In the New Yorker...

[Penthesilea]

I know! I'm not surprised there is such a thing, but am surprised that it's a big enough thing to be listed right up there in the big six with Bier and Wein! But also, what my imagination conjures from the word seems like it would be classified in the Bier/Wein/Sekt group rather than with Schnaps.

It's because they contain Schnaps. The law in Germany defines alcopops as beverages mixed from hard liquor and a fruit and/or soda component. They bacame very popular in youth culture over recent years because their sweetness covers the bitter taste of alcohol and because they're marketed aggressively to youth. Thus they got their own, new law within the laws for protection of the youth and they were burdened with a hefty extra-tax.
Other alcoholic mix-drinks, like pre-mixed beer and soda (what you would call coolers I guess), don't fall under this law. Technically they're not alcopops, but in everyday language they're often called exactly that.

Thank you so much for that thorough explanation, Chrissi!    I've always wondered about habits and norms in other countries. Do you think they're approximately the same in Germany as they are elsewhere in Europe? Or do they vary a lot from country to country?

Tough question. I know that it's different in Russia. I've read about it and have seen plenty Russian families (on vacation in Southern Europe) allowing much smaller kids to have wine/water mixes with meals and also having a share of their parents' vodka.
I've also read that in France it's common to let younger children have some wine (again mixed with water).

A coach here who allowed teenagers to drink even a small amount of sparkling wine in the locker room after a game would be fired on the spot and it might even be literally a headline-making scandal. Youth athletes who are caught drinking any amount get suspended from their teams.

Not to mention that said coach might find his or her ass in jail, since it's illegal to supply alcohol to minors. Here in Pennsylvania, anyway, parents who supply beer for their own kids' parties have gotten in trouble with the law.

In Germany the law regulates drinking of alcohol by youth in public. A locker room of a sports club is not a public place. Same goes for private parties at people's homes. And since 16 year olds can drink legally even in public (and under 16 when their parents are with them), the situation is quite different.
Strange thing, those different cultures. What would be a scandal for you is absolutely acceptable over here. OTOH we get panic attacks at the mere thought of 16 year olds driving cars by themselves.

[serious crayons]

OTOH we get panic attacks at the mere thought of 16 year olds driving cars by themselves.

We do too, but we let them do it anyway. 

[Jeff Wrangler]

Last night I started Ariel Levy's article about how she decided to have a baby--and then delivered it prematurely in the bathroom of a hotel room in Ulanbator, Mongolia. 

[serious crayons]

Last night I started Ariel Levy's article about how she decided to have a baby--and then delivered it prematurely in the bathroom of a hotel room in Ulanbator, Mongolia. 

I read it about a week ago online because I kept seeing so many people on Twitter linking it and talking about how powerful it is. And they're right. It is.

[Front-Ranger]

I read that last night too. Shouldn't we add a big spoiler alert to your posts?

[Jeff Wrangler]

I read that last night too. Shouldn't we add a big spoiler alert to your posts?

Well, we haven't said how it ends. I don't have the issue here with me at work, but the magazine itself sort of gives it away on the first page of the story, under the title.

And I agree, it's quite powerful.

[Front-Ranger]

When I began reading the story, the title said "Thanksgiving in Mongolia" and the subtitle said "Adventure and Heartbreak at the Edge of the Earth" so I thought maybe she tried to cook a turkey in Mongolia and it didn't come out well...or maybe she went for a hike and her hiking buddy disappeared or something like that.

[Jeff Wrangler]

When I began reading the story, the title said "Thanksgiving in Mongolia" and the subtitle said "Adventure and Heartbreak at the Edge of the Earth" so I thought maybe she tried to cook a turkey in Mongolia and it didn't come out well...or maybe she went for a hike and her hiking buddy disappeared or something like that.

Ah, but the "Heartbreak" tells you it's not going to end well, and then it goes into her decision to have a baby, and how quickly she was able to become pregnant, and how she decided to go to Mongolia while enceinte. ...

[Jeff Wrangler]

Well, I finished the story over dinner this evening. As I had read the story of Levy's wedding several years ago, I found it even more saddening that the loss of the baby apparently also led to the breakup of her marriage.

[serious crayons]

Well, I finished the story over dinner this evening. As I had read the story of Levy's wedding several years ago, I found it even more saddening that the loss of the baby apparently also led to the breakup of her marriage.

Now that is a spoiler. I was going to mention something about that -- about how I felt more invested in her marriage than I usually am, because of that other essay -- and decided not to say anything to avoid spoilers. But now that you've let the cat out of the bag ...

I thought it was interesting that she never indicated the gender of her spouse. If you examine the writing, you can see she was careful to avoid using pronouns. I now know much more than I ever had about what it's like in Mongolia in November, but if I hadn't read that other essay I wouldn't know she was married to a woman. (Though of course it's possible that this is actually a different marriage.) Any theories on why she kept that undisclosed?