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If you're the dance floor of a crowded bar - watch out for fisticuffs, says a new study.
By Cari Nierenberg
If you shake your booty on the dance floor of a crowded bar, you could be in for a world of hurt. And your lousy dance moves are not to blame.
A recent study shows that the dance floor is the most likely place for fights to break out inside a large drinking establishment. The findings suggest that roughly 20 percent of the most harmful incidents took place on the floor itself; another 13 percent of them occurred near it.
The research, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review, looked at "hotspots" for aggression in bars and clubs.
In the study, researchers made more than 1,300 visits to 118 bars and clubs in Toronto over a two-year period. They went to bars that could hold more than 300 people, and they went on Fridays and Saturdays between midnight and 3 a.m.
Researchers observed the customers for aggressive behaviors, and they rated them on a scale of 1 (minor non-physical harm) to 5 (actions causing pain, including punching and kicking). They even gauged how intoxicated the customers seemed that night.
They found that the dance floor was the top spot for aggressive behavior. "There's a lot of sexual aggression and aggressive horseplay on the dance floor in late night, large-capacity bars and night clubs," says study author Kathryn Graham, a senior scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.
Sometimes it was just sheer numbers -- the dance floor was the most crowded place on the premises and this sparked more incidents. And partly it was because that's where the most rowdiness between dancers and even bystanders took place.
But Graham was a little surprised that the area at or near the serving bar was the second most common location for bad behavior. She figures this was mainly a traffic and congestion issue.
Tempers there could also flare between patrons and staff over drink service. And when hot heads get hammered, it can get ugly.
"I suspect that a lot of the aggression near the serving bar was in the form of male-to-male violence where egos are on the line when people get bumped," says Graham.
Then again, "It may also be that this is a good place to hang around if you're looking for trouble," she adds.
While the dance floor was the #1 hotspot for aggressive behavior and the space near the serving bar was second, the tables came in third. This was followed by the hallways, aisles, and stairs in fourth, the entrance was fifth, and the pool tables were sixth.
Although only 4 percent of incidents took place at pool tables, the area had a high rate of barroom brawls likely brought on by people's competitive juices mixing with alcohol.
So, when you head out for a night on the town, now you'll know the high-risk locations at your favorite watering hole. And feel free to pass along this research to the bar staff so they'll keep things from getting out of hand in these potential trouble spots.
The worst fights? They took place outside the bar, of course.
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I wonder who is funding all these useless studies to tell us things that are just common knowledge....
Good question. After reading, though, it makes me glad I don't go out to bars anymore. Time was when you just went out for a few drinks, time with friends, and dancing. Ah, well.
Maybe they're useless to you, but the information is priceless for police and venue owners, know-it-all.
FLEX...
Then maybe the police should not be police if they needed this study, nor should owners be owners. You make a troll comment by calling Jenny a know it all and it should be common knowledge that large crowds and alcohol lead to fights always has and always will.
So to refute your "priceless" statement and support Jenny, how much was spent on this and who paid for this priceless information?
What a stupid study. I´m glad for once it wasn´t the U.S. govt spending China´s hard earned money on studies that are already common knowledge.
Not only is this a waste of money, but it's inaccurate. Bar fights and date rapes start at the place where the alcohol is dispensed. After they're drunk, then they get crazy. It is alcohol that brings out the mean in people and turns them into morons and worse. I avoid bars and all places where people are consuming large amounts of alcohol. As my daddy used to say, "The devil made alcohol."
if the devil made alcohol, then why do churches and synagogues use wine in their ceremonies? almost all sects of both religions. I don't know of other religions so I can't speak to them.
Jenny,
I'm sure we are. I would bet it was funded with tax payer dollars for this study.
The next study........... "Why do prisoners dislike prisons?".
The study was done in Canada... You know, that place where Toronto is... so if the Canadian government thought it was a valid study... who are you to argue???
they leave out the fact that the legal drinking age in Canada is 18. I used to live by the border and you get a bar full of teen kids drinking whatever they like with no discretion and I used to watch girls beat the hell out of each other like MMA fighters....left that part outa the study...18 year olds are just not mature enough to handle their booze
If 18 year olds aren't mature enough to drink, then they sure as hell aren't old enough to kill others in war. As Vietnam vet, there was a time when undergraduates had no college deferrment and 19 year olds were drafted from college. At this time, VERY FEW politicians kids had to serve.
I don't know what bars you all been going to but if I see a bunch of 21-25 year olds at the bar I do an about-face and walk back out. That is the age range that crap like this happens. The more mature crowd the better for me. Can't afford bail money at those other bars!!
ROTFLMAO!!!!
I could have done this for a fraction of the cost and in 3 months.
Just call the bars/clubs and talk to the Bouncers (or todays politically correct terms, doorman or greeter, YIKES!). When I worked as a Bouncer to help pay my college tuition I could tell you exactly what, who and why was the cause of most problems in a bar/club.
One simple fact of bar violence is that it is proportional to the size of the Bouncer. The bigger the Bouncer the less likely a problem will arise.
Uh, most bar fights start on the dance floor that's "what" inside the bar...LMAO
There is nothing Common about Common Sense. Does anyone REALLY care where bar fights start? This study is right up there with the studies that show that lack of exercise and eating a high fat diet will cause weight gain. It's all about the dollar, people get big bucks doing these totally useless studies and have laws passed to regulate what we can eat and drink and buy.
Nothing good ever happens after Midnight, especially in a Bar... Be there done that...No more late nights for old dano...
Another BS assignment someone gave to themselves to write off their drinks. What a stupid "study" and excuse to write crap together.
There was also a study just recently that found that over indulgence in alcohol leads to - wait for it - increases in unprotected sex. Wow! What a shocker!
It was called the "Beer Goggles" study
I want to be a researcher now.
Jenny-1680959;
The study was done in Canada. So I would think THEY paid for it but you never know. Obumo love's to give our money away... just saying
AKRandy, maybe you could just say less.........or nothing at all, huh?
Sounds like some group of people discovered how to get their Friday and Saturday nights paid for , 2 years worth at that! ha I could have told them the same answer in less than 30 seconds. the 2nd location is outside the bar at closing time. now they don't have to hang out in the parking lot and do another study, I just saved them $20 or $30,000.00 and another 2 years waiting for the results of another study. now they have the time and money to study where people pee after the bar closes.
Let's back up just a little bit, most brawls "begin" over at the bar with that first drink.
"Where do most bar fights start?" Is this a trick question? In the bar, of course! On or near the dance floor is almost anywhere in the bar. Uh, this is news? Wow. Must be a slow day.....
Ah the American education system...teaching you to jump to conclusions before you read the information (clearly presented in the article)
Anyone saying that "we" wasted our "tax dollars" on this "stupid" study - please note, this was performed in CANADA by the Toronto Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Clearly mental health researchers didn't find the data trivial or wish to rely on any of your anecdotes of nights out on the town.
"IT'S SO OBVIOUS. WHY BOTHER WITH THE STUDY?" --> I think it's true, therefore it is.
That is what you are saying. Allow me to explain why this is an ignorant, if not incredibly stupid, form of reasoning.
Researchers gather evidence to prove or disprove theories. What you have is a theory. It is a hypothesis. It is a guess. It may or may not be true. Allow me to repeat IT MAY OR MAY NOT BE TRUE. Researchers try to find out what is true by using many observations. Ordinary people, like the author of the first post, review some anecdotes and believe they are all knowing.
The study confirms what we've known for a long time. You see, sometimes you get @!$%#s on the dance floor who think it's okay to forcibly take a girl away when she's dancing with a guy, with no explanation whatsoever. This kind of behavior would almost inevitably provoke a fight, and for good reason.
D Buck, Dang. Right you are. Friday and Saturday nights are getting to be a big strain on the budget. Why the heck didn't I think of it first, right?
Imatthebeach;
So left wing of you!!! Telling people to shut up. I WON"T!!!
LIB'S THINK THEIRS IS THE ONLY THE ONLY OPINION THAT SHOULD BE HEARD!
akrandy,
Nah, some of them just get tired of hearing nitwits babble. Some, however, realizing we've just wasted nine or ten years in an unnecessary war started by a nitwit, consider the babble relatively harmless.
P.S.
!!!!! !!!!! CAPS CAPS CAPS!!!!
AKRandy, no, I never told anyone to "shut up". I leave it to you right-wingers to be rude. :)
FreedomRingsLoud, I've noticed the "Bouncer factor" at a lot of bars, especially at ones near college campuses.
The taxpayers, no doubt.
Common Knowledge indeed.
The thing about 'common knowledge' is that it isn't always true. Perception is everything, and while what you see is usually what you get, sometimes it only seems like something is so.
The purpose of a study is to intentionally observe and document the observations. Historically, no one is doing this in a bar; they're there to do what people go to bars to do! When melee breaks out, usually most people are caught off guard and after the fact, there will be many versions of 'what happened' when it's all getting sorted out.
Studying this would not have to be very costly, though I imagine you'd have to provide some incentive to get people to go spend time in a bar who wouldn't ordinarily go into one or to keep a volunteer observer objective in the case of one who would voluntarily go into such an establishment.
One could probably get a team of students to do this study as part of their coursework at relatively little cost to the taxpayer.
Again, there will be the anecdotal experience of bartenders, bouncers, patrons, and police officers...but that's based on their recollection of what they thought they saw or were told while dealing with or being involved in fights through the years. The goal of the study is to attempt to either validate this 'common knowledge' or else demonstrate that the usual ideas of what goes on in such scuffles are not completely accurate.
Ahh bars are a great place to pick up a good piece of tail. Besides, fights are just part of the entertainment ;)
Its hard to fight in a booth or in chairs. So...... all this money spent to realise that most people will stand to fight. And look there is a large space nearby. Go figure that's where the flailing about will occur. Duh!!!
Why is alcohol legal and marijuana not. Oh yeah, the anti druggers will say they don't want people sitting around in their basements eating Cheetoh's watching TV vegging out. That's bad behaviour. Better they go out and drink and get beer balls and fight and cost money and damage property and send people to the emergency rooms. This country is ........ed
Hold on. If they legalized weed then they would have to go outside to smoke like the rest of us cigarette and cigar smokers and then we would be subject to contact highs that could cause us to fail our drug test and lose our jobs. Where does the madness end?
If weed was legal the lawmakers might not be the uptight soul-savers and moral compasses they are now. Everybody would chill. Bars would be selling munchies....and making more profit than they do now.
I'm sure they would rewrite the rules for drug tests Avg Joe.
I could not agree with you more. Unfortunately the one drug that is the mother of all other vices is the legal one: Alcohol! If you want to talk about a drug that leads on to other drugs by all means, hands down is its ALCOHOL. It is known to cause aggressive behavior, severe intoxication, black outs, pregnancy (lol), etc... if it was up to me i'd legalize marijuana and banned alcohol. It is very unlikely you will OD on Marijuana than you will on alcohol.
Of course they do! Haven't these people ever watched 'Airplane!'???
Outside the bar I get, at the bar I get, but I was surprised that there was more aggression on the da dance floor. But I guess you do get a bit annoyed when you're trying to make your best move with your girl and some dudes butt keeps bump'n up against yours.
Really? Homophobic much?
Dancing is for women, cuckolds, and gays.
Udunnobro, sounds like you've got some insecurities and issues. Dont belittle other people because you look like a j'arse when you dance, dude. Coordination can difficult for some people but I dont think it in any way it makes someone gay because they can dance. It's almost 2012 dude,you need to relax bro'seph.
you forgot to add for guys who want to get girls to your list.
Just saying, who would be bitter about people that dance.
I also noticed all kinds of crabby people posting on this link. Many upset about "studies"...my advice, after conducting a study on the topic. No one cares much what you think about studies :)
But back on topic, I had a bar. My answer is most fights start at the pool table (and we had a dance floor...which most bars do not)
John, guys who can't dance would be bitter about people that dance. Also homophobes (see #8.1 above).
In response to your noticing a lot of crabby people, even I've been crabby lately. 'Tis the season, it seems.
Happy Holidays!!
I used to play in bar bands and watched it from the stage. Oddly, the woman who ran the report failed to mention the bathrooms. I can't tell you the number of times the bathroom door would suddenly crash open and a couple of gladiators would come boiling out. Of course, the report was done in Canada, so maybe they're different, eh?
I was expecting the bathrooms to be one of the top places as well, yet it didn't make it on the list at all!
id fight for you miami
Sickofit,
I have a feeling that's not really "Hot-in-Miami" real life pic????LOL "Hot" may just be a 95 yr old Gay dude..??
Nope- Got my arse handed to me along with a buddy by 3 Canadians in a canadian bar bathroom! One held the door from the outside and the others opened a can of whoop arse on us. We crawled to the car. Say what you will aboot Canadians...they're tougher than they look! Dudes girl still showed up at motel later ;)
And the one factor that was constant throughout all of the clubs?
Alcohol....the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.
There is a big difference between what you call "Common Knowledge" and cold hard data, that shows cause and effect for specific situations. Maybe y'all should get yourselves educated instead of crying about your precious tax dollars, which probably weren't even spent on this study. Gotta love America and it's anti-science and research mentality.
The Xavier/Cinncinati game fight proves this assertion quite nicely!
Duhhhhhhhhh? in the bar?
Duh!!
Basically, these "researchers" wanted to go out drinking and found someone in the Canadian gov't to pay for it. Kudos to them!!
Bars, booze and brawls have been around for a long time. This is not new information.
Yeah in the old west it was called a gun fight! Lol!
I'll bet that in bars with under 50 patrons the #1 place for a fight is around the pool table. A good place to get a pool stick across the teeth I'd say.
Had an aquaintence get a beer bottle to the head late one night near the pool table, Ouch!
I had a bar, and the number one place for fights was the pool table. Girls, in general, were the second most frequent (I don't recall any fights around the dance floor, and we did have one.
As somebody who's worked in nightclubs for twenty years, I can tell you the part of the problem is that kids now (under 30) don't know how to drink-they think 'drinking' means slamming twenty shots in a row and jumping around the room like howler monkeys on crack. I can't tell you how many pleasant nights I've seen ruined by fratboys/girls who don't understand the concept of getting a pleasant buzz and nursing it-all they know about drinking is what they see on "The Real World" and "Jersey Shore."
Amen. I worked as a bouncer at Headliner for a year and now I will not even set foot in that place or any place like it. I may be young but at least I'm respectful when I get drunk.
Sounds like there grooming potential alcoholics.
"Potential alcoholics"? You're too late, choirboy. A lot of those fratboys are already full-blown drunks by the time they graduate.
And yeah, I've seen "Jersey Shore" a couple of times, & I got sick to my stomach just watching how much booze they poured into their guts. Now, I do drink, but holy cow....!
Betcha there would be no problems like this in a hash bar...........
I've seen the worst brawls at symphonies.
Once the Beethoven and Mozart fans get a few glasses of wine in them, it's on.
Shucks, bar fights are nuthing compared to massive kin fights by folks all puckered up on 150 proof moonshine. Cain't beat good ol mountain brewed gut burners and teeth busting parties.
This was Canada, if you lived there you would be agressive also, after all it is cold as hell, 50% income tax and when you go to the Doctor you might get the same one you had last time or maybe not, its called cheap medicine, my mother met my Dad there, and left with him when he went back stateside, she was much happier and said that it was better in the USA.
I loafed in Bars a great deal and I always thought the majority of the fights started at or near the pool tables. I do agree with the dance floor also because so many people are dancing alittle close with someone elses baby. I never saw alot of fights in the restroom area seemed alot of guys hung out there just to watch other guys pee.
They don't start on the dance floor. They start with the first drink of alcohol and the mentality of the person drinking it.
As for the previous comments about marijuana, well, ask any policeman how many domestic disturbance / abuse cases they have attributed to excessive smoking of weed and how many to alcohol consumption? Make the one that causes the most problems to society illegal.
Oh, that's right, if we make alcohol illegal gangs will sell it as a means of income and cause even more problems.
Amen to that brother. In LAPD we used to mark our reports HBD (had been drinking) to track criminal issues/arrests where the suspect/victims HBD. Without the booze 8 out of 10 fights, domestic violence, property damage would not occur.
Drunks are violent, drug addicts are thieves and burglars but I cant recall ever having an issue or altercation with a stoner.......ever.