Most Bizarre Beverages From Around the World

Most of us have a go-to beverage we reach for when we need to quench a mighty thirst

But while you might pick a more common refreshment like water, juice, a can of soda, or wine hidden in a can of soda

Your entire mouth is stained red, Frank. It is. Some people have way more unique drinks in mind when they feel the urge to chug

So, today we're going to take a look at some of the most bizarre beverages from around the world

Time to shotgun some weird history. In the 1990s, Chinese track coach Ma Junrin claimed that a series of world records that

have been achieved by unknown runners were the result of those runners drinking a cocktail

of really delicious-sounding things like caterpillar fungus and turtle blood. You know, standard energy drink stuff

Chinese athletes have used animal parts to improve their performance for a long time

For example, they love deer penis wine, which is really and truly a thing

It was even banned from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games due to its alleged healing powers

and for no other reason. But there could be something to it. Many traditional Chinese remedies, including those made with animal hoo-has

contain herbal ephedrine, which is considered by numerous sports federations to be a performance-enhancing substance

Deer's schlong potions are also believed to enhance your performance in the bedroom

The deer pole supposedly works by increasing blood flow and the flow of chi

which is the fundamental life force in traditional Chinese medicine. But let's say that doesn't sound like enough for you

You want a wine made with the sex organs of dogs and seals as well as deer

Well, good news! Three-wanker wine includes all of those ingredients, sort of like Neapolitan ice cream, and is known to be particularly potent

And if you're in the mood to imagine what that three-doodle wine cooler tastes like

according to a team from National Geographic, It's creamier than wine made from mice

Oh, good to know. Hokkaido lies on the Okotsuk Sea, an icy arm of the North Pacific Ocean located between Japan and Russia

Japan's northernmost island is home to the headquarters of Abashiri Brewery, which is best known for its line of brightly colored beers

the concept for which revolves around the four seasons in Hokkaido. You know, sort of like how Sam Adams rolls out slightly worse-tasting brews as seasonal flavors

I like that. Abashiri Brewery's line of rainbow beers includes Blue Ruhio Draft, Red Hamanashu Draft, Green Shiro Toco Draft, and Pinker Purple Jayaga Draft

And as a bonus, all four cans combine to form the Megazord. The Wintry Ruhio or Drift Ice Draft is brewed with water from melted icebergs, which annually float past Hokkaido's northern beaches, so each sip presumably tastes like adventure

Its blue hue comes from seaweed extract, as does the spring-inspired green shiratoko draft

which is made with fermented seaweed. Hamanishu draft's ruby tinge comes from the Hamanishu fruit, also called the shore pear

and perhaps the wildflowers that bloom along the sea in summertime, while the jayaga draft, made with purple potatoes, represents the fall harvest

And, uh, potatoes. Man, how do you cook purple potatoes? That would be like boiling a bunch of tiny grimaces

Japanese beverage enthusiasts also like to quench their thirst with elaborate sodas For those days when you either can get a beer or 5 o is taking its sweet damn time

Ramune produces soft drinks and flavors so bold they're possibly illegal, like wasabi, kimchi, curry, and teriyaki

But they're not all that spicy. They also make milder but no less unusual flavors like bubblegum

white champagne, lychee, blueberry, and banana. Nothing hits the spot on a hot day like a tall, cool glass of bubblicious

Even cooler than the weirdo flavors is the unique cold stopper bottle Ramune Soda's come in

The cold stopper, which uses a glass marble and plastic ring instead of a cap

takes its name from its inventor, Hiram Cod, a 19th century Englishman

who developed it as a technique for bottling carbonated lemonade. Interestingly, the word Ramune is a Japanese adaptation of lemonade

The design may look strange, but it's pretty simple. The bottle uses a glass marble and plastic ring instead of a cap

A marble is inserted into the neck of the bottle and held in place with a rubber stopper or plastic ring

The pressure from the carbonation then forces the marble against the ring to form an airtight seal

So to open a bottle of Ramune, you punch out the center of the plastic cap with your thumb

and use it as a plunger to force the ball into the bottle. Pretty cool, eh? Except now your soda tastes like thumb ball

Wow, that would matter. An Yanxi, a calligraphy professor at China's Sichuan University

has patented a way to grow green tea in the poop of pandas, which apparently is a thing people want

Man, pandas aren't that cute. And Sichuan is home to the Yan Bifengzia Panda Base

which houses eight captive pandas, so he's got plenty of material to work with, so to speak

An markets his creation under the name Panda Ecological Tea, because calling it what it actually is would discourage people from drinking it

It comes in three grades, the highest of which was offered for 440,000 yuan

or an astounding $72,000 per kilogram. That's 10 times the cost of a rare 1960s box of Wu Yi Narcissus Oolong tea from Hong Kong

and exponentially more expensive than any car we will ever own. All for a box of Sleepy Time Panda Duke

At the presentation of his new tea, Ahn said that pandas absorb less than 30% of the nutrition from the bamboo they eat

and that the remaining 70% is passed out in their feces, making his Panda Poo tea both nutritious and delicious

He also said this while wearing a panda costume, so you've got to appreciate his sense of humor

Wait, or is he trying to tell us where the tea really comes from? Four years ago, India's leading Hindu cultural group developed gaujal, or cow water

as a healthy alternative to soft drinks. Hindus have long worshipped cows for their life-sustaining

dairy products, but Ayurvedic tradition also holds that bovine urine and feces can be used to cure

ailments ranging from liver complaints to diabetes and cancer you can probably see where this is

going yep the cow water is piss the good folks in the cow protection department of the rostrius

wyamsevic sang said they hoped the group's new soft drink would give a wider market the chance

to enjoy the health-giving properties of bovine urine in a form they promised would not smell or

taste like pee which everyone agreed was a laudable goal sadly gaugol has yet to appear in u supermarkets for let call them obvious reasons But it has found a niche market in Italy where it sold as Acqua di Vaca

Rather than building a nest out of twigs, certain species of swiftlets regurgitate long strands of sticky saliva onto a wall

The saliva then hardens into a cement-hard woven cup. Huh, kind of sounds like a freshman dorm

Why are we telling you this? because that cup of bird loogies is prized as a delicacy in china for its purported health

benefits which include a stronger liver an enhanced immune system and softer skin as in i just love

your complexion and it's got that bird spit glow prep involves washing the cup shaped nest to

remove feathers and droppings because you wouldn't want to eat anything gross the end result should

resemble something like a sponge made of thin white strips an ordinary nest sells for about 500

per caddy which is a chinese unit of weight amounting to just over a pound even rarer are

are blood nests, which get their name from a reddish tinge caused by blood in the bird's saliva

Either the birds were just in a fight, or they have advanced gum disease. These blood nests can cost as much as $1,300 a caddy

which seems like way too much for bird's blood. You can pretty much get that for free if you're willing to put in the work

To make the benefits of a bird's nest more affordable for the average consumer, some companies sell it in beverage form

If you're wondering what bird's nest juice tastes like, it supposedly has a slightly mineral and sugary floral flavor

The texture, however, is said to be gelatinous and lumpy, with tiny bits of bird's nest floating

around inside. If you're one of those people who can't stand pulp and their orange juice

you should probably avoid bird's nest juice. Sadly, pollution and human encroachment are

eroding the cliffs where the swiflets live, so prices continue to rise. Pretty soon

you'll only be able to get it from scalpers on eBay. If you're seriously concerned with the physical effects of aging, allegedly

nothing beats products based on placentophagy, which is the practice of ingesting a baby's

placenta after giving birth. The placenta, a temporary uterine organ that supplies oxygen

and nutrients to the growing baby via the umbilical cord, contains high levels of iron

vitamin B12, and hormones. Eating it is said to increase a new mother's energy and breast milk

production while decreasing postpartum depression and bleeding. It's even supposed to make you look

younger. But what if you want the benefits of the placenta without all the fuss of giving birth

or, uh, finding an expectant mother willing to let you wait in the delivery room with a straw

Well, don't worry. Nihon Suffokin's Placenta 10,000, a sippable peach-flavored jelly made

from the placental extract of pigs, has got you covered. It's also conveniently the only

beverage available on commercial flights to the ninth circle of hell. And if pig placenta doesn't

sound strong enough for you, there's always Placenta Pro, made from the placental extract

of horses. Presumably, it not only rejuvenates you, but also improves your galloping speed

Despite the fact that the benefits of placentophagy has never been scientifically proven

plenty of companies still sell placenta as a youth-enhancing ingredient, in everything from chips and tablets to drinks and smoothies

Plenty of questionable health drinks make extravagant claims, but Kinohumitsu Japan bust-up drink, which purports to enlarge breasts without the need for surgery or medication

might take the cake. It definitely deserves to win a minor industry award for best product name that also tells you everything you need to know about the people who make it Ads for the product which contains water fructose

concentrated fruit juices, vitamin C, beta carotene, royal jelly, honey, and collagen from fish

claim that it remedies small, sagging, and shrunken breasts caused by deficient growth

aging, menopause, childbirth, and breastfeeding. In other words, bust up will bust up your busted

up bust if you're wondering what could possibly effectuate this miracle bust up's active ingredient

is the root of pararia morifica which is also known as kuao kura cow it's a tuberous plant

containing phytoestrogens that has been used in thailand as a folk remedy for menopause related

hot flashes and night sweats for over 50 years huh was really expecting some kind of actual

magic like a genie wish or something manufacturers of pararia morifica products promote the herb as

a miracle cure for just about anything that can even prevent breast cancer which is about the only

thing that could convince us to take a cool swig of fish collagen not to be confused with the

barbecue flavoring known as liquid smoke liquid smoking is a beverage that dutch manufacturer

united drinks and beauty corporation claimed would take the edge off nicotine cravings for between

one and four hours in other words it's a beverage to help you quit smoking usually we call that

vodka the drink allegedly popular in the netherlands was launched in the united kingdom

in 2008 as a way to help smokers beat the nation's recently enacted ban on public smoking united

drinks as ceo martin hartman is reported to have said that the product contained no nicotine but

rather got its craving fighting effects from a mix of south african plant roots which gave a

slight energizing effect followed by a euphoric sense of calming and relaxation oh so speed you

You've filled your drink with speed. Where can we buy this again? The answer is, you can't

Despite these claims, in a scant 21 calories per 2075 millimeter can

liquid smoking was torn apart right out of the gate. There were a lot of reasons for that, but the can

which resembled a pack of Marlboro cigarettes, was definitely one of them

The poorly received beverage quickly fizzled out, and today both liquid smoking and United Drinks and Beauty are no more

Peru's Lake Titicaca is home to Telmatobius coulius, which is the main ingredient in rana

y maca. That translates to frog juice in English, but the drink is more widely known as Peruvian

Viagra, which probably moves more bottles off the shelf. And yes, it's really frog juice

Many reports hold that rana y maca is literally made by plucking a live frog from an aquarium

skinning it, and liquefying it in a blender with hot bean broth, honey, aloe, and vera

for that fresh-from-the-lily-pad taste. It also contains maca, which is an Andean root believed to boost stamina and sex drive

Because why not? They don't call it Peruvian Viagra for no reason

Once strained, the result, if properly made, will be a starchy, milkshake-like liquid that stings the throat

Doesn't that sound great? Unfortunately, mass consumption of Peruvian Viagra has led to the endangerment of Talmatobius coulius

which according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, threatens Lake Titicaca's entire ecosystem

It's unclear how this will affect distribution. You may have to start getting your frog juice on the dark web from those places that sell Soylent Green