Drinking is serious business in the United States. One state in particular — Michigan — takes it so seriously that it has a legal statute prohibiting drinking establishment from advertising “pints” of beer unless they’re properly serving a full 16-ounces of the delicious, malty, hoppy beverage. In fact, beer drinkers can even file a complaint if they find out that they’re not being served the full amount!
Believe it or not, that’s only one of the U.S.’s crazy, drinking laws! Here are a few others our legislative history research was able to dig up.
Kentucky Might Make the Best Bourbon, But It Can’t Drink It.
Kentucky is the world-famous home of bourbon, and every year, tourists swarm the southern state to see the historic distilleries — but not drink there? Ironically enough, many of the counties in which famous distilleries are situated are actually dry, which means that they have legal statutes prohibiting people from drinking alcohol.
Drinks Must Be Drunk, But Not Seen in Utah.
In Utah, there is a legal statute requiring drinks be poured behind a “zion curtain,” which is typically just a pane of frosted glasses. Considering the heavy Mormon influence in Utah, the legal statute should come with little surprise, as its legislative intent is to keep alcohol out of sight from non-drinkers lest it tempt them and teens when dining at a restaurant.
Massachusetts Cannot Have Happy Hours, Because It Would Lose Too Much Money.
Massachusetts has banned restaurants from offering happy hours where booze is concerned, because if they were to, the state economy would wind up losing about exorbitant amounts of money. In fact, Boston alone would lose $1,309,788 per hour of discounted beer!
If your own law research was able to dig up any other weird legal statutes that you might feel like sharing, feel free to leave them in the comments. More research here.
