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The US has such a weird attitude towards alcohol. In my day at Oxford every college had a bar worked by the students. I don't remember if ours was open every e

by throwaway22032 4y ago

The US has such a weird attitude towards alcohol. In my day at Oxford every college had a bar worked by the students. I don't remember if ours was open every evening but it felt often enough.

pessimizer 4y ago
The UK is a heavily binge drinking and alcoholic country: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20151102-why-do-the-british-drink-so-much https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20151102-why-do-the-briti... > I discovered that 2004 was Peak Booze: the year when Brits drank more than they had done for a century, and more than they have done in the decade since. Leading the way to this alcoholic apogee were those of us born around 1980. No other generation drank so much in their early 20s. Why us? > Everyone in alcohol research knows the graph. It plots the change in annual consumption of alcohol in the UK, calculated in litres of pure alcohol per person. (None of us drinks pure alcohol, thankfully; one litre of pure alcohol is equivalent to 35 pints of strong beer.) In 1950, Brits drank an average of 3.9 litres per person. Look to the right and at first the line barely rises. Then, in 1960, it begins to creep upward. The climb becomes steadier during the 1970s. The upward trajectory ends in 1980, but that turns out to be temporary. By the late 1990s consumption is rising rapidly again. > Come Peak Booze, in 2004, we were drinking 9.5 litres of alcohol per person – the equivalent of more than 100 bottles of wine – each year.
- Gordonjcp 4y ago
  That's not really true, though. You can't really consider an article on a "National Enquirer"-type website to be a solid source of factual information.
- frant-hartm 4y ago
  As someone who comes from central Europe and lived in UK for a few years I say this - UK is not particularly alcoholic. It's the drinking culture which is terrible and I think it's due to 2 facts: - pubs close early - if you want a pub open longer than till 11 pm you need a more expensive license. I was told it's a remnant of a WWII policy when they needed workers ready in the morning to work in factories. Anyway the places which stay oper are more expensive. This encourages binge drinking. If you drink 8 lagers in 2 hours because the club you go to afterwards is twice as expensive you get pretty drunk. If you spaced it out between 9 pm and 4 am you would be fine. - very strict enforcement of no alcohol till 18. When the teens turn 18 and get access to alcohol they get shitfaced. I started drinking at home or at pubs at 15 and I learned how much I can safely drink. It also took off the forbidden fruit badge. Try any UK high street on Friday 11 pm, there UK doesn't seem to have bright future :-)
  - alephnerd 4y ago
    Agree with you on that! UK's drinking culture seemed extremely toxic. I've been to London several times for work and meeting extended family, and socializing almost always seemed to heavily revolve around alcohol there - let's go to the pub nearby for a couple pints, oh it's 3pm at this trade show let's start serving hard liquor and beer, fellow 20somethings entire free time spent while clubbing or over boozy brunches. As a San Franciscan that's honestly insane - people I chat with talk more about which raves or ski slopes or state parks they're gunna check out and maybe have 1 strong IPA beer or some Soju and then call it a night.
bart_spoon 4y ago
I think it’s the opposite. Alcohol is one of the most destructive forces in our modern society and we mostly all accept it very casually because a huge proportion of is are in denial about our personal addiction.

The US has such a weird attitude towards alcohol. In my day at Oxford every college had a bar worked by the students. I don't remember if ours was open every evening but it felt often enough.

pessimizer 4y ago

The UK is a heavily binge drinking and alcoholic country: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20151102-why-do-the-british-drink-so-much https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20151102-why-do-the-briti... > I discovered that 2004 was Peak Booze: the year when Brits drank more than they had done for a century, and more than they have done in the decade since. Leading the way to this alcoholic apogee were those of us born around 1980. No other generation drank so much in their early 20s. Why us? > Everyone in alcohol research knows the graph. It plots the change in annual consumption of alcohol in the UK, calculated in litres of pure alcohol per person. (None of us drinks pure alcohol, thankfully; one litre of pure alcohol is equivalent to 35 pints of strong beer.) In 1950, Brits drank an average of 3.9 litres per person. Look to the right and at first the line barely rises. Then, in 1960, it begins to creep upward. The climb becomes steadier during the 1970s. The upward trajectory ends in 1980, but that turns out to be temporary. By the late 1990s consumption is rising rapidly again. > Come Peak Booze, in 2004, we were drinking 9.5 litres of alcohol per person – the equivalent of more than 100 bottles of wine – each year.

Gordonjcp 4y ago
That's not really true, though. You can't really consider an article on a "National Enquirer"-type website to be a solid source of factual information.
frant-hartm 4y ago
As someone who comes from central Europe and lived in UK for a few years I say this - UK is not particularly alcoholic. It's the drinking culture which is terrible and I think it's due to 2 facts: - pubs close early - if you want a pub open longer than till 11 pm you need a more expensive license. I was told it's a remnant of a WWII policy when they needed workers ready in the morning to work in factories. Anyway the places which stay oper are more expensive. This encourages binge drinking. If you drink 8 lagers in 2 hours because the club you go to afterwards is twice as expensive you get pretty drunk. If you spaced it out between 9 pm and 4 am you would be fine. - very strict enforcement of no alcohol till 18. When the teens turn 18 and get access to alcohol they get shitfaced. I started drinking at home or at pubs at 15 and I learned how much I can safely drink. It also took off the forbidden fruit badge. Try any UK high street on Friday 11 pm, there UK doesn't seem to have bright future :-)
- alephnerd 4y ago
  Agree with you on that! UK's drinking culture seemed extremely toxic. I've been to London several times for work and meeting extended family, and socializing almost always seemed to heavily revolve around alcohol there - let's go to the pub nearby for a couple pints, oh it's 3pm at this trade show let's start serving hard liquor and beer, fellow 20somethings entire free time spent while clubbing or over boozy brunches. As a San Franciscan that's honestly insane - people I chat with talk more about which raves or ski slopes or state parks they're gunna check out and maybe have 1 strong IPA beer or some Soju and then call it a night.

bart_spoon 4y ago

I think it’s the opposite. Alcohol is one of the most destructive forces in our modern society and we mostly all accept it very casually because a huge proportion of is are in denial about our personal addiction.