The origin of HAPPY HOUR has nothing to do with wine!?
It turns out that happy hour has nothing to do with wine in the first place!?
In the beginning, it was a time for the navy to gather together... and it gradually evolved into today's happy hour...
Want to know how to evolve to dare? Swipe right to take a look~
Happy Hour can be said to be a very American tradition (although in fact, even today, several states in the United States still have laws prohibiting it); it is the only antidote to a long Thursday afternoon, and it is also a good time to enjoy cheap beer and oysters. Nowadays, this It has become a marketing method used by many international chain restaurants to establish and promote their own brands. In fact, some restaurants have even extended this limited time period from 4 to 8 o'clock into a full-day wine sales day (Hello, TGI Fridays restaurant!). But you know what? In fact, the origin of happy hour not only does not have any commercial overtones, it even has an illegal history behind the scenes.
Started with the U.S. Navy
The term happy hour originally originated from the USS Arkansas in 1913. There is a group of crew members on the submarine who call themselves a "happy hour social" and hold a "smoker" every even-numbered week. This kind of gathering is actually no different from a music club, so the crew nicknamed it "happy hours". Happy hours are usually held in the evening, and the activities include movies, music performances, and sometimes a few boxing or wrestling matches. Soon, the practice of happy hours began to spread, and almost all navies across the Atlantic held happy hours regularly. However, since the U.S. Navy officially banned alcohol in 1914, we have no way of confirming whether alcohol was served during these happy hours, which were originally held on submarines. The only thing that is certain is that these original happy hours must have included a lot of cigars and cigarettes, and sometimes ice cream and cakes.
Popularized by Prohibition
In early 1920, the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution officially came into effect, ushering in the darkest period of Prohibition in history and forcing the vast majority of American drinkers to turn to various underground bars to quench their thirst. These bars, called speakeasy (softly speak), usually start to get busy around ten o'clock in the evening; but in fact, as early as the junction of lunch and evening every day, many thirsty people have sneaked into the underground bar, hoping to It can quench your thirst for alcohol after work and before dinner. Some people may have thought of the Navy's past ceilidhs. I don't know when it started, but some people began to call these thirst-quenching times under the table happy hours. When Prohibition finally came to an end in 1933, the term happy hour had completely become a happy hour for drinking, thanks to Prohibition!
Is it still illegal?
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, several states in the United States still have laws prohibiting happy hour. Although Illinois and Kansas opened the door to legalizing happy hours in 2015 and 2012 respectively, several other states still adhere to the tradition, saying that happy hours lead to excessive drinking and drunk driving, as well as other potential social problems; this The states are Massachusetts (the first state to legislate a ban in 1984), Alaska, Indiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island Island, Utah, and Vermont. But I can tell you with certainty that those soft-spoken but joyful happy hours are still active in these states.