These Hilarious 19th-Century Photos Illustrate Different Levels of Drunkenness, 1860s

Stage 1: You’ve had a couple and can hold your own. Conversation is flowing and people are interested in what you have to say.

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These interesting photos, captured by photographer Charles Percy Pickering between 1863 and 1868, illustrate the ability of alcohol to transform a fine upstanding citizen into a staggering wreck. Across the five pictures, an upright, dignified gentleman slowly deteriorates into a sloppy drunk in a wheelbarrow.

h/t: rarehistoricalphotos

Stage 2: This is the moment you find your groove and you are charming the pants off anyone who speaks to you.

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Stage 3: You can’t fight the honesty stumbling from your mouth. A few of the more sober people have started to back away or head home. You decide you’re in for the long haul and continue pleasing the crowd with your slurring wit.

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Stage 4: Find the nearest wheelbarrow and get in. Although someone should probably push you home, you take a breather and drink on. This is where the night gets wild.

State Library of New South Wales/Wikimedia Commons

Stage 5: No memory. Somehow you end up in your home, fully clothed, lights on, lying on a pile of kebab meat. At least you still have your hat on.

State Library of New South Wales/Wikimedia Commons