<P> Blackout Wednesday (or "Black Wednesday," "Drinksgiving," or "Thanksgiving Eve," or "Wacky Wednesday") is a pejorative term for the night before the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, which is always a Thursday . It is associated with binge drinking since very few people work on Thanksgiving, and most university students are home to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with their families . The name refers to "blacking out", memory loss due to excessive alcohol intoxication . In the south Chicago suburbs in particular, Blackout Wednesday is sometimes a more popular partying night than even New Year's Eve or Saint Patrick's Day . In some cities, it is the top drunk driving night of the year . Police departments increase patrols checking for drunk driving in many jurisdictions including in Indiana and Minnesota . MADD reports that the Thanksgiving holiday produces more people killed in drunk driving crashes than the Christmas holiday. . </P> <P> The term has a search history on Google beginning in 2014 . </P>

Why is thanksgiving the biggest bar night of the year