The story goes that BYOB was first coined by a cartoonist from Alabama, Frank M. Spangler, who started using it in his cartoons, six months after state-wide American prohibition went into effect in Alabama. It was the first holiday season since prohibition had been instituted, and it was proving problematic to source enough alcohol to serve a full holiday party. At the time, it was illegal to sell or purchase alcohol, but not to own or consume it, so BYOB was a great solution.