Some US states are now revising their happy hour bans

Massachusetts banned happy hour in 1984 during a surge in advocacy around preventing drunk driving

Massachusetts was the first US state to ban happy hours. The ban, which prohibits selling discounted drinks during designated times, occurred after a 20-year-old woman died in a drunken driving accident in Braintree, Massachusetts.

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.

The illegal happy hour map

Despite its origins as a US phenomenon, happy hours aren't welcome everywhere in the country. This resource includes a map that visualizes every American state's happy hour legislation, from the states with complete bans (like Massachusetts) to states that don't have any happy hour legislation at all.

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.

During Prohibition, 'happy hour' became the go-to term for illegally having a drink after work before heading to dinner

This article provides a timeline of happy hour’s shifting shape in US culture, from the first recorded happy hour on a US Naval ship to today’s happy hours that sometimes include non-alcoholic beverages. It also details how prohibition actually helped establish the tie between alcoholic beverages and happy hour.

Happy hour is banned in Ireland

For a country famous for drinking a lot of alcohol, it might seem surprising that happy hours are banned in Ireland. But that reputation is exactly why the country banned happy hours in the first place—a 2010 report found that alcohol use in Ireland had doubled between the 1970s and the early 2000s. Read this article to learn more.

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.

In 1639, Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony banned toasting

Like the Anglo-Saxons and the ancient Greeks before them, the American colonists tended to party when they got to toasting. That led to a 1639 law banning the practice, which they viewed as excessive and superstitious. Alcohol remained legal, but the hope was that banning toasting might reduce excessive drinking.

Virtually tour 10 of America's oldest bars

If you’re the type of person who hunts for authenticity in everything you do, then you probably spend a fair amount of time looking for the first and original. Why settle for any less in your bar choices? We dug through records, spoke with local historians and fact-checked promotional material to bring you the ultimate original bar list: The oldest bar in every state.

Total per capita US consumption of beer has dropped 30% since the 1980s

Between 2011 and 2021, AB InBev and MolsonCoors (two of the leading beer parent companies in the US) experienced a combined 17% drop in US market share. Budweiser parent company AB InBev has focused on premiumization and diversifying their product offerings in recent years to combat the losses.

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.

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

More than 130 nations have enacted bans or restrictions on plastic items

Several US states have enacted similar restrictions on plastic bags, straws, food containers, and other single-use plastics, while others have prohibited plastic bans. Despite this, California’s plastic bag ban cut usage by more than 70%, showing the potential of these policies.

The 21st Amendment was the only amendment to repeal another

The 1933 constitutional amendment rolled back 1920's 18th Amendment, better known as Prohibition, which outlawed "the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors."

16 states impose term limits on their legislatures

As of 2025, 16 states limit how long lawmakers can serve, usually capping tenure at eight to 12 years in one chamber or across both chambers combined. Most of these limits stem from a 1990s reform wave aimed at curbing career politicians.

Read why some states are considering imposing a flat tax rate that isn't adjusted by income

Wisconsin was the first US state to impose a state income tax, close in time to when the federal income tax went into effect. Many states followed suit, but nine states to this day still don't levy wage-related taxes.

Nearly 9 in 10 Americans were annoyed by tipping as of 2025

That’s a sharp increase from the 75% who thought tipping culture had gone too far in 2024. One potential culprit? The proliferation of tipping screens in places outside sit-down restaurants, such as coffee shops and hair salon. Three in 10 Americans say they give less when presented with tipping screens.

Revolutionary ideas were brewed in 18th-century coffeehouses

After the Boston Tea Party (1773), colonists boycotted tea and turned to coffee, with coffeehouses becoming hubs for revolutionary discussions. The stimulating import from the Caribbean helped shape the nascent American taste.

Cocktails now increasingly feature strange ingredients like bacon fat

Cocktail mixology has evolved in recent decades, shifting from a revival and reimagining of old favorites to pure experimentation. Where drinks were at one time anchored by a long-established favorite, now drink menus can feel incomprehensible to the average drinker, and little to indicate what the ultimate flavor profile of the libation will be.

How America became a nation of gamblers

For thousands of years, humans have liked to gamble. What started as dice games and betting on chariot races became a way for states to generate revenue here in America. This article explores how states have been using gambling to pay for infrastructure and capital projects–and the cost it’s had on the citizens.

Health food broke into the mainstream by the 1980s

A 1984 New York Times story noted that Americans were eating less red meat than a decade prior, and that, in general, the country was “talking, thinking and worrying about what they eat to a degree unique in the nation's history.” The feature then details foods that were then considered bizarre: whole-grain muffins, hummus, and a variety of vegetarian dishes. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Daylight saving time, explained

Daylight saving time is supposed to help—but does it? Dive into the history, science, and consequences of this biannual aspect of American life (unless you're from Arizona or Hawaii).

Move over gene editing, scientists can edit your epigenome

Instead of deleting genes, epigenetic editing modulates their activity. A new paper tests if it’s able to undo a genetic effect of early alcohol exposure.

Read about why bans on short selling are a controversial policy

Generally, short selling is legal, but regulations often restrict short positions when a stock has experienced a sharp price decline (more than 10% in one day). However, negative feedback loops in times of financial crisis have given short selling a bad reputation. The government has temporarily banned short selling during previous market downturns—like The Great Recession of 2008 and the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic—but experts argue whether those bans actually improved market stability or just distorted prices.

How congestion pricing is trying to fix downtowns

Billions of gallons of gas are wasted each year as US drivers sit in traffic losing billions of hours of time. The congestion problems big downtowns face has led to innovative interventions to try to stop the traffic, including congestion pricing, a...

The US Constitution has been amended 27 different times since its ratification

Dive deeper into each amendment to the Constitution with resources provided by the National Constitution Center. This website features podcasts, videos, and other web resources for each of the amendments, examining their creation and their impact on today’s political and social landscape.

Critics say that the Electoral College is outdated and favors small states

This article argues that the Electoral College no longer reflects modern democratic norms, disproportionately advantages smaller states, and warrants broader reform and national debate. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

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.

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

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

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

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

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.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

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

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

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.

Mark Twain spent decades feuding with the US Postal Service, convinced its costs and regulations were bureaucratic overreach.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

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.

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

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.