Bar bet
Encyclopedia
A bar bet is a bet
made between two patrons at a bar
. Bar bets can range from wagers about little-known trivia, such as obscure historical facts, to feats of skill and strength. Some bar bets are intended to trick the other party into losing.
law, bar bets may or may not be legally binding, and the winning party may have difficulty having a court enforce the bet.
A written contract, drawn up soberly the next day and signed by both parties, can avoid doubt.
For example, if one or both parties are intoxicated when the bet is made, they may be found to lack capacity
to agree to a contract, and the contract thus found void
or voidable
.
However, the fact that the agreement is oral but not written does not undermine it:
oral contract
s are valid, though certain contracts must be written, under the statute of frauds
.
Sometimes collectors of bar bets will battle each other to see which one knows the most tricks. It is a given that each must accept the bet proposed by the other.
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
made between two patrons at a bar
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
. Bar bets can range from wagers about little-known trivia, such as obscure historical facts, to feats of skill and strength. Some bar bets are intended to trick the other party into losing.
Famous bar bets
- The annual Midnight SunMidnight sunThe midnight sun is a natural phenomenon occurring in summer months at latitudes north and nearby to the south of the Arctic Circle, and south and nearby to the north of the Antarctic Circle where the sun remains visible at the local midnight. Given fair weather, the sun is visible for a continuous...
baseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
game played in Fairbanks, AlaskaFairbanks, AlaskaFairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
(the only game to be contested after midnight without the use of artificial lighting) was established in 1906 as the result of a bar bet. - Two of Tony HawksTony HawksAntony Gordon Hawksworth, better known as Tony Hawks, is a British comedian and author.-Early life:Born in Brighton in 1960, Hawks was educated at Brighton Hove and Sussex Grammar School and Brighton College...
' books, Round Ireland With A Fridge (ISBN 0-09-186777-0) and Playing The Moldovans At Tennis (ISBN 0-09-187456-4), were written describing Hawks' attempts to win two bar bets. - The film To Have and Have NotTo Have and Have Not (film)To Have and Have Not is a 1944 romance-war-adventure film. The movie was directed by Howard Hawks and stars Humphrey Bogart, Walter Brennan, and Lauren Bacall in her first film...
is supposedly the result of bar bet between Ernest HemingwayErnest HemingwayErnest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
and Howard HawksHoward HawksHoward Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
, with Hemingway betting Hawks that Hawks couldn't make a good film from Hemingway's worst novel. - It is widely believed that the creation of ScientologyScientologyScientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
was the result of a bar bet between L. Ron HubbardL. Ron HubbardLafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
and Robert A. HeinleinRobert A. HeinleinRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
. The story says L. Ron HubbardL. Ron HubbardLafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
dared that he could create a religion all by himself. According to Scientology critic Lindsay this is "definitely not true", no such bet was ever made, it would have been "uncharacteristic of Heinlein" to make such a bet, and "there's no supporting evidence". However, several of Heinlein's autobiographical pieces, as well as biographical pieces written by his wife, claim repeatedly that the bet did indeed occur.
Enforceability
Under contractContract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
law, bar bets may or may not be legally binding, and the winning party may have difficulty having a court enforce the bet.
A written contract, drawn up soberly the next day and signed by both parties, can avoid doubt.
For example, if one or both parties are intoxicated when the bet is made, they may be found to lack capacity
Capacity (law)
The capacity of both natural and legal persons determines whether they may make binding amendments to their rights, duties and obligations, such as getting married or merging, entering into contracts, making gifts, or writing a valid will...
to agree to a contract, and the contract thus found void
Void (law)
In law, void means of no legal effect. An action, document or transaction which is void is of no legal effect whatsoever: an absolute nullity - the law treats it as if it had never existed or happened....
or voidable
Voidable
In law, a transaction or action which is voidable is valid, but may be annulled by one of the parties to the transaction. Voidable is usually used in distinction to void ab initio and unenforceable....
.
However, the fact that the agreement is oral but not written does not undermine it:
oral contract
Oral contract
An oral contract is a contract the terms of which have been agreed by spoken communication, in contrast to a written contract, where the contract is a written document...
s are valid, though certain contracts must be written, under the statute of frauds
Statute of frauds
The statute of frauds refers to the requirement that certain kinds of contracts be memorialized in a signed writing with sufficient content to evidence the contract....
.
Trick Bets
In the UK in particular, bar bets are tricks which the "mark" cannot win. They usually depend upon a condition set in the bet that the mark doesn't notice. Some famous examples:- The mark is told that a coin of a particular denomination has been made so it cannot be laid on its edge. The trickster offers him a sum of money for any the mark can lay on edge. When the mark succeeds, the trickster grabs the coin and rewards him with the promised sum - which is always less than the value of the grabbed coin.
- The trickster bets a mark who has just bought a drink that he can swallow the drink without touching the glass or using a straw. When the bet is taken, the trickster grabs the drink and swallows it - and hands over the wagered sum, again much less than the value of the drink.
- A darts player is bet by the trickster that he will lose a game, even though offered many advantages, one of which is always that the mark's scores will be doubled. Only when close to finishing does the mark realise that because he started from an odd number (say, 201) he cannot finish on a double (as is traditional in darts) because he always has an odd score as a target. The trickster can continue to play from, say, 1001, but is bound to win eventually.
- A mark is informed that it is possible to push a wine glass through the handle of a pint jar without breaking either. When he accepts the bet, the trickster places the wine glass next to the handle and pokes it with a finger that passes through the handle.
- A mark is told that if he stands in the middle of the floor, by the time the trickster has walked around him three times, the mark will have walked away from the encounter. Various conditions ensuring no violence will be used are given, but when the bet is taken the trickster simply sits down, leaving the mark stranded in the middle of the bar.
- Some bar bets are physical impossibilities rather than word-based tricks, such as that supposedly invented by music hallMusic hallMusic Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
start Tommy TrinderTommy TrinderThomas Edward Trinder CBE known as Tommy Trinder, was an English stage, screen and radio comedian of the pre and post war years whose catchphrase was 'You lucky people'.-Life:...
.
Sometimes collectors of bar bets will battle each other to see which one knows the most tricks. It is a given that each must accept the bet proposed by the other.