Idk how common it was but it’s a good example of a “third place”. A spot that isn’t work or home where you can meet and socialize
Did it really used to be common for guys to go to a bar every night like in Cheers or The Simpsons?
Submitted 2 weeks ago by pruwybn@discuss.tchncs.de to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
Comments
SomeAmateur@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Chronographs@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
I wish we could have third places that don’t involve fucking up your body.
litchralee@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Even with NA (low/non-alcoholic) beverages, it’d be nice to have third places that don’t come with an obligation to spend money.
To be clear, I’m not asking for places that ban spending money, but there are third places like parks (eg NYC Central Park) that are destinations in their own right, but one can also spend money there, such as buying stuff and having a picnic on the grass, or bringing board games and meeting up with friends. Or strolling the grounds astride rental e-bikes. Or free yoga.
Where there’s an open space, people make use of it. But we don’t really have much of that in the USA, that isn’t tied up as a parking lot, an open-space preserve (where people shouldn’t tred upon to protect wildlife), or are beyond reasonable distances (eg BLM land in the middle of Nevada).
skulblaka@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Honestly I’m cool with fucking up my body to have a good time, I just wish it didn’t cost me $200 for the privelege.
Okokimup@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Check your library. They do all kinds of activities.
Usernamealreadyinuse@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Your local gym? CrossFit box? Football/soccer club? Community centre? Library? Outdoor? Scouts?
usrtrv@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Hacker/makerspace
Cevilia@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Public libraries are great third places. Larger ones often have classes, groups, and social clubs. And you’ll meet like-minded people just by becoming a regular.
Nastybutler@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
For the non religious, that’s where clubs like the Shriners, or Lions come in. Social clubs that don’t revolve entirely around alcohol
danc4498@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
May I introduce you to your lord and savior Jesus Christ? He’s got a third place for you.
BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
It used to be the Mall. It was always a place to hang out, meet friends, window shop, eat, see a movie, etc.
When I was a kid, the local mall even included the local library. I thought that was a great idea, but I never saw another mall with a library.
danc4498@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I’ve never heard of a concept of a third place. Seems like everybody should have one.
TachyonTele@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
It still is. There’s bars like that in every town.
Rocketpoweredgorilla@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Yes, my dad was one of them. I haven’t gone to a bar for years but it used to be most smaller bars had at least a few regulars that basically lived there. I remember one old vet that used to show up every day as soon as the bar would open for his daily fix… It got to the point the bar refused to serve him, so he would try and get unsuspecting customers to buy them for him. (This was in the 70’s and 80’s, there were (or at least seemed to be) a lot more alcoholics back then.
OrteilGenou@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I remember stories from my dad about a guy he knew where the bar maid would have to help him with the first drink in the morning because his hands would shake so much.
The romantic history of the happy drunk is almost entirely fictional. I say almost because I know a few people who are able to take it or leave it, but for the most part the people I know/knew who were drinking either in bunches or daily end up complete and unabridged alcoholics, whether they are active and in serious trouble or have sought help and straightened up, but cannot touch it.
HuskerNation@lemmynsfw.com 2 weeks ago
I’m one of the rare happy drunks. Don’t drink often, I’m an extremely quiet person usually. But get a few beers in me and my wife says I won’t shut up but she also says it’s the only time she gets to talk to me. I don’t know why, I can’t hold a conversation when I’m sober. Never know what to talk about, my work life is boring so nothing interesting ever happens.
When I have a few, it’s likeeverything just starts coming out.
pruwybn@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
Yeah, I wouldn’t want to spend that much everyday, I’ll just have some beers at home for 1/5th the price
snooggums@piefed.world 2 weeks ago
The extra price was so they weren't drinking alone, or to avoid going home.
HuskerNation@lemmynsfw.com 2 weeks ago
I’ve never been a big drinker but I have a few places around me where beer is $3. And the actual place my wife and I go if we do feel like drinking is our local VFW. I can get a 24 oz frosty on tap for like 2.50. and a jack and coke for 3. Last time we went out drinking spent like $30 total and we were both drunk
pruwybn@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
Damn - I’m in Seattle and it’s rare to find $6 drafts anymore.
scarabic@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I remember one old vet that used to show up every day as soon as the bar would open for his daily fix… It got to the point the bar refused to serve him
So he’d go to this bar during business hours to drink. And this went on to the point where they stopped serving him? Something is missing from the middle of this story…
Rocketpoweredgorilla@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Sorry If I didn’t explain that right… the guy was drinking non-stop every single day, to the point you could physically see his liver was shutting down because of his yellowish color. So the bar didn’t have much choice and had to cut him off. He was an awesome old guy so no-one wanted to boot him, but if he drinks himself to death the bar would be potentially liable for still serving him.
Firoaren@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Dude managed to get a parenthetical inside a parenthetical, respect
obsoleteacct@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Yes, but bear in mind a lot factory, construction, and industrial jobs are 7-3 or 8-4. So a working class laborer could go catch a happy hour with the coworkers or neighbors and be home by 5.
Also in the age of single income households men were often not expected to pull as much weight at home.
Aneb@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
You guys are only working 8hrs? What a life to have. The company I use to work for extended their store hours in 6pm so 8-6 was typical with no overtime pay. Woww saying this out loud really makes me want to unionize.
troed@fedia.io 2 weeks ago
Did this (Mon-Sat) together with a few friends and colleagues in my late 20s. We were regulars to the point of the cook always making something off menu more fitting for regular dinner, as well as no need to settle the bill every night. Once a month everything was tallied up.
Good times. Had to stop though since I found myself going through the fridge on a Sunday once looking for some alcohol.
gdog05@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Had to stop though since I found myself going through the fridge on a Sunday once looking for some alcohol.
I had a similar experience except I’d open the fridge before work and instinctively grab a beer or start to grab one before I realized I was just there for creamer.
Pencilnoob@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I live in a tiny NE college town where that happens but for breakfast at a dive coffeeshop. It’s loud, packed, the food and coffee are meh, but every single day I can walk in there and see 5-10 locals eating breakfast and shooting the breeze. There’s cliques who always sit together, and social butterflies who pick a different group every morning. A bottomless mug of coffee is $3, so folks will just come and hang out from like 8-11am. It’s great fun.
There’s a brewery next door that’s often busy at night but generally it’s a quiet town so folks are home chilling after dinner.
pruwybn@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
That sounds awesome.
Pencilnoob@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It really is the dream
merc@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I like that in the US, New England (NE) is in the North East (NE).
melsaskca@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
It used to be a place for the working stiffs to gather and was priced accordingly. Nowadays capitalization has been overused to the point where a lot of businesses are pricing themselves out of customers.
Aneb@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
An average draft goes for $7-11 dollars in my city. And the $11 drafts are served in a smaller chalice than the cheaper stuff. I usually buy a 12 pack of beer for $24 from the store and get drunk at home when I can afford it.
Crashumbc@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Holy fuck! Even today you can get a 30 pack of average beer like bud Budweiser for 25 ish.
Back in the day I paid 3 a point for some cheap ass.
nickiwest@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
My uncle was a factory worker and a daily regular at his favorite local bar for more than 30 years.
My mom wouldn’t allow me to go inside the bar (because drinking alcohol is a sin, you know). But in the '80s and '90s, before cell phones, I knew exactly where to find him after school if I needed anything.
Unfortunately, 30+ years of excessive drinking caused a lot of really serious health problems that caught up to him when he was in his 50s. The owners and staff sent a huge flower arrangement and all came to his funeral.
Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
A sin? Lol what? Jesus turned water into wine, the fucking madlad!
Flames5123@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I’m an outlier because I live in a walkable neighborhood in a city. But I have 10 breweries within walking distance around my house. I know the owners by name for 2 of these breweries and the bartenders know me for 4 of them. I think they all know my dog.
I usually go with my wife and/or girlfriend about 2-4 days a week, but it’s still very much a hang out.
We’re also Friday regulars to a semi-close bar every Friday because I won a free beer/week for a year in a $25 raffle!
thatradomguy@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I usually go with my wife and/or girlfriend
image of hold up meme person with both hands in front of torso
Ok, sorry. I just wanted to post that finally. Also, I was remembering that one clip that always gets put in compilations about that guy and his wife and her bf. Anyway, carry on.
Flames5123@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Being polyam in Seattle is great. All of my coworkers know I’m poly and just accept it. All the bartenders know too. Makes it easy for them to start the tab.
slaneesh_is_right@lemmy.org 2 weeks ago
I watched a documentary about “bar culture” in the 60es and 70es where i live. Shit was pretty wild. Dudes talked about going to the bar like people talk about video games these days. “Oh yeah, on a good week i’m here 40 to 48 hours” what doesn your wife think about it? “She’s not excited, but you know…”
But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I saw an old video about when they made it illegal to drink and drive and dudes are like “they’re taking away my freedom! It’s my business if I wanna go to the bar and grab a couple beers after work before heading home! Im not hurting anyone!” It’s crazy how casual getting nightly drunk and driving home was in those days
timbuck2themoon@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I don’t think it’s crazy at all. The US in particular still has basically no real mass transit and bars everywhere. Everyone knows there is still drinking and driving going on. Certainly not all those people are calling ubers.
slaneesh_is_right@lemmy.org 2 weeks ago
My dad’s friends often claim that’s what destroys restaurants. You can’t even go and get hammered and drive home.
Yeah, not drinking would be pure insanity, i could never. Imagine spending time with friends sober.
It is kinda crazy how different the times were. In the same documentary, they also touched on immigrants and how they also like to hang out in bars. One guy casually said something like: well i some people don’t hate these Spaniards, and some people just want them dead.
blimthepixie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Five and drive, baby
TheLazyNerd@europe.pub 2 weeks ago
It depends on (sub)culture, but mainly yes.
Bars were often cheap too, so going to the bar multiple times per week was not expensive. The reason these bars were cheap:
- Outside of touristic areas ground is cheap.
- If the local government allows it, the bar can on the owners property.
- The owner and customers were often friends, so friend pricing would be standard.
- Health and safety regulations used to be less strict. Allowing for lower prices.
- The bar was open whenever the owner wanted, instead of on a fixed schedule, making it more easy to combine with a second job.
- Bars rarely had a menu, they just sold whatever they had in stock. Today customers would be upset if an item on the menu was not in stock.
Also,
- Parks used to be less safe and less well maintained, so buying drinks in the supermarket and consuming them in the park wasn’t really an option.
- The internet wasn’t a thing, so people who wanted to spend the evening gaming had to do so in the bar.
possumparty@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
- Parks used to be less safe and less well maintained, so buying drinks in the supermarket and consuming them in the park wasn’t really an option.
Found the non-American
OhmsLawn@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Still do?
I don’t drink anymore, but yeah. Those people you see in dive bars are often daily customers.
Grass@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Some of the older old dudes I’ve worked with used to. I actually convinced one of the avocado toast whiners he was wrong based on bar cost now and back in his day
J52@lemmy.nz 2 weeks ago
Yes, even in countries like Austria. Saddest thing was that many men that were ‘great pals’ while drinking turned into abusers when coming home, making their families co-dependents and their lives hell.
AlecSadler@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Umm, I’m in my 40s and I do… 😬
Granted it isn’t like Cheers, I just need the change of scenery since I work from home 10-20 hours a day.
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
20 hours a day? Bro…
AlecSadler@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Trying to get a company off the ground so it’s all hours all the time right now, fortunately/unfortunately.
Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I work from home 10-20 hours a day.
That’s fair. Drinking at one’s workplace is usually frowned upon anyway.
ohshit604@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
usually, upper management go for their hour and a half long launches and come back blitzed.
postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Remember, no internet before this millenium, 3 to 7 television channels before cable, no TV before the 50s…
PillowTalk420@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s fairly common right now, too.
Psythik@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
How can anyone afford to go to bars anymore? Drinking at home is much cheaper.
dil@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
any area with bars has a cheaper bar usually, my main college bar was hella cheap, always had a deal everyday, most nearby bars had deals once a week or specials for locally brewed stuff that was a lot cheaper than buying it elsewhere. I could black out easily off 50$ vs sf which is like 2 one shot drinks maybe for that amount
LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s technically considered depression & alcoholism to drink alone in one’s house.
Most people use alcohol to unwind & socialize so they do it in social environments.
474D@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Get buzzed first then go out and coast with a few drinks
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Gotta find the dive bars with the specials on shitty liquor and beer
Kolanaki@pawb.social 2 weeks ago
Man, I have no fucking idea. I can’t afford to rent my own apartment, and I have worked with dudes that made $3/hour less than me who owned sizeable middle-class houses somehow. 😬
Crashumbc@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
A lot of blue collar workers went straight to the bar after work 3-4 days a week.
I did sheet metal back in the 90’s for a year. Typical day… start at 6, off at 2:30, bar from 3-5. Pretty much everyday.
SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Pub culture is definitely a thing in the UK though and I wish we had some of these neighborhood meeting places in the US too.
Fraternal/Sororal organizations used to be a big thing up to the 60s with the Elks clubs, Odd Fellows, Shriners, etc. We’ve lost a lot of that community glue.
IAmNorRealTakeYourMeds@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Car centric urban design and pub culture are incompatible.
though alcoholism is bad, the lack of thirst spaces is a much bigger problem
Deebster@infosec.pub 2 weeks ago
thirst spaces
I can’t decide if this is a joke or a Freudian slip.
lefaucet@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
Thirst spaces is a new term for this ancient person. Could you define?
I’m picturing a bunch of thot’s and dudebros mingling
pdqcp@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Yup, it used to be a lot more common, Not Just Bikes has a great video on this subject too and how our car dependency made most of them disappear:
The Great Places Erased by Suburbia (the Third Place)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvdQ381K5xg
non YT yewtu.be/watch?v=VvdQ381K5xgfriend_of_satan@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
For folks who like this theme, there is lemmy.world/c/fuckcars
foodandart@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Yeah. My husband went out to the pub 6 nights a week. He’s no longer drinking - quit last year - finally! (I quit in 2009)
Seriously, alcohol is overrated.
Schlemmy@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
I was raised in a bar. My mother owned it for 40 years. Yes, same customers every day. They were all alcoholist but some of them stopped functioning. My mother Fed them, did their taxes, cut their hair. It’s terrible and sad. The functioning alcoholists had a family to turn home to. I used to be an alcoholist until 10 years ago. My wife had to make me realise that drinking every day, even just one beer a day, is alcoholism.
LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Is alcoholist(s) term that means something different than alcoholic(s)? Never seen it before
markovs_gun@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
No, I suspect OP’s native language might not be English.
kerrigan778@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Used to be? This is still common in many industries and localities.
ameancow@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The divide between cultures and populations becomes highly apparent on sites like this, which attract a very select group.
YtA4QCam2A9j7EfTgHrH@infosec.pub 2 weeks ago
When I was younger I did this and it was the best part of my life. Having a place to go where everyone was welcome was very nice
Drusas@fedia.io 2 weeks ago
Did everybody know your name?
Technoworcester@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
Still do.
I’ve been alcohol free since 7th April 2023 but it’s a stop on the way home to see mates that don’t game online.
UK pub that’s part of the community. We organise canal cleans / litter picks / quiz nights / charity events etc…
Pubs can be good and you don’t HAVE to drink booze. Bars now… They are a different story I feel.
On a side note I feel the ability to ‘legally’ drink (without a meal) from the age of 18 stops a lot of the idiotic drinking stuff I always hear about from over the pond.
the_riviera_kid@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I worked in a bar for a few years and I saw the same people everyday. They would even come in on holidays if the bar was open. Some of them would blow their whole paycheck, I always thought it was kinda sad.
trashcroissant@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
I had the same experience and did feel badly for them as well. For a lot of them (especially middle aged men in my experience), they just seemed very lonely. I miss a lot of those regulars, they were generally good people.
merc@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
In the show Clarkson’s Farm, Jeremy Clarkson is looking around, trying to buy a pub. At one point they talk about wanting to have a pub with a little grocery store attached. Clarkson’s girlfriend explained why that was common at one point in Ireland. It was because in the past men would get paid, go immediately to the pub, and drink until their paycheck was gone. If there was a shop attached to the pub, they could hand in an order at the shop before they started drinking. And then, even if they drank away the rest of their paycheck, they’d still be handed a bag of groceries before they were kicked out and had to stumble home.
pokexpert30@jlai.lu 2 weeks ago
For référence, there is an ancient in my village of 300 inhabitants that in the 60’s, there were SIX bars. For 300 inhabitants.
So I guess so.
percent@infosec.pub 2 weeks ago
we only have a bread machine now, no shops of any kind.
“We” meaning your village? Your village no longer has shops, but somehow shares a bread machine? Or am I totally misunderstanding this?
Regrettable_incident@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I live in England, but maybe twenty years ago I’d go to my regular pub most days, have a couple of pints and maybe some food, socialise with people I’d got to know there.
Obviously that doesn’t happen anymore, it’s way too expensive now. Going to the pub or out for a meal is a rare treat these days.
MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Yes, and it’s still pretty common.
Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Still is common, most bars have their regulars
saltesc@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Yeah. Few times a week I go to mine to chat with all the locals over two or three beers then head home. It’s a nice way to wind down, be out, and socialise at a really low intensity. No organising is needed, just arrive and there’ll be someone there you know.
That was kind of the point of pubs (public house). A place for the community to meet up in any weather and have a good time together whether games, sharing stories, or having a meal. The smaller the town, the friendlier and more tight the patrons are too. Also great places to frequent when travelling, meeting new locals, getting great travel advice, making friends for the few days you’re there.
Kelsenellenelvial@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Yep, been a while since worked at a place like that, but there was definitely a crowed that would be there most days. This was mid 2000’s. Partly dried up when smoking indoors was banned, I think that was the last straw for a big part of the culture that was already drying up.
return2ozma@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I live a block away from my local bar. Go multiple times a week to play pool. There’s a lot of regulars so it’s like hanging out with friends/neighbors.