Teetotaling Americans

Hope you all had an enjoyable Presidents' Day weekend (though if you were in Libya, you probably didn't). I spent a portion of my weekend up in Washington, DC, a pretty appropriate place for the occasion.

Following in the spirit of what I'm sure many of us did this weekend, I came across this graphic at The Economist, detailing per capita alcohol consumption by nation. I was surprised to note that, at least in the "developed" world, the United States shapes up as somewhat of a teetotaler as compared to most other nations.

Unsurprisingly, Russia shapes up as among the largest abusers of alcohol, with The Economist noting that nearly 1 in 5 male deaths can be attributed to excessive boozing. But I was somewhat surprised that Moldova took home the dubious prize of the world's highest liquor consumption, with its 18.2 liters per capita edging out second-place Czechoslovakia by 2 liters.

Who knew that America's colonial roots of temperance and Puritanism had survived so well over the centuries?

[Economist]  
(h/t The Mess That Greenspan Made)