The History of Happy Hour

Happy Hour at any restaurant is the best. Think about it, not only do you get a discount on your favorite drinks but also on apps? And happy hour is typically early enough in the evening so you still have time to go home, do your skincare routine, and watch your shows. But have you ever wondered where the term happy hour came from? To be honest, we absolutely had not until we were binging Bar Rescue for no apparent reason, and we found the history behind it to be pretty cool, so let’s get into it! 

(image via: vintage everyday

In short, we can thank the Navy for the fun and happenin’ name, but we have Prohibition to tip our hats to for incorporating alcohol sales with the name. Yes, we see the irony, but bear with us. 

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The term “happy hour” was actually a slang term used in the Navy during the 1910s and at this time happy hour had absolutely nothing to do with alcohol. In fact, during happy hour was when sailors could take part in fun activities to avoid the mundaneness of being on a ship day in and day out. These activities included live music, movies, boxing, dancing, pretty much anything that could liven up the crowd on a ship. 

(image via: we are the mighty

Fast-forward a few years to the Prohibition Era which took place throughout the 1920s and 1930s; during this time the making, selling, and consumption of alcohol were illegal. And as most of us know, this just didn’t sit right with people, so eventually speakeasies, or secret nightclubs or liquor stores, came to be. These underground clubs often required you to know someone who knew someone who knew the password to enter and it wasn’t uncommon for these places to get raided by law enforcement if word got out, and as you can imagine, a lot of shady things happened in speakeasies. (Xanax) However, we do have them to thank for inventing happy hour as we know it today because happy hour then referred to consuming a little drinky before heading to dinner, whether that happened at someone’s house or a speakeasy. 

The term happy hour stuck long after Prohibition and in the 1960s restaurants and bars wanted to encourage patrons to enjoy happy hour at their locations and to do this they began offering drink and food discounts. Unfortunately, some people took happy hour a bit too far which eventually led to happy hour being outlawed in a few states. (So drink responsibly!)

(image via: vintage everyday)

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