Britain to Abolish the Pint?

The pint, one of Britain’s cultural staples, may soon be going to way of the dodo bird.  Under a new set of rules, restaurants and pubs could begin to use the Australian measure of a schooner— or roughly 2/3 of a pint. The government says the changes are in response to changing “consumer tastes.” Government officials say that the British people now prefer slightly smaller amounts of “hard drink,” and the schooner would offer more choices. Others suspect that the new measurement will discourage excessive drinking, which is growing more prevalent across the country.