Question: What is the origin of happy hour?
Answer: Happy hour is the two-hour period before dinner when bars offer discounted alcoholic beverages.The term originated in the United States Navy. In the 1920s, “Happy Hour” was slang for a scheduled entertainment period on board a ship during which boxing and wrestling bouts took place, this was a valuable opportunity for sailors to let off the steam accumulated during the long periods at sea.“Happy” in this context meant slightly drunk.
The idea of drinking before dinner has its roots in the Prohibition era. When the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act were passed banning alcohol consumption, citizens would host “cocktail hours”, also known as “happy hours”, at a speakeasy (an illegal drinking establishment) before eating at restaurants where alcohol could not be served. Cocktail lounges continued the trend of drinking before dinner. "Happy hour" entered civilian use around 1960, especially after a Saturday Evening Post article on military life in 1959.
1 comment:
Gulp. Breathe.
It is unfortunate in our country that we can spend millions for solar energy, NFL game tickets and various politicians gain millions of dollars for campaign support and advertising. Yet, we can't provide for our brothers and sisters that have without.
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