It Raines and pours: Buying a sandwich to have a beer isn't a new phenomenon

In 1896 the Raines Law, authored by John Raines, was passed by the New York state legislature. We're using something similar now for post lockdown meet ups in bars. 

To get a pint under Covid-19 restrictions, we have to buy a ‘substantial meal’, but drinkers in 1900s New York contended with all kinds of regulations and loopholes, writes Donal O’Keeffe

If you’re forced to order a substantial meal so you can have a pint in your post-lockdown local, pray they don’t serve you a Raines Sandwich, an inedible New York snack invented a century ago.