Prohibition

When you say the word "prohibition" many people associate it with the roaring twenties of the USA, mobsters, smuggling, wild parties and cities like New York or Chicago. But prohibition has a history, dating to as early as ancient China. The modern day bans on alcohol showed up and lasted in the first few decades of the 20th century, as an attempt to help society get sober. 

You're not supposed to spill it down the drain...

Possibly the most known was the prohibition in the US which lasted during the 1920s and 30s. It basically prohibited making and distributing alcoholic beverages, in order to create a better society. It failed. The law was bypassed, bent, broken, you name it, just to get liquor distributed. This ushered the era of great crime lords like Al Capone and a network of criminal organizations which smuggled and distributed alcohol.