Power hour explained

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]

Notes and References

1. Book: Bash, Alex . The Imbible: Drinking Games for Times You'll Never Remember with Friends You'll Never Forget . 2008-08-05 . St. Martin's Press . 978-1-4299-8303-7 . 201-202.
2. Rutledge . Patricia C. . Aesoon . Park . Kenneth J. . Sher . 2008-05-20 . 21st Birthday Drinking: Extremely Extreme . . 76 . 3 . 511–516 . 10.1037/0022-006X.76.3.511 . 18540744 . 2668868 . 2010-05-20 . 2010-12-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101208000550/http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/ccp763511.pdf . live .
3. News: 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 .
4. Web site: 2022-03-11 . 100 Shots of Beer in 100 Minutes – Century Club Challenge - Slosh Spot . 2022-12-03 . www.sloshspot.com . en-US . 2022-12-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221203080633/https://www.sloshspot.com/blog/100-shots-of-beer/ . live .
5. Book: Bash, Alex . The Imbible: Drinking Games for Times You'll Never Remember with Friends You'll Never Forget . 2008-08-05 . St. Martin's Press . 978-1-4299-8303-7 . 202.
6. Web site: Bob Reha . May 26, 2004 . 21st Birthday is a Deadly One . . 2010-05-20 . 2011-06-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110629135319/http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/05/26_rehab_colldrink/ . live .
7. News: Kate Zernike . March 12, 2005 . A 21st-Birthday Drinking Game Can Be a Deadly Rite of Passage . . 2010-05-20 . 2012-11-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121110013047/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DE0D8143CF931A25750C0A9639C8B63 . live .
8. News: Can a drinking game be trademarked? Local musician Ali Spagnola hopes not.. Welsh. Margaret. May 20, 2010. Pittsburgh City Paper. June 13, 2010.
9. Web site: Masnick . Mike . May 11, 2010 . Can We Make A Power Hour Drinking Game Around Ridiculous Trademark Disputes? . . June 13, 2010 . May 15, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100515125404/http://techdirt.com/articles/20100510/1048079359.shtml . live .
10. Web site: Opposition No. 91195461 . UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE . 23 January 2013 . 31 December 2012 . 24 January 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130124071125/http://www.alispagnola.com/powerhour/img/TTAB-Power-Hour-Decision.pdf . live .