Objective To quantify James Bond’s consumption of alcohol as detailed in the series of novels by Ian Fleming.
Design Retrospective literature review.
Setting The study authors’ homes, in a comfy chair.
Participants Commander James Bond, 007; Mr Ian Lancaster Fleming.
Main outcome measures Weekly alcohol consumption by Commander Bond.
Methods All 14 James Bond books were read by two of the authors. Contemporaneous notes were taken detailing every alcoholic drink taken. Predefined alcohol unit levels were used to calculate consumption. Days when Bond was unable to consume alcohol (such as through incarceration) were noted.
Results After exclusion of days when Bond was unable to drink, his weekly alcohol consumption was 92 units a week, over four times the recommended amount. His maximum daily consumption was 49.8 units. He had only 12.5 alcohol free days out of 87.5 days on which he was able to drink.
Conclusions James Bond’s level of alcohol intake puts him at high risk of multiple alcohol related diseases and an early death. The level of functioning as displayed in the books is inconsistent with the physical, mental, and indeed sexual functioning expected from someone drinking this much alcohol. We advise an immediate referral for further assessment and treatment, a reduction in alcohol consumption to safe levels, and suspect that the famous catchphrase “shaken, not stirred” could be because of alcohol induced tremor affecting his hands.
Scientific study of James Bond novels shows Agent 007 was a drunk
Sean Connery as James Bond in 1963’s “From Russia with Love.” Researchers determined that on Day 3 of his mission in the Ian Fleming novel, Agent 007 drank 398.4 grams of alcohol.
James Bond’s drinking habits are no government secret. But just how much alcohol did Agent 007 consume in Ian Fleming’s 12 novels and two short-story collections?
Authors of a tongue-in-cheek study published in the Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal methodically gathered and analyzed data from each Bond book to find out. Their findings showed that Bond was a major alcoholic, in a category of drinkers at highest risk of developing malignancies, depression, hypertension and cirrhosis. Despite his reputation as a womanizer, he likely would have suffered from sexual dysfunction.
And the reason he preferred his vodka martinis “shaken, not stirred,” contrary to proper mixology? He himself would have been unable to stir due to alcohol-induced tremors.
The authors read all 14 James Bond books, took note of every alcoholic drink mentioned and determined the period of days during which those drinks were imbibed.
To calculate Bond’s weekly liquor consumption, alcohol unit levels as determined by Britain’s National Health Service were used. A regular vodka martini is three units, for example.
Certain terms were assigned predefined units; “bring in the drink tray” equaled six units, and “serious drinking” or “got drunk” was 20 units. “It is likely that these are an underestimate rather than an overestimate of his intake on these few occasions,” the authors wrote.
The number of days described in the books were counted. Days that couldn’t be determined weren’t taken into account, and days when Bond couldn’t drink (usually because of incarceration or injury) were logged. (Two books were omitted from the study for insufficient information.)
Over a total of 123½ days (excluding 36 days when he wasn’t able to drink), the mean amount of Bond’s liquor consumption was 92 units per week. He drank a total of 9,201.2 grams of straight alcohol. His maximum weekly consumption was during “You Only Live Twice,” when he drank 132 units of alcohol.
According to the health service’s recommendations, an adult man shouldn’t drink more than 21 units a week, or more than four units on any one day, and two days of the week should be alcohol free. Bond, according to the study, was a Category 3 drinker (a consumer of more than 60 grams of alcohol a day).
Bond’s peak daily consumption? That occurred on Day 3 of his mission in “From Russia With Love,” when he drank 398.4 grams of alcohol. To Bond’s credit, it must have been stressful strangling a would-be assassin with his own garrote, hijacking a truck and destroying an enemy helicopter all in a day’s work.
BMJ is a weekly open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. It is one of the world’s oldest general medical journals and has been described as among the most prestigious. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association.
Christmas 2013: Research
Were James Bond’s drinks shaken because of alcohol induced tremor?
by Graham Johnson, Indra Neil Guha and Patrick Davies
BMJ
http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f7255
Objective To quantify James Bond’s consumption of alcohol as detailed in the series of novels by Ian Fleming.
Design Retrospective literature review.
Setting The study authors’ homes, in a comfy chair.
Participants Commander James Bond, 007; Mr Ian Lancaster Fleming.
Main outcome measures Weekly alcohol consumption by Commander Bond.
Methods All 14 James Bond books were read by two of the authors. Contemporaneous notes were taken detailing every alcoholic drink taken. Predefined alcohol unit levels were used to calculate consumption. Days when Bond was unable to consume alcohol (such as through incarceration) were noted.
Results After exclusion of days when Bond was unable to drink, his weekly alcohol consumption was 92 units a week, over four times the recommended amount. His maximum daily consumption was 49.8 units. He had only 12.5 alcohol free days out of 87.5 days on which he was able to drink.
Conclusions James Bond’s level of alcohol intake puts him at high risk of multiple alcohol related diseases and an early death. The level of functioning as displayed in the books is inconsistent with the physical, mental, and indeed sexual functioning expected from someone drinking this much alcohol. We advise an immediate referral for further assessment and treatment, a reduction in alcohol consumption to safe levels, and suspect that the famous catchphrase “shaken, not stirred” could be because of alcohol induced tremor affecting his hands.
Scientific study of James Bond novels shows Agent 007 was a drunk
Sean Connery as James Bond in 1963’s “From Russia with Love.” Researchers determined that on Day 3 of his mission in the Ian Fleming novel, Agent 007 drank 398.4 grams of alcohol.
by Betty Hallock
http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-scientists-calculate-how-much-james-bond-drank-in-007-novels-20131212,0,341205.story#axzz2qAT5zbHw
James Bond’s drinking habits are no government secret. But just how much alcohol did Agent 007 consume in Ian Fleming’s 12 novels and two short-story collections?
Authors of a tongue-in-cheek study published in the Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal methodically gathered and analyzed data from each Bond book to find out. Their findings showed that Bond was a major alcoholic, in a category of drinkers at highest risk of developing malignancies, depression, hypertension and cirrhosis. Despite his reputation as a womanizer, he likely would have suffered from sexual dysfunction.
And the reason he preferred his vodka martinis “shaken, not stirred,” contrary to proper mixology? He himself would have been unable to stir due to alcohol-induced tremors.
The authors read all 14 James Bond books, took note of every alcoholic drink mentioned and determined the period of days during which those drinks were imbibed.
To calculate Bond’s weekly liquor consumption, alcohol unit levels as determined by Britain’s National Health Service were used. A regular vodka martini is three units, for example.
Certain terms were assigned predefined units; “bring in the drink tray” equaled six units, and “serious drinking” or “got drunk” was 20 units. “It is likely that these are an underestimate rather than an overestimate of his intake on these few occasions,” the authors wrote.
The number of days described in the books were counted. Days that couldn’t be determined weren’t taken into account, and days when Bond couldn’t drink (usually because of incarceration or injury) were logged. (Two books were omitted from the study for insufficient information.)
Over a total of 123½ days (excluding 36 days when he wasn’t able to drink), the mean amount of Bond’s liquor consumption was 92 units per week. He drank a total of 9,201.2 grams of straight alcohol. His maximum weekly consumption was during “You Only Live Twice,” when he drank 132 units of alcohol.
According to the health service’s recommendations, an adult man shouldn’t drink more than 21 units a week, or more than four units on any one day, and two days of the week should be alcohol free. Bond, according to the study, was a Category 3 drinker (a consumer of more than 60 grams of alcohol a day).
Bond’s peak daily consumption? That occurred on Day 3 of his mission in “From Russia With Love,” when he drank 398.4 grams of alcohol. To Bond’s credit, it must have been stressful strangling a would-be assassin with his own garrote, hijacking a truck and destroying an enemy helicopter all in a day’s work.
BMJ is a weekly open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. It is one of the world’s oldest general medical journals and has been described as among the most prestigious. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association.