newman enters a new scene, the partakers have a drink of Newman's Own beverage spiked with liquor.
Harvard College's Hasty Pudding Theatricals
celebrates an annual Paul Newman Day while on tour in Bermuda
. Many members are known to take part in the popular Kitty Dukakis Day, drinking 750 ml of liquor in 24 hours. Additionally, some of its members have been known to take part in what is known as The Jonathan Price
Holiday Grog
, drinking 72 beers in 72 hours.
Many fourth-year students at the University of Virginia
celebrate the day of its football team's last home game by drinking a metric fifth
(750 mL) of liquor – approximately 300 mL of pure alcohol, assuming 80-proof
liquor – between the midnight that begins game day and the kickoff of the game. This practice, known as the "Fourth-Year Fifth", has drawn extensive criticism since a student died of alcohol poisoning during an attempt to complete it, and the University has promoted a student-developed event labeled the "Fourth-Year 5K" (i.e., 5-kilometer run), open to students of all years as well as local residents, as a constructive alternative. (It is unknown whether any student has successfully completed both events simultaneously.)
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...
s are consumed over 24 hours. It is named for the late beer-drinking actor Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
and his apocryphal remark made during a campus speech: "24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not." Another reported source comes from a scene in Cool Hand Luke
Cool Hand Luke
Cool Hand Luke is a 1967 American prison drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg and starring Paul Newman. The screenplay was adapted by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson from Pearce's 1965 novel of the same name. The film features George Kennedy, Strother Martin, J.D...
, in which Newman’s character eats 50 eggs in an hour. Newman Day occurs on April 24, and is celebrated at many colleges, particularly Princeton and Yale. At Bates College
Bates College
Bates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...
it happens on the Friday nearest the actor's January 26 birthday. Kenyon College
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...
, Newman's alma mater, has observed Newman Day on March 30, the anniversary of the actor's first Academy Award.
History
Recent research has shown references made to Newman Day in The Bates StudentThe Bates Student
The Bates Student, established in 1873 is the student-run newspaper of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. The Student is run entirely by students and the administration does not interfere with the paper's operations...
as early as the late 1970s, including alumni who remember days of cafeteria food fights following each year's celebration. Bates Student research indicated that the tradition was founded by several first-year men living in Milliken House in 1976, spreading to the entire campus and, years later, other institutions.
Newman opposed the tradition,
which received media attention in 2004 after his lawyer sent a letter to Princeton and Bates registering Newman's disapproval. However, the drinking continued unabated.
Newman Day participants indulge during the stipulated 24-hour period, and should neither sleep nor vomit. They also attend their normally scheduled classes.
Spin-offs
Newman Night has been recently started at The Evergreen State CollegeThe Evergreen State College
The Evergreen State College is an accredited public liberal arts college and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. It is located in Olympia, Washington, USA. Founded in 1967, Evergreen was formed to be an experimental and non-traditional college...
in which students celebrate by having a dinner-party consisting largely of Newman's Own
Newman's Own
Newman's Own is a food company and for-profit corporation founded by actor Paul Newman and author A. E. Hotchner in 1982. Newman received all of the profits from product sales and donated 100% of the proceeds, after taxes, to various educational and charitable organizations of his own selection...
brand food. A classic Paul Newman movie is viewed and whenever Newman enters a new scene, the partakers have a drink of Newman's Own beverage spiked with liquor.
Harvard College's Hasty Pudding Theatricals
Hasty Pudding Theatricals
The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, known informally simply as The Pudding, is a theatrical student society at Harvard University, known for its burlesque musicals and for its status as the oldest collegiate theatrical organization in the United States...
celebrates an annual Paul Newman Day while on tour in Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
. Many members are known to take part in the popular Kitty Dukakis Day, drinking 750 ml of liquor in 24 hours. Additionally, some of its members have been known to take part in what is known as The Jonathan Price
Jonathan Price
Jonathan Price is an American composer who is best known for his musical Lao Jiu and for the film scores to Cyber Wars and Rustin.- Musicals :*Escape From Eldorado , Bar Harbor, The Unusual Cabaret...
Holiday Grog
Grog
The word grog refers to a variety of alcoholic beverages. The word originally referred to a drink made with water or "small beer" and rum, which British Vice Admiral Edward Vernon introduced into the Royal Navy on 21 August 1740. Vernon wore a coat of grogram cloth and was nicknamed Old Grogram or...
, drinking 72 beers in 72 hours.
Many fourth-year students at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
celebrate the day of its football team's last home game by drinking a metric fifth
Fifth
Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five.Fifth may refer to:* Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "Pleading the Fifth"* Fifth column - a political term...
(750 mL) of liquor – approximately 300 mL of pure alcohol, assuming 80-proof
Proof (alcohol)
Alcohol proof is a measure of how much alcohol is contained in an alcoholic beverage. The term was originally used in the United Kingdom and was defined as 7/4 times the alcohol by volume . The UK now uses the abv standard instead of alcohol proof. In the United States, alcoholic proof is defined...
liquor – between the midnight that begins game day and the kickoff of the game. This practice, known as the "Fourth-Year Fifth", has drawn extensive criticism since a student died of alcohol poisoning during an attempt to complete it, and the University has promoted a student-developed event labeled the "Fourth-Year 5K" (i.e., 5-kilometer run), open to students of all years as well as local residents, as a constructive alternative. (It is unknown whether any student has successfully completed both events simultaneously.)