Blackout Wednesday
Blackout Wednesday (or "Black Wednesday," "Drinksgiving," or "Thanksgiving Eve") is a pejorative term for the night before the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, which is always a Thursday. It is associated with binge drinking since very few people work on Thanksgiving, and most university students are home to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with their families.[1] The name refers to "blacking out", memory loss due to excessive alcohol intoxication. In Chicago suburbs in particular, Blackout Wednesday is sometimes a more popular partying night than even New Year's Eve or Saint Patrick's Day.[1] In some cities, it is the top drunk driving night of the year.[2] Police departments increase patrols checking for drunk driving in many jurisdictions including in Indiana[3] and Minnesota.[4] MADD reports that the Thanksgiving holiday produces more people killed in drunk driving crashes than the Christmas holiday.[5]
The term has a search history on Google beginning in 2014.[6]
References
- 1 2 Spak, Kara (November 22, 2011). "Biggest night of the year". Sun Times. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
- ↑ Nelson, Emily (2011-11-22). "Before the Turkey, A Big Night of Drinking". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
- ↑ wthr.com JENNIE RUNEVITCH, Police to increase patrols for "Blackout Wednesday" PUBLISHED: 11/23/2016
- ↑ Tim Harlow, On 'Blackout Wednesday' law enforcement will be looking for blitzed drivers startribune.com NOVEMBER 22, 2016
- ↑ MADD MADD’s “Tie One On For Safety” Holiday Campaign Cautions Drivers as More Highway Deaths Caused by Drunk Driving 11/13/2012
- ↑ Blackout Wednesday: Google Trends