Oktoberfest? 10 things you most likely didn't know about the German celebration…

A few things you may not have known about Oktoberfest: Or, things you have probably heard or read at some point but forgotten because you were drunk.
1. While October 12, 1810 is widely regarded as the birth of Oktoberfest, informal Oktoberfest-type celebrations are believed to hark back to as far as the 15th Century, when the Bavarians would polish off excess beer in the summer as they waited for temperatures to fall again so lagers could be brewed.
2. Throughout its long history, Oktoberfest has been cancelled 24 times, mostly due to war. Examples include in 1813, due to the war against Napoleon. In 1866, it was cancelled due to Bavaria’s involvement in the Austro-Prussian War. It was once again forced to cancel in 1870 due to the Franco-Prussian War. However, in both 1854 and 1873 festivities were cancelled due to cholera epidemics.
3. Masskrug-schlägerei is a word used to describe the use of beer mugs as weapons.
4. ‘The Mayor is King’. Since 1950, the festival has begun only after the official gun salute and the mayor shouting ‘O’zapft is!’ – ‘it’s tapped’.
5. Albert Einstein worked as an electrician at Oktoberfest, 1896. He, along with his brother, provided electric lighting to the event.
6. Wies’nkoks is a sachet filled with dextrose and menthol that is referred to as ‘Oktoberfest Cocaine’, as one snorts it. It is not illegal (apparently it provides a natural stimulant for those who have had a few too many), though organisers wish to ban it as they feel it distracts people from beer.
7. Glass steins were introduced to Oktoberfest in 1892.
8. In 2008, Anita Schwarz carried 19 beer steins over 40m to achieve a Guinness record. Carrying five in each hand, with a further nine balanced on top, the weight came in at 45kg.
9. Placing your foot on a table signifies that you’re planning on downing an entire stein of beer in one go.
10. Bierleichen, or ‘beer corpse’, is a word used to describe those who indulge in a little too much and pass out. Got a few minutes to Google search?