Topping the list is PIZZA. Dominos two-topping classic crust is the go-to meal whether its delivered to hotel room, beach cabana or picked up. Providing nutrition bordering on the zero-bound, pizza of any kind is #1 for Spring Break or any time. Dominos dominates the college market. Their profits go ballistic in March. They love college students, especially ones carrying credit cards.
Chicken wings take precedence over nuggets or strips. Purists want to gnaw to the bone, get their hands greasy and dig into real chicken wings. Although all of it is fried, actual wings lend a sense of realism to any occasion, Spring Break included. Besides, nobody knows exactly what goes into nuggets. There might be bat turds in there, so they're best avoided.
Dipping and dunking also hold places of honor in the Spring Break ritual. Salsa, nacho cheese, various sauces ranging from siracha to sweet and sour are in high demand. And, let's not forget Chinese. Two from column A and one from column B, please, with an egg roll.
Carry on or carry out.
It's time for Spring Break, so, being that typical adults (this may or may not apply to college students) need between 50 and 75 grams of protein a day for normal human functionality, idleguy.com thought it would be wise to cover the most popular foods and drinks consumed on the annual track into the void of sun, sand, and surf.
#2 was a toss up between tacos and burgers. There are those who still consider themselves somewhat traditional burger lovers, whether the choice is Wendy's, Burger King, McDonald's or the upscale offerings from places like Applebees or Shake Shack. Otherwise, Taco Bell can be found almost everywhere, as ubiquitous as CVS pharmacies, but a whole lot tastier.
Beyond the big four basics, the typical Spring Break diet can be broken down into two major categories - side orders and packaged junk food. Onion rings, french fires, and fried cheese sticks are the most popular side staples. The many varieties of potato chips, cheese curls, pork rinds, pretzles, and corn chips provide ample choices by which to deprive a person of nutrition while satisfying hunger cravings. Like it or not, packaged snacks are what make America great. Just look at Coca-Cola and Pepsico profits. Who can argue with billions year after year?
America, the land of ingenuity and invention, provides many more choices in the casual dining sphere. Hot dogs, especially those served from heat rollers at 7-11 are still a popular choice, as are breakfast offerings. The price of eggs has dented the usual late-night or late-morning (early mornings do not exist on Spring Break) fare, making pancakes and waffles the more popular choices. a full stack with bacon or sausage is the perfect complement to a night of debauchery or morning after necessity.
When it comes to drinks, the choices are as varied as bikini tops. Energy drinks and caffeine-infused beverages are all the rage, whether consumed alone or with alcoholic additives, these canned and bottled beverages sell out at convenience stores, but the big one is beer, hands down. Chugging, slurping, guzzling, or just plain drinking copious amounts of American lagers or ales is simply standard and has been for decades. Getting completely schnookered over a case of brew with buddies is a Spring Break tradition that is likely never to be breached or broken.
There has, in recent years, been some LGBTQ+ style pushback against the most popular brand, Bud Light, but the onus on the brew has passed. America, after all, is the land of second chances. Beer drinkers are a forgiving kind, and, for good reason. They often make dubious choices, i.e., girlfriends, boyfriends, course and major selections, political leanings.
There are intruders, in the form of canned cocktails and other high-potency mixes. Their popularity derives from the idea that one need not have drinking ware (aka, glasses) available. Once consumed, the packaging is completely disposable. Neat, clean, not quite hard-core, an obvious appeal to the college concept of economy. Drink, waste not, be environmentally neutral is the Kama Sutra of collegial manners.
While the casual Spring Breaker is likely not to notice millions of brain cells dying early deaths, the hard, cold (ice is essential, pals) truth is that Spring Break is about breaking things like rules, covenants, laws, even friendships in the most extreme cases and nobody is about to get in the way of young people having a good time. Generations have survived these rituals and rites of passage.
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Your Tax Dollars at Work
The NIH (National Institute of Health) undertook a study years back (2009, memory is a little fuzzy) to examine the extent to which college student drinkers are at risk for experiencing negative alcohol-related consequences during Spring Break.
Findings suggested Spring Break drinking was positively associated with alcohol-related consequences during Spring Break, even after controlling for sex and typical drinking. Now, maybe the authors of this study failed to understand that there's little in the way of control when it comes to sex, especially on Spring Break. Sex can happen at any time, without notice, so it's probably better to have a few cocktails already down the gullet before engaging in horizontal squirming (or, as opposed to Baptist theology, when standing up, which may lead to the ultimate taboo, dancing).
The study tried to identify events and contexts associated with heavy drinking, as excessive alcohol use is associated with an increased risk of serious negative consequences to the drinker, including physical, psychological, social, and legal consequences. Well, at least they were on the right track. Falling down, acting weird, insulting people, getting into fights when loaded can lead to Mr. Copper hauling your sorry ass into the hoosegow and having to call Pops for bail money. It's best to avoid contact with local LEOs (Law Enforcement Officers), which is why if your boozing leads to a hookup on the beach it's best to take it back to the hotel room or other "safe place."
The study found that lighter drinkers were likely to be at greater risk than heavier drinkers to experience negative consequences (e.g., sexual coercion, vandalism) on occasions of increased intoxication or drinking. Um, no foolin' Sherlocks, although vandalism - unless it's in the case of tagging a slogan like "fck the police!" - is usually not a priority when you're hammered.
Another genius study - funded with your parents' tax dollars, no doubt - discovered that many students use college Spring Break vacations to travel with the intent to engage in excessive alcohol use, another reason why President Trump (a complete tea-totaler, BTW) wants to defund agencies like the NIH and their studies, because all they do is use high-sounding technical terminology (see what I did there?) to expose the obvious.
The authors expected students to experience more problems during Spring Break if they consumed heavy amounts of alcohol, especially if they went on a trip. Shoot, isn't that the whole idea? If this was a Big Pharma study they might have to include warnings like "excessive drinking may produce negative effects, not limited to projectile vomiting, crass behavior, stupid drinking games, losing your wallet, hangovers, and missing meals.
Wrecking your car or, worse, a rental, well, that's on you, son. Notice that the study failed to find any positive outcomes, like having a good time, partying until the sun comes up, making new drinking buddies, scoring, or conjuring up new drinks with Red Bull. So negative!
Thanks to these brave researchers, but, we already know this stuff. Leave us alone.
The study can be found at https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2895976/
But don't tell anybody. It might be classified.