On 3/28/2014 10:34 PM, nestork wrote:

Here is a picture of three German beer steins of the kind people drink
from at Oktoberfest and other German festivals:

http://tinyurl.com/qdbyob6

It's interesting to note that they all have a self closing metal lid on
them.

That requirement for the metal lid dates back to the middle ages when
the Black Death (the Bubonic Plague) was sweeping across Europe. At the
time, no one knew what caused people to become sick and die from the
plague, but in Germany there was speculation that it was caused by
flying insects. People noted that small flying insects would be found
in the partially dried up beer on the inside of a beer stein, and they
speculated that swallowing those dead or dying insects caused people to
become sick with the plague. This was a time before indoor plumbing.
People would have to fetch water from a well to do any washing, and
often those wells weren't close by. So, people didn't bother washing
things, like beer steins, after each use like they do today.

To protect the population from the spread of the plague, the German
government at the time passed a law requiring all beer steins to be
fitted with reclosable metal lids which would keep flying insects out of
the beer. And, German beer steins still have those reclosable metal
lids today.

Not true, according to this stein collector. He hypothesizes that lids
were sometimes added just to keep dirt out - especially when sitting
outside at a table under the trees, where one wouldn't want to risk a
bird dropping falling into one's beer.
http://www.steveonsteins.com/why-the-lids-real-reason

See also the video "Why Steins Have Lids".
http://www.steincollectors.org/libra...nsteins21.html

Summary: After a great deal of investigation, one of the most noted
collectors and researchers on the subject was unable to find any
record of any such law or requirement for lids on steins.
The hypothesis is, again, that attached lids help to keep dirt out,
especially when drinking outside. The well-to-do could afford to buy
steins with lids, the average person just used a small mat provided by
the drinking establishment.