Power hour

Power hour

Drinking Game
Other names	21 for 21
Players	Any number
Setup time	Varies
Playing time	60 minutes
Chance	None

Power hour or 21 for 21 is a drinking game where players must consume a specified number of alcohol shots within one hour. Variants include one shot of beer every minute for an hour, or 60 shots of beer within one hour. ^[1] In the United States, a power hour event is often associated with a person's 21st birthday when they reach the legal drinking age. ^{[2] [3]} A Century Club or Centurion is an alternative to a power hour which involves consuming 100 shots of beer in 100 minutes. ^{[4] [5]}

Consequences

Players may have difficulty completing the specified number of drinks as the rate of consumption can raise their blood alcohol content to high levels. ^[6] The rate of alcohol consumption makes the players intoxicated within a short period of time. ^[7]

Trademark controversy

In 2010, Power Hour LLC, run by Steve Roose who markets a DVD game named "Power Hour", registered a trademark of the same name and soon after began sending cease-and-desist orders to Ali Spagnola, a musician who had released an album also titled Power Hour. ^{[8] [9]} Spagnola announced her intentions to fight the claims, and an intellectual-property professor from the University of Pittsburgh stated that "if 'Power Hour' is a generic description of 'a drinking game that involves drinking a shot of alcohol each minute for an hour,' then Power Hour LLC can't have any trademark rights at all." ^[8] In December 2012, courts ruled in Spagnola's favor. ^[10]

References

1. Bash, Alex (2008-08-05). The Imbible: Drinking Games for Times You'll Never Remember with Friends You'll Never Forget. St. Martin's Press. pp. 201–202. ISBN   978-1-4299-8303-7.
2. Rutledge, Patricia C.; Park, Aesoon; Sher, Kenneth J. (2008-05-20). "21st Birthday Drinking: Extremely Extreme" (PDF). Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology . 76 (3): 511–516. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.76.3.511. PMC   2668868 . PMID   18540744. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2010-12-08. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
3. Ruth Brown (2008-03-05). "'Power hour' not only way to turn 21. That magic birthday now comes with new places, new parties and new troubles if not careful". The Collegian.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
4. "100 Shots of Beer in 100 Minutes – Century Club Challenge - Slosh Spot". www.sloshspot.com. 2022-03-11. Archived from the original on 2022-12-03. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
5. Bash, Alex (2008-08-05). The Imbible: Drinking Games for Times You'll Never Remember with Friends You'll Never Forget. St. Martin's Press. p. 202. ISBN   978-1-4299-8303-7.
6. Bob Reha (May 26, 2004). "21st Birthday is a Deadly One". Minnesota Public Radio. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
7. Kate Zernike (March 12, 2005). "A 21st-Birthday Drinking Game Can Be a Deadly Rite of Passage". New York Times . Archived from the original on 2012-11-10. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
8. Welsh, Margaret (May 20, 2010). "Can a drinking game be trademarked? Local musician Ali Spagnola hopes not". Pittsburgh City Paper . Retrieved June 13, 2010.
9. Masnick, Mike (May 11, 2010). "Can We Make A Power Hour Drinking Game Around Ridiculous Trademark Disputes?". techdirt. Archived from the original on May 15, 2010. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
10. "Opposition No. 91195461" (PDF). UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE. 31 December 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013.