A drinking game played by students in Dunedin called "possum" -- where participants get drunk up trees -- has made headlines across the world after a story was published in the Otago Daily Times on Wednesday.
The drinking game had been causing problems in the Dunedin Botanic Garden with people leaving rubbish and vomit at the bottom of trees.
Since it ran in the ODT and then other national media, the story has grown legs internationally, being picked up by news outlets including The Guardian and The Sun in Britain, Fox News in the United States, The Bangkok Post in Thailand and Le Point in France.
At one time the story, under the headline: "Possum tree-drinking game too trunk and disorderly for Dunedin parks" was the most read story in the world section on the The Guardian website.
The Guardian article goes on to say: "The wider population of Dunedin have long tolerated the bibulous habits of the many students in the city.
"But that patience is being strained by the emergence of a bizarre new branch of drinking game".
Joe Stockman, editor of Otago University's student magazine Critic said the game was "pretty harmless" and the "global recognition" was nice for the students.
"It will be interesting to see if there are any copycats around the world.
"I noticed Le Point has picked up the story in France, so maybe we will see some Parisians climbing up the Eiffel Tower Tower and drinking a couple of cans of Speight's," Mr Stockman said.
He believed "possum" had existed for about 10 years and evolved from another drinking game called "The Hobbit" in which participants had to drink a six pack in a cupboard before being allowed out.
