Travel

Fun Facts about Oktoberfest

Posted By Samuel Phineas Upham

Oktoberfest is one of the largest festivals in the entire world. The annual celebration in Munich is the highlight of any trip, and visitors will drink some of the finest brews on the planet. There are several tours of the Oktoberfest grounds, but for those unable to make the trip here are some fun facts to make you stop and wonder.

Population

During the two weeks of Oktoberfest, over 6-million people will visit the fairgrounds. This volume of humans requires tons of food and drink. Literally. Over 500,000 roasted chickens will be consumed along with 120,000 sausage pairs and 6-million liters of beer.

Construction

For two months leading up to Oktoberfest, construction crews will be hard at work designing the fairgrounds for the gathering. During this time, workers will erect tents, roller coasters and carnival-style attractions. After the festival, workers will stay on hand for a month to finish disassembling everything. They will also have plenty of facilities on hand, over 900 toilets and a full kilometer of urinal troughs.

Lost and Found

As you can imagine, with so many people crossing into Munich there are bound to be lost items. Oktoberfest’s lost and found typically reaches the almost half-a-million mark. One of the more unusual items recovered amongst the cell phones and eye glasses? A set of dentures.

Bonus

The bonus is actually quite an accomplishment. Bavarian Waitress Anita Schwarz carried 90 lbs worth of full beer steins for 40 meters without spilling a single drop. We hope she was tipped well for that incredible feat.

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About the Author: Samuel Phineas Upham is an investor at a family office/ hedgefund, where he focuses on special situation illiquid investing. Before this position, Phin Upham was working at Morgan Stanley in the Media & Technology group. You may contact Phin on his Samuel Phineas Upham website or LinkedIn.