# Bars. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 19, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars/616235 "2012-03-19T16:27:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars/616235/41 "2012-03-20T21:38:43Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > _blink_ It’s not a question of “why do people like to get drunk and have fun” so much as “why does this business model, which I would think would be counterproductive for these reasons, seem to be so successful?” > > I know a little more now, and if I were younger and single-er, I’d probably try going to them more often. As it is, I now know that there are specific different types of bars, and that I shouldn’t assume that they’re all like the overly-noisy ones I’ve happened to run into the few times I’ve been. (Though I agree with the person above who said that it would be much more convenient if they were labeled on the outside, or if the US had the bar/pub distinction that the UK does!) Ooops, it looks like I’m guilty of hastily skimming the OP and assuming I knew what was coming next. I see what you mean now: on the surface, the kind of bar you’d go to to pick up a one night stand isn’t exactly tailored towards meaningful interactions. I suppose it works because people looking to pick someone up at a bar aren’t necessarily looking for a soul mate. Loud, dark, crowded bars mean that you have to get close to converse, and after a few exchanges its easier to just say “let’s dance” than carry on a conversation. After dancing for a while, if you hit it off you can always pull the old “it’s really loud here, want to come back to my place” line. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars/616235/42 "2012-03-20T22:17:34Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > Socialize, yes…but with friends, not with strangers. All of my friends were strangers when I first met them. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars/616235/43 "2012-03-20T22:26:55Z")
“… a stranger’s just a friend you haven’t met …” – _Oh, Streetcar!_ ---
**Author:** ![Jasper\_Kent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@Jasper\_Kent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasper_Kent)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars/616235/44 "2012-03-20T23:29:04Z")
Okay, I just went to a bar last night with some co-workers. It was more of a bar&grill, I guess. They had mixed drinks and a good variety of beers, from locally brewed to imported. They also had great hot wings and other finger foods. It was not dark; it was not loud. The atmosphere was pleasant in a low-key party kind of way. Nobody was there just to get laid, although I suspect there were a couple of hook-ups later. Anyway, a fun time was had by all. We were away from both home and work. The alcohol enhanced our already fun-loving camaraderie, although not everyone drank. The food was good. We smokers had to go outside to light up, so nobody else was offended by our vile fumes. There was much laughter and none of us had to clean up afterwards. Oh, and the prices were reasonable. What’s not to like? ---
**Author:** ![eldowan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@eldowan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eldowan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars/616235/45 "2012-03-20T23:54:10Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > Okay…help me out with this one. > > As I understand it, bars have three advantages over drinking at home: > > 1. There is a wider variety of liquor available, 1 in addition to the wider variety of liquor, there is usually someone handling it that knows how to make hundreds of good, different, drinks. I will go to my bartender and say something along the lines of ‘i would like a drink with gin, but don’t know what. Surprise me?’ I have found some of my favorite drinks. And liquors. ‘i like this quality of that scotch, can you recommend anything else?’ > [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > 1. You can meet people of your preferred gender, while in an intoxicated state that might make you each seem more attractive than normal, and 2 you are not necessarily intoxicated, nor must they be. I go to pool halls. Or I go to bars with pool tables. Not the same thong. I have met many of my dear friends there, socially, lightly, drinking and playing games. > [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > 1. You get out of the house. 3 you get out of the house. Meet new people. Hear new ideas. Sometimes meet a new group and have dinner/breakfast after drinks. > [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > Advantages 1 and 3 I get. However, it seems that most bars work against option 2. > > A) They’re dark - you can’t actually see the attractiveness level of the Person of Preferred Gender (PPG) with whom you are interacting. Almost every bar I go to is decently lit. Those that aren’t have a patio where there is more light. And if its dark, I must get close to PPG. Hmm… Hidden plus? > [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > B) They’re noisy - you can’t have a conversation with the PPG and determine whether they are interesting people or Limbaugh-spouting idiots. Aah! Say I’m out to meet someone PPG, right? What’s better than a house imposed circumstance requiring me to lean in close and comfortably speak into their ear? > [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > C) The drinks are damn expensive - you can’t afford to buy more than a couple, not to mention buying one or two for the PPG as part of the courting process. While true, I look at it the same way one may approach investing. Really you are, you’re investing your time in the hopes ofa high return. Of joy. If fun. Of booty. Of whatever males that cookie crumble. Never Veoh.g more than you are prepared to lose, and if you hit the atm expect that you may ne spending more than you ought to. Ymmv > [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > What am I missing? It seems like the more “meat market” ish a bar is, the more likely they are to have factors A,B,and C, so they must be percieved as net positives…??? I think your perspective is just off. It depends on what you’re looking for, and how to go about getting it. Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars/616235/46 "2012-03-22T00:55:14Z")
[Bar vs. Tavern, vs. Pub](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_establishment) ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars/616235/47 "2012-03-24T05:23:44Z")
If it wasn’t for Japanese pubs, I think the whole country would have evaporated in a psychic burst of rage and frustration. There was a good movie about the consequences of taking life too seriously and not getting a little drink on once and again. It was called _Akira._ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars/616235/48 "2012-03-24T06:28:03Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > A) They’re dark - you can’t actually see the attractiveness level of the Person of Preferred Gender (PPG) with whom you are interacting. It’s a two-way street. Sure, we can’t get a really good look at the person we’re hitting on. But they can’t get a really good look at us either. Some of us find that advantage outweighs the disadvantage. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars/616235.md?page=2)