Happy hour is banned in Ireland

Some US states are now revising their happy hour bans

While states like Massachusetts started banning happy hour in the 1980s as an anti-overconsumption measure, not every state has kept these bans intact. This article dives into the arguments for and against revising the happy hour ban in Massachusetts, the first state to institute such a ban.

Despite originating in America, happy hour isn’t allowed in every state

States including Vermont, Massachusetts, and Utah started banning the discount drinking practice after anti-drunk driving advocacy entered the mainstream. This article has more details about happy hour bans across the United States.

Illinois rolled back its happy hour legislation in 2015, opting to cap reduced-price drink sales at 15 hours per week and prohibit them after 10 pm instead

In this episode of the podcast “The Right to Drink,” alcohol expert and host Jarrett Dieterle explains why some states allow happy hour while others don’t. The host also dives into the fight to change happy hour legislation across the US.

In the 1960s, eateries started using discounted drinks (and sometimes food) as a marketing tactic to make money during off-peak hours

Today, we know happy hours as a time where bars and restaurants offer discounted alcoholic beverages (and sometimes even food or non-alcoholic drinks) in order to attract customers during off-peak hours. But originally, the term “happy hour” didn’t involve alcohol at all.

Five happy hour stories from around the world

If you need some fun facts to make conversation at your next office happy hour, look no further than this video. It includes five stories about pub life, from a look inside a company that turns tap handles into works of art to a search for the oldest pub in the world.

Explore why Americans are drinking less alcohol

US alcohol consumption fell 5% in 2025, with beer and wine leading the decline. Economists point to tighter budgets and less face-to-face socializing overall, while younger Americans are increasingly choosing not to drink.

The company building Irish pubs across the globe

The Irish Pub Company is a Dublin-based business specializing in designing Irish pubs around the world. The outfit has created over 2,000 custom Irish pubs in over 100 countries, each with its own distinctive flair incorporating essential features of the classic Irish pub. Read about the founders and their clients here.

The Irish 'sláinte!' spread outside the country thanks to immigration

The toast has spread globally because of the waves of Irish immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries. It’s not uncommon to find an Irish pub outside of Ireland, and if you step inside, you’re lucky to hear someone offer a hearty “sláinte!”

How the federal income tax affected Prohibition

In the early 1900s, 30% to 40% of government tax revenue came from liquor, wine, and beer, a reliance that made Prohibition seem like a fiscal impossibility. But the passage of the federal income tax in 1913 changed the calculus, which helped allow the government to ban alcohol production and sales.

Why Guinness stopped giving these world records

It's all fun until someone gets hurt. Here's an explainer on why Guinness, the world's official purveyor of superlative records, won't officiate certain events.

How alcohol rewires your brain

Alcohol doesn't just make you tipsy—it rewires your brain chemistry in real time. It slows your brain with GABA, spikes dopamine to make you feel unstoppable, and blocks glutamate so you can't form memories. That mix explains everything from slurred speech to blackouts … and brutal hangovers.

Alcohol often accompanies memorial ceremonies around the world

“Pouring one out” for the dead is something that exists across the globe, in various cultures and forms. From the Irish wake to the Korean Sangnye, alcohol is frequently used as a way to honor the deceased and comfort the living.

Hear why the IRS has been a frequent victim of arson

This podcast episode takes a lighthearted dive into the history of the IRS, from when the agency was founded and called the Bureau of Internal Revenue, to that one time it had to enforce a national ban on alcohol.

The International Olympic Committee banned ibogaine decades ago

Beyond use by athletes as a stimulant before the ban, the drug has a long history. The psychoactive substance was also mass produced in the mid-20th century by a French pharmaceutical company as a product called Lambarène, which was marketed as a cure for conditions including depression and lethargy. Production halted in 1966, however, when ibogaine-containing products became illegal in France.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

Sweden's coffee breaks are protected by law, and thought to increase worker happiness

Coffee breaks in Sweden, called "fika," are an important social ritual. Introduced in workplaces in the 1900s, many Swedish firms today have mandatory fika breaks. The relaxation is thought to also boost joy and productivity for employees, while also reducing stress levels.

Horses can—and sometimes should—drink beer

Despite its reputation, beer is a good source of nutrition. In fact, it's a fairly common practice for horse owners to give beer to their horses. Beer is rich in skin-healing B vitamins, gut-stabilizing yeast, and hydration-encouraging barley. Plus, horse livers come prepared with special enzymes that break down alcohol, making inebriation nearly impossible.

'A Modest Proposal' is one of history's most notorious satires

Jonathan Swift’s 1729 essay suggested that the starving Irish could stave off poverty by selling their children as food. Although it’s funny—albeit rather dark in form—it’s a classic example of Juvenalian satire, as it so pointedly criticizes the indifference of English elites.

Watch the 'Riverdance' performance from Eurovision 1994

The Irish step dance show didn't compete in Eurovision, but it did perform as an "Interval Act" during the 1994 broadcast while votes were being tallied, earning a standing ovation. The next year, it premiered in Dublin as a stage show and continues touring the globe today.

Things to avoid doing in Barcelona

Everyone gets told about the places they should visit, the food they should try, and the activities they should do. But what about the things one shouldn’t do? Here’s that list. The authors are journalists and tour guides in Barcelona, so you can suspect they know what they’re talking about when they say “Don’t treat tapas like fast food.”

Muslims fasting in Iceland face more than 20 hours of daylight during summer Ramadan

In countries near the Arctic Circle, Ramadan's rule of fasting from sunrise to sunset can cause some unique challenges for the extended periods of daylight in the region. Icelandic Muslims have developed pragmatic workarounds—some follow the hours of Mecca, others adjust locally. It's an edge case that illuminates how a 7th-century practice gets negotiated across radically different geographies.

From 1989 to 2022, Anheuser-Busch had exclusive alcohol ad rights to the Super Bowl

That meant if an alcohol company was not owned by Anheuser-Busch (and later after the merger, AB InBev), it could not advertise during the Super Bowl. This monopoly was part of how Budweiser became known for its Clydesdale Super Bowl ads.

Investment banking jobs are famous for their long hours

Although some banks report attempts to cap hours for junior employees at 80 hours per week, these employees often continue working many more hours than that. Goldman Sachs analysts, for instance, went viral back in 2021 when they put together a PowerPoint deck complaining of 100-hour work weeks and mental health struggles.

After her arrest, a technicality made it harder for Holiday to perform

The Cabaret Identification Card was required for all performers in New York nightclubs that served liquor. After her arrest and yearlong imprisonment, the New York Police Department revoked Billie Holiday's card, making it extremely difficult for her to earn money. The video features contemporary jazz musician Christian McBride breaking down the history of cabaret cards and how the ban affected Holiday.

In 1910, riots swept Champagne over unfairness in the winemaking industry

The French are well known for protesting, and their winegrowers are no exception. After years of disastrous harvests caused by bad weather, disease, and deceptive practices by large Champagne houses, smaller vintners fought back.

Halloween originated with the Celtic festival of Samhain

Halloween, a holiday primarily popular in the US and Canada, originated 2,000 years ago with the Celtic people. The Celts interpreted this transition as when ghosts returned to the land of the living, leading to rituals like feasts, bonfires, and wearing costumes made of animal body parts on Oct. 31.

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.