The cure for hangover may lie in the size of the glass, said scientists.
A new study by Oxford University has revealed that drinkers tend to pour more generous measures of spirits when using short, wide tumblers rather than tall, slender glasses, the Daily Mail reported. And, according to the scientists, this is due to an “optical illusion”.
Prof. Charles Spence, who led the study, blamed a trick of the eye called the “vertical horizontal illusion” in which the brain overestimates vertical distances and underestimates horizontal ones.
The psychologist found that drinkers poured up to 80 per cent more into a short, wide glass than a tall, slender one, even when both glasses held the same volume. In the study, even veteran bartenders poured 26 per cent more alcohol into tumblers than highball glasses. Julian Chamberlain, the managing director of business intelligence company Retail Active, which commissioned the study, said, “The shape of the glass their customers use could have an effect on profit margins. Tumblers will cost more to fill than highball glasses. But there are also health implications for alcohol drinkers and there is evidence that even experienced bar staff pour more alcohol into tumblers when estimating a shot of spirits. People who pour their own drinks will be doing same.”