Talk:Bibulous

I assume we accept that there's only one God of Wine (as stated in Small Gods), so Tuvelpit and Smimto should redirect here, yes? Kellyterryjones 04:58, 23 July 2007 (CEST)

Hmmm...Smimto. A popular drink in the north of England - one of those hangers-on from the Temperance Bar tradition of the early twentieth century, in fact - is a fruit-juice based soda called Vimto. (See entry on Roo Beer for further background info.)

"Vimto" is short for "Vim Tonic", the "Vim" part being a word which has fallen out of usage in modern (post-WW2) English:(1) it was probably coined by early advertisers as a word denoting life, energy, and the sparkle that comes from a happy mind in an active healthy body unpolluted by the demon deceiver, Alcohol. Vimto is still available in both soda and cordial form in many parts of England, but especially in the North and North-West. (the spiritual home of the Temperance movement)

(1) "Vim" is probably older than the advertising industry as we know it, at c. 200 years, but it's died young. Apparently Neil Gaiman used it last in 1999 (with its inseparable synonym, vigor,) but it hasn't been heard since. --Old Dickens 22:38, 1 October 2008 (UTC)

There is a certain hidden irony in a God of Wine being given a name that for many, will evoke a Temperance drink...--AgProv 09:55, 1 October 2008 (UTC)

As he is described as the God of Wine and Things on Sticks, I wonder if he takes a special interest in C.M.O.T. Dibbler ... almost everything he sells seems to be available "onna stick". I always imagined that Bibulous and Bilious would be identical twins, looking like a before and after picture of the world's biggest, booziest party. --Ericthehalfabee 14:46, 23 April 2020 (UTC)