Legal Drinking Age in Equestria?

[~Sole~ 852]

Nah. What do you mean "exactly 21 candles" ? If they had 18 candles or 23 candles, would you still say "you could see exactly X candles on the cake, therefore she is this age"

 

Not all cakes has the number of years as candles. When my family make cakes we just put a bunch candles on them to make it look cool. I'm not saying I'm right but you can't say that anything is confirmed just by looking at the cake

that's not what I meant, I just mean that it's not guaranteed but it's a good indicator. She seems about that age, and looking at the picture again there doesn't seem to be any more candles on the other side. I might be wrong, but maybe they threw this in specifically to hint her age. That's all I'm saying.

[Jokuc 8,172]

Oh, there is totally boose in Equestria.  Why do you think there were such long lines for apple cider?

 

This dude is totally sh*tfaced.

The apple cider was made directly from apples

 

that's not what I meant, I just mean that it's not guaranteed but it's a good indicator. She seems about that age, and looking at the picture again there doesn't seem to be any more candles on the other side. I might be wrong, but maybe they threw this in specifically to hint her age. That's all I'm saying.

I know (= And I said I think it's just random decoration.

[Fhaolan 4,468]

The concept of a 'legal drinking age' is very modern, starting in about the 19th century or so in a very small number of places. It wasn't until about the middle of the 20th century that it became standard. Prior to that alcohol was a standard drink for any age, as it was much safer than drinking anything else. Root beer, ginger ale, small beer, cider, quiet wine, etc. were all alcoholic but were drunk by everyone every day as one of the primary potables, as they had relatively low amounts of alcohol. It would have taken concentrated effort for a human to get drunk off of any of these.

 

Another thing, though, is that horses have a weird way of digesting cellulose (grass, hay, etc.) that isn't the same way ruminants like cows do. It's called 'hindgut fermentation', where the forage is basically rapidly fermented and the nutrients drawn off. Pushing a lot of fruit through this kind of metabolism, no matter how fresh the fruit, will lead to the animal becoming drunk as they naturally produce alcohol from the fruit sugars.

 

So if ponies actually have RL horse-like metabolisms, and Sweet Apple Acres is the primary food production of the area, then most of Ponyville is riding a low-level drunk all the time.

 

Don't even ask about what happens if they eat even higher sugar-content foods like cake on a regular basis...

[ghostfacekiller39 23,860]

Well, since people decided to make this topic a bit too serious, then I'll just give a serious take on it.

 

First off, it's 100% certain they are not going to be bringing up the existence of alcoholic beverages in Equestria because of the target demographic, yes, nor do I expect them too.

 

I had this idea when I was posting in another topic, thought it'd be funny but had a possibility of providing adequate discussion, and, since it was not really all that Lounge Worthy, I put it in Show Discussion, so everyone chill out.

 

I had this funny little thought and decided to turn it into a topic, and I believe that if people want to have a bit of silly on-topic discussion, so be it. It's not like this is a realistic expectation from the show, anyway. 

Edited February 3, 2014 by ghostfacekiller39

[Scootaloodle 1,621]

In the UK it's 18 to drink and 21 to buy

and if you look at the candles in pinkie pride it suggest that Dashie's only just turned 21

 

Is it?

 

I bought alcohol at 18, has the law changed?

Anyways, to begin with we don't even know if alcohol exists in Equestria, so we can't put an age on it. If they did, why would it be 21? The whole world doesn't follow US laws. Also, I doubt they would have a law for it, I think it would just work in the way that parents decide when they let their kids drink.

 

 

 

Yeah that was annoying me people assuming they all follow USA laws etc xD

[GoldenCal 51]

Is it?

 

I bought alcohol at 18, has the law changed?

 

Yeah that was annoying me people assuming they all follow USA laws etc xD

My mistake you can at 18 but there something called challenge 21 where stores will ask for ID if you look 21 or younger i guess it's to make it harder for people who seem older to buy drinks without being checked

[Singe 2,109]

There is likely no regulation and just hinges on parental responsibility to teach the children as it should be.

[Thrashy 2,800]

omg it cant be 21 u dork dont u know the mane 6 r in high school didn u ever c equestira gurlz?!!!1

 

...Ahem. Sorry about that. I became a 14-year-old girl for a second, there.

 

Anyway, if we're to use Pinkie Pride as evidence that Dashie just turned 21 (count the candles! COUNT THEM!), we can assume the drinking age is at least 20 considering she's been depicted as quite the cider-holic before now. And don't tell me that cider was non-alcoholic; I love Martinelli's, but not that fuggin' much.

Edited February 3, 2014 by Thrashy

[Singe 2,109]

If a pony wants to get drunk, they can just let the apples ferment and consume them.

[Blaze Bronson 343]

 

 

Don't even ask about what happens if they eat even higher sugar-content foods like cake on a regular basis...

 

 

Oh my gosh, Pinkie Pie... O_o

 

Anyways, why are people getting so focused on the age they need to be to drink? Rarity lives on her own, and even runs her own business. All the mane 6 (maybe except Pinkie) are in a very grown up position, so they are definitely allowed to drink. Seeing as they don't have anyone who is responsible for them, except them selves, there is no reason to stop them.

 

That is if ponies make any alcohol at all. The cider is freshly pressed so there is none in that.

[Frith is Magick 1,471]

The legal drinking age in Equestria is probably 6 or 7. I divided the Canadian average lifespan by the Canadian drinking age, then divided the average equine lifespan by this number. The result was 6.16, which I rounded down. I repeated the process with the american drinking age and lifespan, the result was 7.33. Math doesn't lie.

[Singe 2,109]

It would make for a good episode where Applejack or some other Apple Family pony makes apple drinks from fermented apples. Then it makes the ponies get hooked and come back for more.

[Tigerpop198 696]

It's 18, it's a nice even number. I don't think of the mane 6 as drinking ponies though.

[Fhaolan 4,468]

Oh my gosh, Pinkie Pie... O_o

Yeah, that explains a great deal don't it?

[Castle Bleck 19,197]

Heck, apple JUICE actually seems more potent:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFPBqAAHMaY

[Neon Fire 473]

I'd agree with the age of 21.  Why is everyone talking about the "Super Cider Squeezy 6000" episode like it has alcohol in it?  It was cider and nowhere did they say it was alcohol.

[Wingnut 6,734]

I'm convinced that the cider in Super Squeezy isn't alcoholic but it's just THAT DAMN GOOD! 

 

The only alcohol reference I know of is when a drunken older stallion gets tossed out of a salt saloon. His lips are encrusted with salt and he's drunk off his ass.  I guess salt licks are a popular beer accompaniment in Equestria. 

 

If there is a legal drinking age in Equestria, I expect it to be on the young side. 

Edited February 3, 2014 by Wingnut

[Radiance64 7,052]

Some posts here were getting a little out of hand... let's try and stay on-topic people.

 

Anyway, I don't think there really is a legal drinking age in Equestria, nor any drinking at all... MLP is a kid's show in a land of happy friendship ponies, you can headcanon in drinking all you want but there's never gonna be any concrete upfront showing of it, so I guess we'll never know.

[Forlong 1,725]

The apple cider was made directly from apples

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermentation

"Fermentation is a metabolic process that converts sugar to acids, gases and/or alcohol."

An apple has 10 grams of sugars, witch turns into alcohol upon fermenting.

 

I'd agree with the age of 21.  Why is everyone talking about the "Super Cider Squeezy 6000" episode like it has alcohol in it?  It was cider and nowhere did they say it was alcohol.

True apple cider is made of fermented apples.  Why else would the only window in which they make it be autumn?  That happens to be when apples ferment.  Considering they knew enough about apple farming to give AJ a Tennessee accent, I'd say they were fully aware of that fact.  That episode actually shows characters consuming alcohol.

 

No one bats an eye at Spike, a baby dragon, standing in line for the booze.  Then again, maybe he wouldn't be allowed to have a drink.  There were no foals in line either.

[Sarah The Pegasister 22]

I'm convinced that Equestrian society is more trusting of young people than ours is. For example, the CMC just running around and, at even one point bungy jumping? In our world these children would be thought of as genuinely wronged to not have suppervision for such an activity. However in their world it's just the CMC being theirselves. So in conclusion to this, I like to think the legal drinking age is slightly below all of the mane 6, as they seem to be intelectually old enough anyways.

[Fhaolan 4,468]

True apple cider is made of fermented apples.  Why else would the only window in which they make it be autumn?  That happens to be when apples ferment.  Considering they knew enough about apple farming to give AJ a Tennessee accent, I'd say they were fully aware of that fact.  That episode actually shows characters consuming alcohol.

Except that the Apple family are pressing the apples and presenting the results for consumption within a few hours or so. Plus they're taking the apples off the trees, and not using deadfall which has already started the fermentation process. It takes at least two days or more to ferment fresh off-the tree pressed applejuice into cider with an appreciable alcohol content, providing you're heating the barrels above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, but if you do that you're going to likely have too high a Malic acid content (which apples are high in naturally) making the cider taste sour or bitter. Otherwise you need to slow the fermentation down by keeping them at a cooler 60 degrees for about two weeks to allow the malic to be fermented into lactic acid, as well as converting the sugar. A cider mill may still go the fast fermentation route, but usually only for the stuff they intend to let go into apple vinegar.

 

My wife worked at a cider mill years back. She explained all this to me.

[Rockymoo 2,136]

Nah. What do you mean "exactly 21 candles" ? If they had 18 candles or 23 candles, would you still say "you could see exactly X candles on the cake, therefore she is this age"

Sir. Sir. ...Sir. Listen to me.

 

Every single birthday party I've been to, the number of candles indicate their age. It's a long-standing tradition. If there were, in fact, 21 candles, it's heavily implied if not downright telling us that she is indeed 21.

 

Not all cakes has the number of years as candles. When my family make cakes we just put a bunch candles on them to make it look cool. I'm not saying I'm right but you can't say that anything is confirmed just by looking at the cake 

Assuming you mean birthday cakes, you're literally the first person I've met in my life that doesn't follow the "number of candles = age" group. Unless it's a huge number that won't fit on the cake, of course.

 

I'm sorry, but you're part of a very small minority.

[Jokuc 8,172]

 

Sir. Sir. ...Sir. Listen to me.

 

Every single birthday party I've been to, the number of candles indicate their age. It's a long-standing tradition. If there were, in fact, 21 candles, it's heavily implied if not downright telling us that she is indeed 21.

 

 

Assuming you mean birthday cakes, you're literally the first person I've met in my life that doesn't follow the "number of candles = age" group. Unless it's a huge number that won't fit on the cake, of course.

 

I'm sorry, but you're part of a very small minority.

 

But again, that's real life. My point is that I doubt they actually did it on purpose. I believe they made a big cake and just put on candles until it filled up the front of the cake.

 

I'm not saying I am correct but it is possible.

 

wait what does this discussion have to do with the subject again..   I have to go back.... oh yeah rd is 21, rd had cider. Never mind.

Edited February 5, 2014 by Jokuc

[True Rarity 1,239]

I agree with 21. It's clearly not safe to drink alcohol before (or even after) you've reached that age.

 

Might I ask, why in the wide, wide world of Equestria does everypony think AJ's cider is alcoholic? Is it because it looked like beer? Is it because Rainbow Dash appears to be addicted to it? I mean, really, no one ever said that the cider was alcohol. It tastes good. Deal with it.

[Totally Ducklett 181]

You would think that the cider isn't alcoholic, since Spike is drinking it, but obviously it has to be because we all know that Dashie is a heavy drinker, and she needs it.

 

Just kidding!!! Please don't hurt me! >.<

 

But all jokes aside, probably 21. The cider isn't alcoholic, just REALLLLY good. Like all of AJ's products.

Edited February 5, 2014 by Ducksquack