# I'm turning 21 tomorrow! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 29, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-21-tomorrow/324094 "2005-09-29T21:08:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-21-tomorrow/324094/21 "2005-10-03T03:15:20Z")
Congrats, **_Mr._ Blalron**! ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-21-tomorrow/324094/22 "2005-10-03T03:23:17Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Why is the drinking age in America 21. Back in the 1980s a group called Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which has long since strayed from it’s original purpose of combatting drunken driving and has basically turned into a neo-prohibitionist group, lobbied hard to set a national drinking age of 21. Sadly, they suceeded. It used to be up to the individual states to set their own drinking ages (theoretically they still can), but Congress forced every state to set a 21 drinking age or else their highway funding would be cut. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-21-tomorrow/324094/23 "2005-10-03T03:27:38Z")
> [@aeropl](#): > > I turned 21 a few months ago and I didn’t even get ID’d when I went to the liquor store at midnight. What a disappointment! Turning 21 for me was only great for being able to buy good beer to drink in moderation instead of having to drink someone else’s Miller Lite. :eek: Liquor store? Midnight? How can this be? (Bookkeeper, who lives in Ontario, where the drinking age is 19, but you’d be hard pressed to find a liquor store open after 10:00 PM) ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-21-tomorrow/324094/24 "2005-10-03T05:10:15Z")
From age 18 to 21, I could buy beer with no ID shown at grocery stores all over town. I got a giggle when underage checkout kids would have **me** (equally illegal) push the button on the register. All I ever got was, “Are you old enough to buy this?” “Yes.” From 21 to 32, I was carded **everywhere!** :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![aeropl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f05b48/32.png) [@aeropl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aeropl)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-21-tomorrow/324094/25 "2005-10-03T14:18:14Z")
> [@Bookkeeper](#): > > Liquor store? Midnight? How can this be? > > (Bookkeeper, who lives in Ontario, where the drinking age is 19, but you’d be hard pressed to find a liquor store open after 10:00 PM) Most bars here close by 2am because that’s the latest they can legally serve (a county ordinance). I assume liquor stores can’t sell past 2am also, but most of them close at 1am. It might have something to do with this being a college town. Ironically, the only general store that stays open 24 hours around here is Wal-Mart, but their liquor store closes around 10pm. They try to stay “family-oriented” rather than sell kegs to college parties late at night. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-21-tomorrow/324094/26 "2005-10-03T14:52:00Z")
Wishing you a good day, a good year and a great life. 🙂 Oh, and drink responsibly. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-21-tomorrow/324094.md?page=1)