Ordering an Angel Shot at the Bar Could Save Your Life

If you've ever been on a bad date and needed an "emergency" excuse to walk out the door, then you'll be even more relieved by a new, helpful trend sweeping bars across the globe. Not only are waitstaff helping women flee a bad date, they want to help keep you out of harm's way.

At Iberian Restaurant in St. Petersburg, FL, this means there is a discreet sign in the women's restroom that reads "Is your Tinder date not who they said they were on their profile? Do you feel unsafe or even just a tad bit weird?" If so, the sign advises, order an angel shot.

Wait, what is this mysterious drink? Well it's actually not booze at all. It's a code that will discreetly tell the bartender you need help, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Here's how it works: Order an angel shot neat and a bartender will escort you to your car. Ask for it with ice and the bartender will call a taxi or Uber for you. Order it with lime and the restaurant staff will call the police.

Apparently this code word was inspired by a similar movement in London, where women are "asking for Angela" to signal an unsafe situation during a date. It was created by The Lincolnshire Rape Crisis, a support service for women and girls in East England.

Between meeting a stranger from the internet for the first time, the rise of date-rape drugs, and just regularly being subjected to harassment on a daily basis, dates can be terrifying for women. (As Louis C.K. once put it, men are their No. 1 threat.) So a system like this, which would have to be different at every bar in order to work successfully, sounds ideal for daters everywhere.

So far, Iberian Restaurant's owner Russell Andrade said no one has had to use the angel shot order. "I'm surprised to hear people are just talking about this," he told the Times. "We didn't put the sign up for any attention. That sort of goes against the point."

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