H.L. Mencken

Regulation of the Day 138: Dwile Flonking

by Ryan Young on June 2, 2010

in Culture, Nanny State, Regulation, Regulation of the Day

Britons sure do seem to have a lot of time on their hands. Take, for example, the colorfully-named pastime of dwile flonking. Players soak a rag in beer and put it on top of a pole. Then they use the pole to hurl the rag at other players.

A player who misses twice in a row is called a “flonker.” Flonkers are required to drink a beer before the opposing team can pass the errant rag all the way around him in a circle.

This year’s dwile flonking world championship was to be held in Norfolk. Then regulators got involved. As one can tell by the rules, dwile flonking is a drinking game. And drinking games are forbidden now. Legislation passed earlier this year banning them.

The American journalist H.L. Mencken defined Puritanism as “The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” He may as well have been talking about regulators.

And thanks to the new Puritanism, the world may never know who the world’s top dwile flonkers are.

Prohibition’s Hangover Still with Us

by Ivan Osorio on September 11, 2009

in Culture, Nanny State, Personal Liberty

Interesting lectures are a great thing. Good cocktails are a very good thing. But when the two are combined into a single presentation, the effect is just plain fun, which is how I describe the event I attended last night.

Garrett Peck, author of The Prohibition Hangover: Alcohol in America from Demon Rum to Cult Cabernet, walked an audience through the history of Americans’ conflicted relationship with alcoholic beverages (at Jackie’s Restaurant in Silver Spring, Maryland). Moving along in time, the lecture was augmented with drinks that were popular at different times in the nation’s history — including the infamous “coffin varnish,” about which H.L. Mencken wrote.

The “hangover” of prohibition, noted Peck, is the broad — often byzantine — regulatory framework under which alcoholic beverages are now produced, marketed, and sold in the United States. I’ve begun reading the book, which I’m finding enjoyable. And it’s got the best jacket blurb I’ve ever seen (from my friend Edward Stringham): “[T]his book will be of interest to anyone interested in alcohol.”

Peck also lead a Temperance Tour, in which he takes visitors along the historical landmarks that mark the road to the insanity that was prohibition. Here’s a toast to drug prohibition passing into history some day, as well.