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The Old Thirteenth Cheshire Astley Volunteer Rifleman Corps Inn is a real tavern in Stalybridge, Cheshire, England. But it’s not the strangest name for a bar you’ll find in this gallery of ten at DJMick. Link -via Breakfast Links
Christine Sismondo, author of the new book America Walks into a Bar, explains how the local tavern contributed mightily to what America is today. In colonial times, it was a place for people to discuss anything as equals.
In taverns people could mix together: you see men drinking alongside the people they work for. Early laws fixed the price that tavern-keepers could charge for a drink, so they couldn’t cater to wealthy patrons. And once you add alcohol in there, it changes the way everyone relates to each other. You end up with accelerated relationships—and occasionally cantankerous ones. People become more willing to go out and raise hell over things that they might have let go when sober.
Labor and civil rights movements started or spread in taverns, which was one reason the powers-that-be wanted to shut them down at various times in history.
Laws shutting taverns on Sunday in the 1850s are the worst example, because they targeted immigrants. Taverns were the only recreational space they had access to and Sunday was the only day they had off. But city governments, especially in Chicago, wanted to stifle the machine politics of the immigrant taverns. During Prohibition, the chasm between working-class and respectable drinking places was even clearer—the law wasn’t enforced equally.
Get the rest of the story at Smithsonian. Link
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A tavern in Australia got a visit from what turned out to be a celebrity last weekend. Patrons took pictures and called friends to come over to see the koala who came in, presumably to get out of the rain.
Kevin Martin, who works at the Marlin Bar on Queensland’s Magnetic Island, was stunned a wild male koala wandered inside just after 8pm on Saturday.
“He sauntered up to the bar … I asked him for ID and he got all disgruntled … walked around the bar and then climbed up a pole and sulked,” Mr Martin said today.
“We have a big stuffed marlin on the roof and he just sat under the marlin in front of the speaker, listening to the music.
“He fell asleep.”
Rangers were called to take the koala back to his natural habitat. Magnetic Island is known for its large population of koalas. Link -via Fark
(Image credit: Flickr user Matt Hobbs)
Update: See a picture of the koala here.
Four men from West Bromwich, UK got bored with their local pub and decided to check out the competition. 24 years later, they’re still going:
The four men have just visited their 14,000th pub across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.
They have spent 24 years travelling to every corner of the country and have downed and estimated 84,000 pints of real ale, working out at 21,000 pints each.[...]
They started out determined to conquer the 250 pubs in Worcestershire and Herefordshire, but quickly revised their plans to a grander scale.
This week they called in at the Stags Leap, Rugeley, Staffs, their 14,000th pub. It also means they have now drunk in every pub across 11 English counties.
They entered the Guinness Book of Records for drinking in every English county, but remain determined to have a pint in every pub in every pub in the UK and Ireland.
Link via The Corner | Photo (unrelated) via Flickr user ell brown used under Creative Commons license
The Valencia Club in Penryn, California had been closed for a year when 29-year-old Travis Kevie helped himself to the business. He broke in and posted a sign that the bar was open. Kevie sold drinks for four days until a newspaper article mentioned that Valencia had re-opened, which interested county detective Jim Hudson.
Not only had Detective Hudson had previous run-ins with Kevie, he knew the Valencia Club’s liquor license had been surrendered.
When Detective Hudson went to the bar to investigate, he found it open for business and customers at the bar. Kevie quickly went from behind the bar to behind bars.
Kevie is being held on charges of selling liquor without a license and, of course, burglary. Link -via Arbroath
(Image credit: Ben Furtado/Auburn Journal)
When Stand Up Frank’s in Minneapolis closed it’s doors ealier this year, no one could foresee the undead rising in it’s place. Donny Dirk’s Zombie Den in Minneapolis is a zombie bar!
In the corner, a small chainsaw sits inside a glass case that reads “In case of zombie attack, break glass.” The bartenders all dress like Simon Pegg in “Shaun of the Dead” — white button-up, red tie and blood stains. The friendly female servers wear long black gowns. Again: This is a classy zombie joint.
No word on whether brains are on the menu. Link -via Pajiba
(image credit: Tom Wallace, Star Tribune)
Marcy of The Glamorous Life Association blog took this photo of a clever "Telephone Answering Charges" at the bar/restaurant called Schillings in Atlanta: Link – via Miss Cellania
