Either that, or the Yanks will sue themselves to death after their ridiculous notions about "absolute personal freedoms" obliterate any conception of common sense or public good...

Anyway.

In my country, pubs used to close at 6 pm. This was until the the late 60s or something. Problem was, the drinking class would get off work at 5 pm, go straight into the pubs and drink as much as possible in the hour remaining - the infamous "five o'clock swill". So they'd all stagger home wasted at 6 pm and thus contribute to a generally sucky family life for many.

Some places never seem to close, now, though most restrict their hours in the interests of actually making money. I've been out on the town until four a.m. or later, once or twice.