When the game is tied and cup glory is on the line, most football supporters would rather grin and bear it than answer the call of nature during a match. Now, the local energy and water provider for Lucerne has announced a rather strange competition, asking people to predict which Swiss football match at the Euros will cause people to wee the most.
As anyone who has seen the hit movie Flushed Away will tell you, going to the bathroom during a football match is the ultimate social faux pas, with most waiting till half or full-time to relieve themselves. Energy Water Lucerne (EWL) noted that once you add beer to the mix, the entire country going to the bathroom at once causes palpable surges in the sewage and water systems.
Taking a break from the non-stop action of the Euros, the head of drinking water at EWL Claudio Ganassi decided out of curiosity to see how exactly football impacted the sewage system in Switzerland, and so conducted a test. Sure enough, "In the first two to three minutes after the half-time whistle, the outflow from the reservoirs rose by 20 to 25 percent. Over the entire break, it rose by 8 to 12 percent," he told 20 Minuten.
Which Swiss Euros match will cause the most flushes?
Having discovered the interesting phenomenon, EWL has launched a competition to celebrate the European Football Championships. Rather than predict the winners of the tournament, anyone who is able to guess which Swiss football match causes the most flushes in Lucerne is entered into a raffle. The prize? A full tour of the Sonnenberg spring water plant and an apéritif worth a total of 150 francs!
Participants can choose any of Switzerland’s group stage games - versus Hungary (June 15), Scotland (June 19) and Germany (June 23). The deadline for applications is June 23, as Switzerland play the hosts in Frankfurt.
While predicting the game that will cause the most flushes is anything but an exact science, there could be a few ways to predict the right answer. Will the time matter with the games against Scotland and Germany coming later in the day, or do bathroom breaks increase because of the score or the quality of the opposition? Only time will tell.
Want to enter the flushing raffle? Check out the official website.