10 Surprising Prohibition Facts
- Mar 29, 2015
- 3 min read
With F.E.W American Gin being our hero bottle this week and hailing from the birth place of the Temperance Movement, we thought we'd take a trip back to the driest period of American history and bring you guys some surprising tip bits from the Prohibition era. So, pour yourselves a tipple and feast on these juicy facts.
1: Some towns sold their jails
So convinced that alcohol was the cause of nearly all crimes, some American towns actually sold their jails on the eve of Prohibition. Simply idiotic and proof forward thinking isn't always a good idea.
2: Prohibition led to a rise in cruises
Yes, you read right. Prohibition caused a boom in the cruise industry by taking what were advertised as 'cruises to nowhere'. These destination-less cruises meant imbibers could pour as much booze down their cake-holes as physically possible, as soon as the ship entered international waters.
3: Made Al Capone a bloody millionaire.
If there was anyone to completely and utterly rule the underground bootlegging scene then Al Capone was your man. He made a staggering $60,000,00, yeah, sixty bloody million dollars during Prohibition. Don't get any ideas though, he also killed a fair few people too.
4: Bread was used as alcohol filters
Yes, the humble loaf was thought, by the parched, as a great way to make the undrinkable alcohol in antifreeze safe and drinkable, simply by filtering the liquid though it. Unfortunately, it didn't (surprise sur-bloody-prise) and many people died or where seriously injured as a result. Ironically, that idea screams a drunken pub brainstorming session!
5: Jurors got pissed up!
In Los Angeles, one jury that had heard a bootlegging case was itself put on trial, after the entire jury drank the evidence. The great part of this fact is the jurors, now on trial, argued in their defence that they had been 'sampling' the evidence to find out whether or not it contained alcohol. Terrible excuse but you have to admire their balls to stick to such a ridiculous story.
6: Consumption of alcohol during Prohibition was not illegal
Although a fact misunderstood by some, it was only illegal to produce, transport and sell alcohol during Prohibition, the drinking part was perfectly legal. As whiskey was used for its medicinal purposes by doctors and physicians, anyone could obtain this 'medicinal whiskey' by simply booking a doctors appointment and faking an ailment. Shame you can't do that now!
7: Mississippi kept it's inhabitants dry until 1966
Although the rest of America basked in the hazy alcoholic glow of The Repeal in 1933, residents of Mississippi still had another three decades of dryness to put up with as the state still inforced Prohibition. The bastards!
8: Murder wasn't really a mystery
In Chicago alone, 227 gangsters were killed in the space of four years, with all cases relating to bootlegging. See, it wasn't all cocktails and flapper dresses, you know.
9: The KKK were booze lovers
Although these hideous haters disliked many religions and racial groups, they were actually in favour of the hard stuff and fully supported the repeal. Shame they couldn't use that positvity elsewhere, eh.
10: What America needs now is a drink
Following the approval of the 21st Amendment, President Franklin D Roosevelt was quoted as saying, "What America needs now is a drink". Well that's a bloody understatement, Frankie boy!
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