While old London coffee houses are generally credited as the birthplaces (a customer left agratuity over and above the menu price "To Insure Promptness"), tipping has morphed into a mostly American custom.
As was the case that night, my father would often buy me an ice cream cone at a nearby custard stand on Okalahoma Avenue as agratuity for my patience while I waited in the car and he shopped.
The change came in handy when in June 2004 Wiederhorn, while publicly protesting his innocence, pleaded guilty to giving an illegal gratuity and filing a false tax return.