12th November: Happy Hour Day

10 things you might not know about Happy Hour:

1. Today is Happy Hour Day, say many websites; because, they say, the first happy hour took place on this date in 1745, at a pub in Ireland. However, none of them say which pub it was or any more information than that.
2. Other sources like Wikipedia say that happy hours didn't start in Ireland at all, but in the USA. The first happy hours were social events on US Navy ships during the first world war, where sailors could get together for a smoke.
3. Happy hours connected to alcohol started during the prohibition. People couldn't get a drink with their meal in a restaurant, so they'd go to a speakeasy for a few cocktails before dinner.
4. Happy hours are actually banned in 23 US states, including Massachusetts, Illinois, North Carolina and Utah.
5. Other states are more relaxed - Pennsylvania, for example, doubled the duration of happy hours from two to four hours in 2011, and in 2012, Kansas re-instated them after a 26 year ban.
6. Happy hours may have started in Ireland, but they have been illegal there since 2003.
7. The original meaning of "happy hour" was pleasant times, and as such has been around for centuries. Shakespeare used the term in King Henry V: "Therefore, my lords, omit no happy hour That may give furtherance to our expedition..."
8. You know you're getting old when "happy hour" means a nap.
9. Happy hour is an excuse to eliminate that little bit of Blood that made it into your alcohol stream today.
10. Happy Hour is a 1986 song by The Housemartins, which reached number 3 in the charts.