I like a quiet bar.
I have since I was 21. eventually says Sorry, I couldnt hear you.
The bar got so loud!
Why, as a culture, have we failed to find a way out of this loudness war?
Why are most bars so fucking loud?
And once that happens, its extremely hard to quiet the place down again.
Even if one whole group of patrons quiets down, the whispering isnt nearly as viral as the shouting.
Quieting down takes an active command directed at the whole establishment.
The solution, then, lies with the bars staff.
At any bar that isnt actively cultivating a rager atmosphere, the staff should be shushing the customers.
The bartender gives and the bartender takes, so the bartender will be obeyed.
The bartender is the only person in the place whom everyone must obey.
The bartender is the only one who can claim the authority to set the volume level.
The bartender gives and the bartender takes, so the bartender will be obeyed.
Like theuniversal basic income, this revolutionary idea has been tested in a real-world experiment.
Everyone in the place settles down to a whisper.
Ive heard it happen many times, and most everyone enjoys it.
They recognized the shushing as friendly, not chastising, a necessary check on an innocent human failing.
Burp Castle has a4-star Yelp ratingand is, of course, my favorite bar.
A few friends chafe at the shushing; theyre still my friends, but Ive learned something about them.
This is, Ill grant, a somewhat extreme and idealized example.
Burp Castle only seats a couple dozen people, mostly at tables of two or three.
The music is sometimes jazz, sometimes actual Gregorian chants.
The walls are covered in murals of monks behaving badly.
Fine, its a theme bar.
Everything about the place supports the shush gimmick.
The level of noise that triggers a shush will vary from bar to bar.
And obviously,obviouslynot every bar should have the shush.
Some places are meant to be rowdy.
Maybe well find that the ideal percentage of bars that shush is 90%maybe its just 10%.
But its absolutely more than one.
