Warching Jon Stewart this morning. he had a story regarding the South Carolina constitution, which requires bars in the state to serve alcohol exclusively from minibottles (often seen on airplanes and in hotel minibars). Well, I googled it, and it's true! Ha!

"South Carolina retains the distinction of being the only state in the nation requiring bars to serve all hard liquor in minibottles. The minibottle's place behind the bar is even enshrined in the state's constitution." [Emphasis mine] The constitution was amended 32 years ago to include the requirement.

However, State Sen. Robert W. Hayes Jr., a Republican from Rock Hill, is leading the effort to change the constitution and let bars serve from regular bottles. Hayes "labels minibottles as impractical landfill cloggers. More important, he says, is that they contribute mightily to South Carolina's high rate of drunken driving deaths.
"A minibottle holds 1.7 ounces of liquor, and bartenders are obliged to pour all 1.7 ounces -- no more, no less. It may not look like much, but compared with the average drink size around the country -- which is 1 to 1.25 ounces of liquor -- it packs a wallop.
"Because (bartenders are) forbidden to pour a partial minibottle, a Long Island Iced Tea -- made of vodka, rum, tequila, gin and triple sec -- gets so big that it has to be served in a pitcher and contains 8.5 ounces of liquor."

Yowza. While Hayes' stand seems reasonable, I've got to point out one potential problem: what about the minibottle industry? What about all those elves and gnomes (I assume) that'll be out of work? Welfare payments will skyrocket! Circus performers everywhere will strike as a new labor glut causes their wages to drop! It'll be chaos!

No point. Just thought I'd mention it.
- posted by Dactyl @ 10:08 AM