Oregon’s House recently passed the “Honest Pint Act,” which would allow drinking establishments to display state-issued stickers certifying that their pint glasses actually hold 16 ounces, as opposed to the 13- and 14-ounce glasses that some bars try to pass off as pints. The act is predicted to cost at least $20,000, not including the price of pint “measuring tools.” House Republicans, meanwhile, think full pints should be the least of Oregonians’ concerns. (HT: Eric Samuelson) [%comments]
Keeping Your Pints Honest
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Mr. Eugenides, while an English pint is indeed 20 oz., Imperial fluid ounces are slightly smaller than are American fluid ounces. An Imperial fluid ounce is approximately 28 ml, while an American fluid ounce is approximately 30 ml.
Good. Weights and measures mean nothing if they are not consistent. Probably one of the most legitimate things that can be done by government is to define the weights and measures used in commerce. If a bar advertises that they are serving pints then should actually serve pints, just like if a grocery store advertises bananas at 99 cents a pound they better not “mean” 99 cents for half a pound.
But wouldn’t “pint measuring tools” just be a glass known to hold a true pint? Fill it with water, pour it in the glass being tested, and see if it overflows…
This reminds me of a restaurant in my youth that served soft drinks in small, medium, and large sizes. Although the medium and large cups were different sizes, they were of similar volume.
My wife and I hit this issue at a chain restaurant that had buy one, get one free pints of beer for a happy hour.
Funny thing was that the glasses for the beer and cola/water looked the same height/diameter but the beer glass was twice as heavy due to the chunk of glass that made up its bottom that eliminated a couple of ounces from the drink…
I’m surprised this wasn’t already covered by the Weights and Measures Department? Sounds like duplicate legislation to me…
In Germany when they sell a poured drink the size in centiliters is listed in the menu and the glass has the volume with a line on it to indicate a full pour. They take their alcohol seriously.
MM said:
“As long as the price of gasoline and beer don’t vary too much, Americans really don’t care.”
Yeah, who cares about things like taxes or health care or the stock market or their credit rating?
Jackie, it’s because the infrastructure required to regulate pint glasses in pubs and restaurants would be vast. When I started the project, I inquired with the weights and measures folks in the Dept of Agriculture, but they have no triggering legislation nor funding to support monitoring.
This bill creates a system that rewards good behavior rather than trying to regulate bad behavior.