Schnapszahl

Carnival is more than a holiday and more than an outrageous, city-wide costume party - it's practically its own season in some parts of Germany. The high point usually comes in February or March, but the kick-off date is always the same: November 11. Revelers this year are in for a special treat, though. In case they needed any more of an excuse to go tearing through the streets, the festival gets started at 11:11 am on 11.11.2011 - five elevens in a row! And for us, it's a good excuse to learn the word Schnapszahl, a German term for any repeating digit. Maybe it's no coincidence that Schnaps also translates as "booze," sure to be in good supply during the upcoming Schnapszahl event.