# Who Do Those Drunks Think They're Kidding? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 4, 2003, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-those-drunks-think-theyre-kidding/199468 "2003-09-04T04:40:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@Jello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jello)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-those-drunks-think-theyre-kidding/199468/41 "2003-09-06T03:41:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fretful Porpentine \* > \*\*Wow, that makes _three_ countries where I’ve broken the local alcohol laws. Possibly four if the drinking age in Germany is higher than 17. Cool. \*\* In Germany it’s 16 – the kids going on the exchange trip from my high school to Nuremberg always have a lot of fun… ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-those-drunks-think-theyre-kidding/199468/42 "2003-09-06T10:39:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by emilyforce \* > **Having come of age in WA I was much amused to discover that in NY state, nothing stronger than I believe 6% alcohol can be sold in a grocery store; thus, wine is primarily sold in liquor stores, except for low-alcohol wines developed, I assumed, specifically for the state market.** Heh, I (mostly) grew up in California and moved to Washington, and I was surprised to see that there’s no liquor in the grocery stores. In California you can buy a gallon of vodka at Safeway, but here you have to find a state liquor store… and all the liquor stores close at 8 or 9 in the evening, making it impossible to replenish your liquor during a party. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-those-drunks-think-theyre-kidding/199468/43 "2003-09-06T11:27:11Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Mr2001_ > In California you can buy a gallon of vodka at Safeway, but here you have to find a state liquor store… and all the liquor stores close at 8 or 9 in the evening, making it impossible to replenish your liquor during a party. See, my experience was kinda the opposite. I’ve been born and raised in Maryland, and never realized liquor laws were different anywhere. Then, the first time I travelled the country (at age 27, yikes!), I realized that there are states where you can buy **hard liquor** right in the supermarket!! I was accustomed to the idea of being able to buy beer and wine at the market from having visited Virginia, but had no clue that some places actually sold whiskey in the stores! As far as replenishing in the middle of a party, we get around that here by going to a bar that also sells “Package Goods”. It’s hideously expensive, but they are open until the bar closes. ---
**Author:** ![fizzygoodmakefeelnice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@fizzygoodmakefeelnice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fizzygoodmakefeelnice)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-those-drunks-think-theyre-kidding/199468/44 "2003-09-06T12:44:11Z")
Drinking in public illegal in the UK? That would be horrible! Anyway, I had a teacher who, when he had a cough, would carry around a paper bag with a bottle of Covonia in it and take swigs out of that. ---
**Author:** ![big\_alex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e56c9b/32.png) [@big\_alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/big_alex)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-those-drunks-think-theyre-kidding/199468/45 "2003-09-06T14:45:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zorro \* > \*\* Someone’s going to say “_Won’t you think of the children?_”, but I am, and every single child in Europe is exposed to people drinking alcohol every single day of their lives and they don’t grow uo to be a bunch of depraved, raving alcoholics and wife-beaters any more than anywhere else (except in Newcastle and Sunderland, admittedly). \*\* :o :mad: You missed out Middlesbrough!😉 ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-those-drunks-think-theyre-kidding/199468/46 "2003-09-06T16:29:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zorro \* > \*\* every single child in Europe is exposed to people drinking alcohol every single day of their lives \*\* :eek: _Every single day?!_ ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-those-drunks-think-theyre-kidding/199468/47 "2003-09-06T23:52:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dogface \* > Second, drunks are not exactly terribly smart. Repeated and frequent self-administration of nerve toxins tends to reduce intelligence. Generalize much? > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by coffecat_ > You want to talk really strange, I checked the General Laws of Massachusetts and couldn’t find anything prohibiting public drinking, and we appear to have laws against fornication, selling condoms at the drugstore, and “contumeliously reproaching Jesus Christ,” for crying out loud. I think here the laws on drinking in public are handled by the towns. I’ve been told that in Boston it is now a $500 fine, although I’ve only ever seen them make everyone dump their beers out and recommend using cups instead of (non-brown-bag-covered) cans. And over here in Cambridge, they don’t even allow drinking outdoors at a restaurant with outdoor seating, except for Shay’s, for whatever reason. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-those-drunks-think-theyre-kidding/199468/48 "2003-09-07T00:16:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fizzygoodmakefeelnice \* > \*\*Drinking in public illegal in the UK? That would be horrible! > \*\* I think you mean 'orrible. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-those-drunks-think-theyre-kidding/199468/49 "2003-09-07T00:51:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dogface \* > \*\* Repeated and frequent self-administration of nerve toxins tends to reduce intelligence. \*\* Fah! Yersh te koptel ag. Bleargh ag twan! Pshew ern pah, fleckerd! ---
**Author:** ![Zorro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ad7895/32.png) [@Zorro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zorro)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2003, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-those-drunks-think-theyre-kidding/199468/50 "2003-09-08T12:02:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AngelicGemma \* > \*\*:eek: > > _Every single day?!_ \*\* Pretty much, yes: it’s not a proper meal without a glass of wine. And then of course there’s all the drinking in public, people sitting outside pubs or cafés, and the innumerable other booze consumption occasions. But it just isn’t a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2003, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-those-drunks-think-theyre-kidding/199468/51 "2003-09-08T19:44:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zorro \* > \*\*Pretty much, yes: it’s not a proper meal without a glass of wine. And then of course there’s all the drinking in public, people sitting outside pubs or cafés, and the innumerable other booze consumption occasions. > > But it just isn’t a big deal. \*\* I can only speak for myself, but I don’t see people drinking every day. I see it once a week when I’m in the pub, and with a meal if its a special occasion or we’re eating out, or at a party. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-those-drunks-think-theyre-kidding/199468/52 "2003-09-10T07:37:49Z")
“Only drink when you’re alone, or with somebody else…” ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-those-drunks-think-theyre-kidding/199468/53 "2003-09-10T12:28:44Z")
More and more local authorities in the UK are introducing public drinking bans within town centres. The bylaws allow the police to confiscate open drink containers in public areas. My town is one of many with a ban on street drinking within the town centre. Google for public drinking bylaw uk - there’s reference to a large number of towns and districts. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-those-drunks-think-theyre-kidding/199468/54 "2003-09-10T13:18:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tansu \* > **More and more local authorities in the UK are introducing public drinking bans within town centres. The bylaws allow the police to confiscate open drink containers in public areas.** So I wasn’t COMPLETLY wrong then. hurrah!😃 ---
**Author:** ![sultana\_of\_slash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@sultana\_of\_slash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sultana_of_slash)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-those-drunks-think-theyre-kidding/199468/55 "2003-09-10T17:59:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by township \* > \*\*Blue laws - the government tried outlawing liquor and it didn’t work, but in the South if we can’t stop you from drinking - we can, by god, legislate days/hours you can purchase liquor, bags to carry it in etc. > > Also, one reason for the brown paper bag when drinking beer is for the insulating qualities. Additionally, most drunks do not want to offend the sensibilities of the non-drunk, hence the bag. \*\* When I lived in Memphis, a sweet old lady rocking in her chair on the porch called out to me to stop so’s she could admire mah dawg. We chatted a few minutes, and she invited me in for a drink. I hesitated (nine years of New York training, don’t let strangers invite you inside their houses to get drunk) and she, misinterpreting it as religious qualms, let fly this gem: “Baptists don’t drink.” (nods head, pause) “-In public!” (gales of toothless laughter) Actually she did have teeth. I still didn’t go in for the drink. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-those-drunks-think-theyre-kidding/199468.md?page=2)