UK May Nix 'Happy Hour' to Curb Drink Deaths

Restaurants sober up as patrons drink earlier to save money

(NEWSER) - There’s a recession on, and that’s forcing drinkers everywhere to change their schedules. These days bars are filling up in the late afternoon, the Los Angeles Times reports, as patrons pinch pennies by slurping happy hour specials. “We don’t see a change in what people are drinking,” said the beverage director for one bar chain, “as much as the time they are drinking.” More»

British pub patron swings crazily at customers

(NEWSER) - An angry Brit has pleaded guilty to charging into a pub with a chainsaw after he was kicked out for smoking, the Daily Mail reports. Dean Dinnen, 24, swung the saw wildly at customers, slicing a tendon in one man and sending others scampering. Defending themselves with bar stools, patrons eventually subdued Dinnen, broke several of his ribs, and punctured one of his lungs before police showed up. More»

Laura Hall also swore at a cop

(NEWSER) - Note to Laura Hall: Once you’ve been banned from every bar in the United Kingdom, it’s probably not a good idea to drunkenly yell at a police officer that you “want to go to the f****** offie to buy some beer!” But that is what Hall did early Sunday, after being caught drinking in public and shouting in the street, and was subsequently arrested and fined almost $300. More»

Laura Wilson, 20, gets a 2-year timeout from booze

(USER SUBMITTED) - A 20-year-old woman is the first person ever banned from buying or drinking alcohol anywhere in England or Wales. The police issued Laura Hall a Drinking Banning Order, which prohibits her from entering bars, pubs, clubs, or other establishments that sell alcohol. If she does, she risks a $3,800 fine. Police say they're just trying to help. "We want to rehabilitate her rather than send her straight to jail, and hope the banning order will help Laura address her problems," said a police spokesman. Read the full article . More»

No drunk horseback riding in Colorado, and other weird rules

(NEWSER) - Growlers may be the new hipster trend , but good luck finding one in Alabama. Any beer bottle larger than 16 ounces is banned there, along with "sensuous" wine labels. That's just one of a dozen crazy liquor laws complied by Mother Jones :

• No sunrise mimosas in Alaska: you can't buy booze between 5am and 8am.
• Stay out of the driver's seat and the saddle if you've been imbibing in Colorado, where drunk horseback riding is illegal.