In almost all countries (I know there are exceptions), the age for allowing drinking, marriage, driving etc. are commonly 18/21. Why didn’t they go for a round figure number like 20? Is there any biological or psychological reason behind this that I’m not aware of?
In: Other
Basically it was just trial and error.
In the old days, being “adult” meant very different things than today – there was no voting or drivers licenses or things like that in ancient Rome for example.
In older times, it was common for various cultures for a young person to be mentored by an adult to learn adult skills, and then have some kind of ceremony to signify they are an adult. In some ancient Greek cultures you could be considered an adult at like 14. In other cultures adulthood was an age where you could participate in various religious ceremonies. In other cultures it was common to do some kind of feat or go through something (eg getting ritually cut, or tattooed or whatever. It also depended on sex – in many cultures for example women weren’t considered adult till they married (or the equivalent).
As society developed, the ages of majority changed to fit the different needs of society – for example when legal contracts become common, or when societal rules around marriage changed, or when industrialisation or education changed.
Even now, 18 or 21 isn’t really a blanket thing. Most countries will have different ages for sex, legal stuff, driving, drinking, owning firearms, holding certain positions etc. it’s just that 18 is kind of when we’re “mostly done”. We’re pretty.much fully grown, we’ve (hopefully) had a bunch of education, a bunch of experience, and it’s just hoped that you know enough by then to do stuff yourself.
Latest Answers