BloggingBaby found an interesting piece of news about a boy in South Yorkshire, Chris Hardacre, who might just be the world's youngest bartender. At twelve, he is the youngest person on record to have passed the British Institute of Innkeeping exam and become a fully licensed bartender.

Chris said that he was inspired by the fact that he eventually wants to take over the pub that his father runs and thought that it would be a good idea to learn all he could about it. After only a few weeks' worth of study, and probably a good deal of time spent in the pub, and he was ready to take the exam. He passed on the first try. His license allows him to serve beer with adult supervision, but does not allow him to drink anything that he serves.

In southwest England, Trading Standards officials carried out a survey of various pubs and other alcohol-serving venues and discovered that one in five pints had noticeably less liquid than it should. Given that this shortabe happend with such regularity at many different locations, perhaps the theory is that once you've had a few pints, you won't really be worried about a few extra mouthfuls. Or, perhaps the quality of bartenders has simple declined, since it is much more difficult to pull a drink with the appropriate amount of foam than you might guess.

Officials recommend asking for a top-off if the drink appears to be a bit short, not only to ensure that you're getting what you've paying for, but to encourage vendors to be a bit more careful in their pouring in the future.

 Blogging Baby reported that pregnant Gwyneth Paltrow indulged in a Guinness beer while at a small BYO sushi restaurant in New York. The article they cited, in the NY Daily News, pointed out that "some experts recommend a little Guinness for expecting mothers, because of the brew's high iron content." Guinness might have a high iron content for beer, but at 0.3mg of iron per pint, it can hardly be called a "good" source of iron. The recommended daily allowance of iron is about 14mg for women and 11mg for men. An egg has 1.1mg of iron. A packed half cup of raisins has 2.5mg of iron. One cup of cooked spinach has 4mg of iron. If using Guinness as a source of iron is 5-month pregnant Gwyneth's excuse for downing a drink while dining, it is a poor one. At least her representative said that she didn't eat any raw sushi, sticking to cooked food instead.