How did Andre the Giant drink 156 beers in one sitting?
If you are a fan of professional wrestling, then you know who the late great Andre the Giant is.
Dubbed “the Eighth Wonder of the World”, Andre Roussimoff was known for his great size, which was a result of gigantism caused by excess human growth hormone.
At 7’4″ tall and weighing 520 lbs., Andre the Giant was famously known for his incredible alcohol tolerance, with various stories circulating about his beer consumption. Andre’s massive frame, stemming from gigantism, meant his body could process a much larger volume of alcohol than the average person.
He reportedly used alcohol to numb physical pain, which was exacerbated by his size and the physical toll of wrestling.
While his drinking ability is often described as superhuman, it’s important to remember that even for Andre, there were limits. Stories of his drinking, though widely circulated, should be considered in the context of his legendary status and the folklore surrounding him.
In an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman in January 1984, Roussimoff told David Letterman he once drank 117 beers. When Letterman asked if he was drunk, Roussimoff said he couldn’t remember because he passed out. He also said he quit drinking beer 14 months prior to this appearance on Letterman.
Roussimoff has been dubbed “the greatest drunk on Earth” as there are also accounts of him drinking 156 beers in one night (wrestlers Mike Graham and Dusty Rhodes confimred), as well as 108 beers in 45 minutes. One story even mentions him drinking 119 twelve-ounce bottles of beer in a six-hour period.
The Fabulous Moolah wrote in her autobiography that Roussimoff drank 127 beers at the bar of the Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Reading, Pennsylvania and later passed out in the lobby. The staff could not move him and had to leave him there until he awoke.
Guinness Book of World Records (which stopped publishing drinking records in 2004) confirmed that Andre he is the record holder for the most beers consumed in one sitting.
