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I have always noticed contradictions within the history of booze. I can't understand how anyone who has ever tried well-water can believe that misconception abo

I have always noticed contradictions within the history of booze. I can't understand how anyone who has ever tried well-water can believe that misconception about choosing beer over water. Also, an old U.S. History textbook in high school suggesting to us that the Temperance Movement was a reaction to people suddenly discovering strong alcohol. This article confirmed my suspicions on both of those events.

SamBam 10y ago
> I can't understand how anyone who has ever tried well-water can believe that misconception about choosing beer over water. But for urban folk in the middle of London, or New York, was the water they were consuming as fresh as what you're imagining when you think of "well water?" Even if it was drawn from nearby wells, and not from dirty cisterns, was their sewage system good enough to keep it from getting contaminated? I don't know so much about water cleanliness, and the article suggests it may not have been that dirty, but I wouldn't assume that it was all as clean as a perfect little rural well.
astrodust 10y ago
Well water? Early municipal water systems were disgusting. The stuff that flowed in through the taps was barely filtered and mostly untreated. http://shifting-grounds.net/pre-history/water-condition.html http://shifting-grounds.net/pre-history/water-condition.html If it was a choice between bilge water and beer, I'd pick beer every time.
ctdonath 10y ago
I grew up on well water. It was fine. Problem is when it isn't fine, such as in an "urban" area where there's lots of people drawing water and lots of people dumping contaminants indiscriminately (common then). They may have "discovered" strong drinks at a point when the expanding American corn-farming industry discovered that moving whiskey was a whole lot more profitable per volume than dried corn.
FabHK 10y ago
Cholera was transmitted via contaminated water, remember John Snow's famous map showing the affected families during an 1854 outbreak in London were near one particular pump: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1854_Broad_Street_cholera_outbreak https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1854_Broad_Street_cholera_outb...

SamBam 10y ago

> I can't understand how anyone who has ever tried well-water can believe that misconception about choosing beer over water. But for urban folk in the middle of London, or New York, was the water they were consuming as fresh as what you're imagining when you think of "well water?" Even if it was drawn from nearby wells, and not from dirty cisterns, was their sewage system good enough to keep it from getting contaminated? I don't know so much about water cleanliness, and the article suggests it may not have been that dirty, but I wouldn't assume that it was all as clean as a perfect little rural well.

astrodust 10y ago

Well water? Early municipal water systems were disgusting. The stuff that flowed in through the taps was barely filtered and mostly untreated. http://shifting-grounds.net/pre-history/water-condition.html http://shifting-grounds.net/pre-history/water-condition.html If it was a choice between bilge water and beer, I'd pick beer every time.

ctdonath 10y ago

I grew up on well water. It was fine. Problem is when it isn't fine, such as in an "urban" area where there's lots of people drawing water and lots of people dumping contaminants indiscriminately (common then). They may have "discovered" strong drinks at a point when the expanding American corn-farming industry discovered that moving whiskey was a whole lot more profitable per volume than dried corn.

FabHK 10y ago

Cholera was transmitted via contaminated water, remember John Snow's famous map showing the affected families during an 1854 outbreak in London were near one particular pump: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1854_Broad_Street_cholera_outbreak https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1854_Broad_Street_cholera_outb...