Happy Hour History… a guide to finding the best
Happy Hour History… a guide to finding the best
It’s 5:05pm on a Friday, your fingers giddy as you turn in your end of day reports. Even more giddy as you shut your computer down for the day. Then you remove your glasses, retrieve your jacket, and walk to the elevator with a spring on your step. You walk out of your office in anticipation as you get closer to the most anticipated part of the work week: HAPPY HOUR!!!
Discounted drinks and food.
Happy hour has been associated with discounted drinks and food, and that time after work before dinner where one can reward himself with drinks after a hard day’s work. But have you ever wondered how happy hour started?
In my curiosity, I looked it up and found that the term was first used as early as the 19th century by the US
Navy has happy hour too!
Navy to refer to the few hours set each day as time for entertainment while at sea.
It wasn’t until the ’20s when the term was linked to drinking. The 18th Amendment was carried out in 1920 to ban the manufacture and sale of liquor. Liquor ban of course gave rise to bootlegging and underground clubs, where “happy hour” meant that time before dinner when one drinks in places where liquor was illegal.
Ratify that ban!
Then the 21st Amendment came out in 1933, ratifying the ban, but it was only in the mid ’60s when all states actually lifted the liquor ban. This is the era when restaurants began creative with the happy hour and created “special offers”, or discounted drinks during happy hour.
Is happy hour only applicable to a specific time of day?
Not everyone works the same hours, so could there be a better “Happy hour” than late afternoon to early evening? Let’s look at the pros and cons of other possible happy hours…
5:00-8:00pm
5:00-8:00pm - usually when discounted drinks are offered. As happy hour is more common with employees working 9-5, this is the most crowded time to be out drinking. This is when you get to socialize and meet new people. A downside is that your whole office might have the same idea and you’d end up stuck with the same people that you were trying to get away from the whole week!
9:00pm-past midnight
9:00pm-past midnight - OK, the adult crowd has dispersed, but has been replaced by a younger, more boastful brood. Your drink now costs double. Not only that, but the music has changed and is now louder. Unless this is your scene, then it’s time for you to head out.
Early morning
Early morning - “Closing Time” by Semisonic is playing. Waiters are wiping the tables and looking at you like they’d like to wipe you off the table as well. If you’re waiting for something to happen that night, it’s your last chance to make a move. Otherwise, you’re better off leaving the bar before it closes.
Breakfast and alcohol - You’ll rub elbows with either the Stepford Wives or the bums. I’d skip this one.
Lunch and alcohol - if you work 9-5, and would risk your boss smelling your alcohol breath during your 2pm presentation, then go ahead.
Early Bird Happy Hour
Early Bird Happy Hour - Before the crowd flocks into the bar, the discounts are not on yet, but you get to sit where you want, quietly flirt with the person next to you at the bar, don’t have to fight for the bartender’s attention just to get your cold beer. A couple contented hours later, drinks and food prices drop. Now that’s a good surprise!
I’d personally go for the early bird happy hour, but you’re not me but I hope this will help you find the best happy hour for you!
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