While more of a topic for the beer blog, I was a bit surprised to read about Britain banning "drinking contests" in pubs... for no other reason than I can't think of ever seeing such a thing in my travels:

Officials will ban drinking contests in bars and force pub owners to offer patrons tap water in a bid to help tackle Britain's boozy culture, the government said Tuesday. Doctors and health lobbyists said, however, that the government had failed to wield its most effective weapon – the imposition of minimum price controls on alcohol. The raft of new measures is “better than nothing,” according to Carys Davis, spokeswoman for the Alcohol Concern charity. She said “it does seem tame,” although she acknowledged that the ban on drinking contests and other promotions could help control bingeing.

In case you Canadians did not know, in Canada we have minimum prize controls. Two bucks a beer in Ontario in a licensed establishment and around one buck from the beer store or LCBO. I may look at it more depth at the other site but, other than in the bubble of college or frat parties, it strikes me as a bit odd that you would need a game to encourage drinking when drinking is something people pretty much do to a level they are comfortable with - even if it makes others around them uncomfortable or worse. Am I getting old?