Liquor store manager reaches for blue bottle. Then he finds something tragic on the shelf

2025-04-27T11:32:14Z

They say a picture’s worth 1,000 words. That might explain this viral post.

An anonymous liquor store owner says they reached for a bottle and then noticed someone left behind a sobriety token on the shelf from Alcoholics Anonymous. To viewers, it’s an obvi…

They say a picture’s worth 1,000 words. That might explain this viral post.

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An anonymous liquor store owner says they reached for a bottle and then noticed someone left behind a sobriety token on the shelf from Alcoholics Anonymous. To viewers, it’s an obvious resignation.

The photo was posted to the r/mildlyinteresting forum over the weekend. By Saturday it topped the Reddit home page.

Why was the AA chip post so popular on Reddit?

Reddit is such a massive platform that’s seen such a spike in Google Search real estate in recent years that you forget it’s still at heart an anonymous forum to discuss random topics. With that veil afforded to its users, many felt comfortable opening up about their journey with addiction.

“Done almost a year and half and fell right back into it, but not as bad as I once was. Did a couple 50 days just to prove to my SO I’m not dependent. I no longer drink in secret is my main accomplishment,” one commenter wrote.

“For me, it took countless attempts to get to 24 hours, many attempts to get to a week, several attempts to get to a month, three attempts to get to 100 days, and now I am about to hit 1 year. The fact that this person stumbled at 24 hours is not a failure, it’s just another step towards sobriety.,” another’s story read.

A third person wrote that their father owned a liquor store but got out of the business: “He sold it after 5 years because he was so depressed about the repeat customers coming in every day for the same big bottle of liquor. He said to me, ‘it felt like I was aiding them in suicide,’ which hit me hard.”

The post has nearly 4,000 comments, many paragraphs long.

How many times does the average addict relapse?

According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, 40-60% of individuals relapse within a year of leaving treatment for substance abuse disorders.

The thing about alcoholism is: It’s a disease. And once somebody programs their midbrain to crave alcohol constantly, the mind sees it as essential. A true addict can’t just drive by a bar without being triggered.

So with therapy, support groups, and medicine, an alcoholic can keep their mind busy and free from what’s ailing them. And countless alcoholics can find peace living sober.

The 12 steps to Alcoholics Anonymous are perennially useful to thousands of Americans because, if nothing else, they keep an alcoholic’s mind busy, purposeful, and social.

What are the AA chips?

The program starts with 24-hour chips. Then it goes monthly for 3 months. Then there is a 6-month chip. Then a 9-month chip. Then a 1-year chip followed by annual chips.

“To thine own self be true,” the chip reads. It also features a triangle with the words: “unity,” “service,” and “recovery” on each side of the triangle.

What should I do if I suspect someone I love is experiencing alcoholism?

According to American Addiction Centers: Look for the signs. Think about when to best bring up your concerns. Learn about what to say and what not to say. Set your own boundaries. Be compassionate and not judgmental.

This reporter recommends inserting the question into ChatGPT and Google, then doing lots of reading.

And perhaps there’s a silver lining to the Reddit post, as a commenter suggested.

“Aside from the obvious sadness, voluntarily giving up the chip means they perhaps will try again from scratch rather than lie to anyone (including themselves) that they never fell,” they wrote. “It might take ten 24hr chips and then eventually a 30day chip.”

That comment alone has 19,000 upvotes.

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