WAIT, YOU NEED A REASON TO DRINK A GUINESS?:

In 1799, after spending 40 years tinkering with various ales and porters at his Dublin brewery, Arthur Guinness decided to dedicate his company solely to the perfection of a single brew: a roasted barley-flavored porter with a creamy head. Two hundred thirteen years later, Guinness' signature concoction is Ireland's unofficial national tipple--and internationally, Guinness is as synonymous with the Emerald Isle as leprechauns and shamrocks. [...]

Though its effect on sales trends remains to be seen, the first few Arthur's Days seem to have worked as far as getting out the crowds (and today's celebration looks poised to be just as big). For the past three years, on a predetermined Thursday toward the end of September, hundreds of thousands of people have turned up at their local (as the Irish call their neighborhood pub) and at gradually expanding international events, to raise their glasses at exactly 5:59 p.m. and toast "To Arthur!" (On European clocks, that time is known as 17:59, a nod to the year of Guinness' lease-signing.) The Thursday slot conveniently coincides with student drinking night, and the timing of the toast captures the after-work crowd.

The success of Arthur's day is unusual. You typically don't see Nutella fans storming grocery stores on Feb. 5 for World Nutella Day or Patron addicts lining up shots at every bar on National Tequila Day in late July.

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