The roots of ping-pong related drinking games can be traced back to Dartmouth College in the 1950s. Little consensus exists pertaining to on the details of how the primitive versions of beer pong evolved into what is known today in most of the country as Beirut. The ambiguity arises from an endless amount of people trying to take credit for the invention of the sport. The truth is probably that Beirut slowly evolved as drunk ideas spread between college campuses, starting on the east coast and spreading west. A general consensus has been reached regarding a few of the evolutionary milestones.

A thirty year gap exists between the earliest records of beer pong and the first appearance of Beirut as we know it today. The Daily Princetonian published an article which confirms claims that the Bucknell University and Lehigh University students were the co-inventers of a game where ping pong balls were thrown at a single cup rather than using paddles. The article also credits the students with attaching the name Beirut to their new game. The name is said to have been inspired by news broadcasts covering the bombing of the city of Beirut during the 1980s. The broadcast reminded the inebriated athletes of the ping pong balls splashing into the cups. The name Beirut has been adopted by many players although parts of the country still call all forms of the game beer pong. Since the eighties, alcohol inspired creativity has provided for all sorts of new rules and variations on the game. These rules differ from house to house and are therefore called house rules.

One thing is for sure about Beirut, it is undeniably American. Chris Miller, an alumni of the Dartmouth chapter of Alpha Delta Phi and screenwriter of the film Animal House, has commented on beer pong’s role in the fraternity house that inspired the greatest American party-culture movie ever created. The most important quality of a great Beirut player is the ability to balance bitterly competitive trash talking on the table with respect and comradery off the table. This balance represents decades of subconscious values repressed within the minds of over stressed college students and reflects deep rooted trends within our society. As Beirut continues to evolve, its tight ties to American youth culture will continue to make it more than just another excuse to drink beer.