I read an AP article from London last week that began “British officials urge pubs to try new shatterproof steins to reduce annual number of alcohol-related glass attacks”. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/04/shatterproof-pint-glass-u_n_449846.html

Other interesting tidbits about our friends across the seas:

Officials swore the country would save billions in health care costs by coming up with a glass that doesn’t double as a lethal weapon.

There are about 87,000 alcohol-related glass attacks each year.  Half of all violent assaults in Britain are alcohol-related and it has become common for drinkers to smash glasses and use them as weapons, he added.

The government estimates that for alcohol-related problems cost the National Health Service roughly 2.7 billion pounds ($4.3 billion) per year.

Am I the only person surprised by this?  It’s rather shocking.  Do we have bar fights in the USA that even compare?  Are there just many more beer bars in Britain?

I really don’t mean to turn this into a jest, but, maybe they need more wine bars, wine education, wine shops, etc.  You never hear of a “wine brawl” or someone smashing their Reidel stemware into someone’s jugular do you?

If we break a wine glass it’s because we can’t balance it, the stem too dainty…or, as the case may be, we’ve had too much.

But winos don’t ram a glass into another winos eyeball.

What’s the difference between Britons and us?  Kind of like asking the difference between beer drinkers and wine drinkers?  But, at least, for now, we appear to be safe.  And I’m not entering a pub anytime soon.  You?