Previous research on dancing and celebration rituals made the same assumption about humans. Soon another breakthrough was on its way - what you might call the non-sexual revolution.īoth prudes and chimpanzees apparently see parties the same way - they're really "just about sex." This, however, may be wrong.Ī group of socializing chimpanzees will quickly compete for sexual dominance turning gatherings into rigid hierarchies and violent mating showdowns. Suddenly the gene pool expanded, and humans were sharing music, dance, ideas and DNA with other groups of partying humans. And we find ourselves doing things that we haven't really fully intended to do."Īnd that was some party. "At such events, we find ourselves feeling emotions that we are not used to. "Parties and celebrations give people the idea that there is (something) beyond their everyday experience," he said. Before parties life was mainly about survival. Parties, rituals and celebrations, says Stromberg, open the door to new ideas and experiences. Stromberg goes so far as to say partying may be the source of human imagination and Stromberg isn't biased. Stromberg recently wrote a piece for Psychology Today titled Party On Dude, suggesting partying might be more significant than most of us realize. "What hasn't been done is applying that to normal everyday parties in Western societies, despite its obvious importance." "There is no lack of research on celebration and ritual," Stromberg told me in an interview. His book says partying and entertainment are becoming more powerful, varied and addictive. There are now vast archives of this stuff on websites like .īut perhaps the closest thing to a Party Professor is Peter Stromberg, a professor of anthropology at the University of Tulsa, and author of the book Caught in Play: How Entertainment Works on You. You will find out about it the next day on Facebook. If you do pass out at a party, you might get mummified in Saran Wrap, duct taped to the wall, photographed in a series of scandalous poses, or have a crowd of giggling drunkards write "penis" on your forehead with magic marker. Today's professional partiers have elaborate rituals. University would be the perfect place to study partying - a vast section of the population is doing it - holding keggers, passing bongs, wearing lampshades, throwing up on each other and passing out on the couch.īut it doesn't stop there. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In 2016, Rio is getting set for the "Party Olympics." On New Year's Eve 1994, nearly the equivalent of the entire population of greater Montreal, 3.5 million people, crowded into the largest outdoor concert in history at Copacabana Beach, Brazil, to see, of all people, Rod Stewart. More than 750,000 saw Garth Brooks there in 1997. Half a million people saw Simon & Garfunkel in Central Park in September 1991. You can predictably pack thousands of people into a stadium to sing along with Lady Gaga or even AC/DC and then send them all out a few hours later. Put more than a few hundred chimpanzees together and someone's going to get disemboweled and their face chewed off. Throw a soirée for 500 gorillas and watch out. No other animal of our kind can associate in the numbers that we do. We start wars, pollute rivers, and sometimes even kick cats. We're portrayed as greedy, violent Earth-gobbling monsters. Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt.
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