One of the best parts of watching Mad Men is the perfectly recreated world of 1960s New York. Who doesn’t wish they could simply step into their tvs for a moment and experience the romance of sipping a cocktail in an elegant 60s bar? Guest of a Guest put together a list of Mad Men inspired locales, consisting of places that have been around since the 1960s as well as their modern counterparts. Here’s everything you need to know to dress, drink, eat, and live like a character out of Mad Men.
posted by netbros on Oct 30, 2009 - 49 comments

Women write about sex and drinking:
Drunk on You: Alcohol Disinhibits, But At What Cost? by A.V. Flox
Being Drunk Makes Everything OK by Amanda Mosner
I've only had sex drunk: how do you have good sex sober? by Heather Corinna
Do you need to be drunk to have sex? by Julia Macmillan
Do women need to get drunk to have sex? by Mary Elizabeth Williams
Why women need a drink before sex by Liz Hoggard
posted by ocherdraco on Oct 1, 2009 - 65 comments

Ever wonder how the people on Mad Men make it through the work day while drinking so much? The women of Slate spin-off The XX Factor gave it a go, and documented the results. You can listen to their Political Gabfest podcast with a "pie-eyed" Emily Bazelon here. This topic was discussed recently in AskMe.
posted by mkultra on Oct 1, 2009 - 98 comments

The 'Zion Curtain' has fallen. [more inside]
posted by mudpuppie on May 15, 2009 - 114 comments

In 1977, Nolan Bushnell allowed Gene Landrum to bring Chuck E. Cheese [yt] to life as a family-friendly access point to Atari games. This, perhaps, explains the pizza. [more inside]
posted by batmonkey on Dec 31, 2008 - 17 comments

A retro set of cocktail napkins showing Eisenhower-era damsels and drunkards, with captions by The Bard. via
posted by Rumple on Dec 29, 2008 - 19 comments

On 5 December 1933, 75 years ago today, Utah became the 36th state to ratify the Twenty-First Amendment of the United States Constitution, signalling the end of the Prohibition era.
posted by HaloMan on Dec 5, 2008 - 32 comments

Now that the presidential debate is back on, it's time to prepare by selecting the most appropriate drinking game for tonight's debate. [more inside]
posted by nitsuj on Sep 26, 2008 - 607 comments

A group of 100 college presidents has come together to state that the 21 year-old drinking age is not working, and, specifically, that it has created a culture of dangerous binge drinking on their campuses. They want to encourage a dialogue about lowering the drinking age. They face opposition from Mothers Against Drunk Driving and from other college presidents, who accuse them of 'not wanting to deal with the problem'.
posted by showbiz_liz on Aug 19, 2008 - 169 comments

I know what you're thinking: "What if I attached a faucet to a watermelon and filled it with spiked watermelon juice so party guests could serve themselves right from the melon?"
posted by mr_crash_davis on May 28, 2008 - 65 comments

"It is binge drinking. We don't see people who've had just two drinks. People have had 20 shots of vodka." In central London, "Alternative Response Vehicle - or Booze Bus, as it's more commonly known - draw on their reserves of composure, ingenuity and stoicism to treat more than 20 dazed drunks," over the course of a 12-hour shift. [more inside]
posted by geoff. on Dec 18, 2007 - 48 comments

"Significantly, the percentage of monkeys and humans who avoid alcohol is the same." [YouTube]
posted by finite on Dec 10, 2007 - 28 comments

NBC is once again dipping its toe into the waters of liquor advertising. Although liquor ads have been running on cable since 1996 their presence on broadcast TV remains controversial, due to the presumed influence of alcohol ads on underage drinking . However, at least one expert disagrees. Previous discussion.
posted by DiscourseMarker on Nov 30, 2007 - 15 comments

You might have thought a six month hangover was bad enough but now in 'binge-drink Britain' there's a reported rise in 'exploding bladders'... safe for work but you might want to read it with your legs crossed. Or a least spend a penny first.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Nov 20, 2007 - 24 comments

Alcohol at Son's 16th Gets 27-Month Sentence.
posted by anitanita on Jun 8, 2007 - 158 comments

Your beer pong game sucks.
posted by sluglicker on Apr 25, 2007 - 44 comments

Edward 40hands. No, not Edward Scissorhands, Edward 40hands. That's right, I said Edward 40hands. An interview with Edward 40hands. (you tube, NSFW, swearing) One difficulty in becoming Edward 40hands. (you tube, NSFW, bathroom humor) The Edwina 40hands Beauty Contest.(you tube) A Modest Proposal. Certainly, the future of our civilization is in sure and (sort of) steady hands. I have to pee.(google video)(pee humor)
posted by pyramid termite on Feb 17, 2007 - 25 comments

Washington State Legislature to Allow Dogs in Bars. And some people are just not happy about it. Dogs in bars. What's the big deal? Is it a health issue? In more civilized places, like Paris, they have been doing it for years - plague free.
posted by tkchrist on Feb 4, 2007 - 129 comments

MADD has an interesting new ad campaign out that uses something a lot of designers tend to forget about when putting together a poster: the paper it's printed on.
posted by dead_ on Oct 12, 2006 - 63 comments

... the eighth young man since 1997 was found dead in the Mississippi River in the La Crosse [Wisconsin] area on Monday.
posted by anjamu on Oct 2, 2006 - 37 comments

Tiki: How sex, rum, World War II, and the brand-new state of Hawaii ignited a fad that has never quite ended. (via)
posted by Otis on Sep 22, 2006 - 22 comments

The iBar (Interactive Bar). YouTube link.
posted by fandango_matt on Aug 18, 2006 - 21 comments

I'm Just Drinking is Paul Kahn's attempt at making a bartending guide to webcomics. Here you'll learn how to make any one of several Penny Arcade themes drinks, a Diesel Sweetie, a VG_Cats and my personal favorite, a Something Positive (whose latest comic is how I came across this project).
posted by Effigy2000 on Jul 19, 2006 - 11 comments

Is Cinco De Mayo For Sale By the Alcohol Industry? In the 1960s, Chicano activists in Colorado promoted a boycott of Coors beer in response to employment discrimination against Latinos at Coors breweries. Coors had two problems. They had to fix their image with Latino consumers, and they had to figure out some way to get college students to drink more beer in May. The solution: start sponsoring Cinco de Mayo! Thus, even though Mexicans in Mexico celebrate their independence day on September 15th and 16th, Mexican-Americans are more likely to celebrate the May 5th anniversary of the Battle of the Puebla, which is not even commemorated with a national holiday in Mexico. In fact, the Battle of the Puebla was a skirmish in the Pastry War, a French intervention in Mexico that began because a French chef demanded several thousand pesos to compensate him for Mexican military officers looting his pastry supply.
posted by jonp72 on May 5, 2006 - 44 comments

A vessel to fill with mirth. Drinking vessels from days of yore, including Lord Byron's skull cup, a fuddling cup, a black jack (leather cup), a pot crown ( a precursor to the beer helmet?), and a whistle cup. The site contains lots of other wine history as well. Ah, but they didn't have lover's cups back then. (via Cynical-C)
posted by caddis on Mar 24, 2006 - 5 comments

A strange ritual is played out in Choupic, Louisiana on Mardi Gras day. Something similar happens in Prague on Easter Monday too. [via]
posted by tellurian on Mar 2, 2006 - 13 comments

State of the Union Drinking Game Its that time of year again, and it seems to get bigger (and more partisan) each time. Now Kos has one, as does Arianna Huffington. Here's another, and another.(previous)
posted by ChasFile on Jan 31, 2006 - 196 comments

ExtraTasty, Please Hope Me! I'm throwing a party, but I've little more than vodka, a marshmallow and some cocoa. No problem! The idea is simple enough. Search by tags, by beverages or just enter the current contents of your bar to discover user-submitted combinations and cocktails. The offerings are a little paltry right now (only three entries for vermouth?), but I'm confident that further exposure to the right crowd will result in a massive alcoholic corpus not seen since the Potent Potables section of The Library At Alexandria fell into ruin. (A new idea from the people who brought you Threadless T-shirts.)
posted by grabbingsand on Jan 4, 2006 - 23 comments

AAA of Northern California will give you a ride home, and tow your car for free tonight. Good in Norcal, Utah and Nevada. Have a safe one all.
posted by bitdamaged on Dec 31, 2005 - 20 comments

On-On! I had never heard of the Hash House Harriers ("the drinking club with a running problem") until a friend clued me in. Now I don't know how I had missed them! They're certainly very visible -- and audible. Here's how it works. Their origins are in the British expat community in Kuala Lumpur, but nowadays they are everywhere!
One of their key ingredients is a bit problematic in this post-9/11 world, but they are adaptable.
posted by gurple on May 27, 2005 - 15 comments

M. Scott Peck: I'm a prophet, not a saint M. Scott Peck, author of the ultimate self-help manual, has Parkinson’s and his wife of 43 years has walked out. Interesting profile of M. Scott Peck, the best-selling self-help author who preached self-discipline and delayed gratification despite being a smoker, a drinker, and an adulterer. Via Bookslut. (Possibly nsfw drawing of nude woman.)
posted by callmejay on May 11, 2005 - 18 comments

Alcohol and the State of the Union. The most painless - or painful - way to get through the State of the Union address. I know, it was briefly discussed two years ago, but I thought we could all use a refresher. Hey, I clicked on that link and ended up playing the game. It was much more fun than undiluted politics. This one is harder, you have to wear costumes; and last years is a little better written, but just not as concise and to the point. Cheers!
posted by mygothlaundry on Feb 2, 2005 - 26 comments

NYC man pledges to visit 1000 bars in 2005. That's an average of about three per day, and as of yesterday he was already up to 135. Pray for his liver.
posted by mathowie on Jan 31, 2005 - 32 comments

Hello to you, my name is Liquor Control Bee (wav). Meet L.C. Bee -- his songs are sure to keep your kids uncrunked. Part of an elite cabal of juvenile moralizers, L.C. Bee is currently collaborating on an album with Daren the D.A.R.E lion (WAV). These kids today, you know.
posted by yonation on Jan 29, 2005 - 28 comments

Idiotarod. The Iditarod is the famous long-distance race in which yelping dogs tow a sled across Alaska. Our Idiotarod is pretty much the same thing, except that instead of dogs, it's people, instead of sleds, it's shopping carts, and instead of Alaska it's New York City.
posted by thanatogenous on Jan 20, 2005 - 12 comments

Shot In Our Name. Seattle's arts weekly The Stranger graphically expresses popular sentiment this day in urban America.
posted by newton on Jan 20, 2005 - 18 comments

"Not My Head!" Drinking games based on movies or television shows are legion, but surely the most epic, erudite, witty, and hangover-inducing is "Not My Head": the "I, Claudius Drinking Game"! Whether or not you've ever seen the 13 part BBC series on which it's based, the rules are quite simple—and since every episode contains plenty of banishments, poisonings, and orgies, you can be sure you'll be working through those bottles of red wine pretty quickly. Dress as your favorite character for extra debauched realness - and remember, you can't tell the players without a scorecard! (Especially when you're drunk.)
posted by contraposto on Dec 27, 2004 - 22 comments

Speaking Of weight loss and exercise... Those who like their booze also like their nicotine. People who drink to excess also tend to be chronic smokers, and a new report suggests the combination of the two might prove more toxic than either one alone. a small study found chronic smoking + alcohol dependence = increased severity of brain damage. The frontal lobes (short-term storage sites) turn out to be the most damaged. A separate study used rats to show that alcoholism and excessive food intake may share the same chemical pathways in the brain. Forbes has the HealthDayNews report that focuses mainly on the smokes, MSNBC looks more at the eats. They also have an interesting Addictions Sections. Could it be that some folks are just prone to addictions and everyone settles on something different?
posted by Blake on Dec 17, 2004 - 21 comments

The Anti-Booty Call Cell Phone
Because good judgment, heavy intoxication and raging libidos rarely go hand in hand, a new phone from Virgin will allow you to selectively "turn off" phone numbers you might be likely to dial while in a drunken and horny stupor. Thus saving you the embarrassment of calling your ex and instead sending you over to her place because you think her phone's busted.

On second thought, maybe this phone isn't such a great idea.
posted by fenriq on Nov 30, 2004 - 22 comments

Two Writers Drinking, Sitting Around, Talking About Stuff. That about says it! Two online veterans get drunk and exchange e-mails. (An ongoing series. The above link is part one. Part two is here, and part three can be found right here). (Via Maud)
posted by braun_richard on Aug 22, 2004 - 4 comments

The Dittohead Guide To Adult Beverages can be read in its entirety (abt. 250Kb) on the Web. (For those of you in Rio Linda, a dittohead is a Rush Limbaugh fan.) But Britt Gillette has also self-published his book and wants you to make his dreams come true by buying it on Amazon. It's got hilarious drink names in it, like "Caller Abortion" (a stunt Limbaugh used on his show -- complete with the sound of a vacuum cleaner), "Feminazi Frazzle," and "John F-ing Kerry." The recipes look like they'd make tasty drinks, but I think I'll pass on the purchase. Who really needs a novelty, right-wing drink recipe book?
posted by tbc on Aug 13, 2004 - 12 comments

The AWOL Machine - a new way to party. Just incase you have trouble getting drunk.
posted by Jimbob on Jul 14, 2004 - 12 comments

Sometimes bars give you a free beer on election night after you come in and show proof that you have voted. If you're wondering whether your local watering hole will be awarding your civic duty, check out Election Night Drink Specials. Exercise your rights in this democracy, increase voter turnout, and get drunk for free. It's projects like these that make me proud to be an American.
posted by mathowie on Jul 5, 2004 - 25 comments

From all over the media has recently attacked us
'bout the hangover cure made from extract of cactus
Taken hours before drinking, may ward off the curse...
...but only Charles Osgood has reported in verse.
posted by britain on Jun 30, 2004 - 4 comments

It's time to send the team home: "England has bred a contemporary culture of immoderation at every level, with particular reference to drinking and fighting. The recent Panorama programme on weekend binge-drinking in city centres provided a wake-up call, as should the novelist Andrew O'Hagan's admirable essay on current British attitudes to masculinity, reprinted in yesterday's G2." (via The Guardian)
posted by n o i s e s on Jun 17, 2004 - 27 comments

HOLY GRAIL FOUND AT LAST. In Yorkshire, amongst sheep. Tastes pretty good.
posted by Shane on May 10, 2004 - 11 comments

There are numerous reasons proffered to drink juice. It's easier to drink a small serving of juice than to eat a large serving of fruits and vegetables; that much is intuitive. An oft-plagiarized article claims that juicing frees nutrients that otherwise could not be absorbed, cites 1940s research that chlorophyll can aid in hemoglobin synthesis, and claims that 1 cup of carrot juice has the nutritional content of 4 cups of chopped carrots (although cranking the numbers [pdf] gives an answer closer to 2 cups.) Skeptics argue that much of this talk is hype, correctly noting that juice is not a miracle disease cure as some hucksters claim, and that by juicing you are discarding beneficial fiber. But absurd juicing claims aside, is there any reason needed beyond the great taste? [more inside]
posted by quarantine on Apr 19, 2004 - 18 comments

Nice Whisk(e)y: Shame About The Size! Behold a wonderful, almost infinitely explorable repository of miniature bottles of whisk(e)y; a Japanese one-guy Smithsonian that's quite probably the only resort for those looking for labels of ancient and/or abandoned delights. American straight whiskey fanatics (like me) will be specially surprised. Worth exploring, though exploration isn't easy: it's full of unexpected riches, but never easily had. [Previously offered in the course of a classic languagehat post.]
posted by MiguelCardoso on Mar 10, 2004 - 9 comments

How much alcohol have YOU consumed in your life? Take the "drink-o-meter" test. (Flash) I rated a "Homer Simpson", which means I could fill a few bathtubs, but haven't quite spent the Ferrari money. Something tells me that many of MeFi's finest will bury my score...via the Sporting Press.
posted by vito90 on Dec 11, 2003 - 7 comments

"You are What you Drink?" The University of Manitoba has published a study asserting that your choice of tipple could provide insight on your personality. Perhaps we will finally have some answers to the questions posed in this thread.
posted by Otis on Nov 7, 2003 - 9 comments