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That idea seems to hinge on the notion that the cultural acceptance of alcohol intoxication somehow "filled a niche" that would otherwise have been filled by so
by __jal 8y ago
That idea seems to hinge on the notion that the cultural acceptance of alcohol intoxication somehow "filled a niche" that would otherwise have been filled by some other intoxicant.
The first problem to overcome if one wishes to support that idea is that alcohol had other uses than getting plastered. Weak ciders were ubiquitous before refrigeration because they were safe to drink when the local water wasn't. It was also a pain reliever before there were many others and used as a disinfectant.
- toomanybeersies 8y agoCider makes a horrible disinfectant, it would be just as effective to pour apple juice over everything. You need distilled alcohol (>25% ABV), without sugar, before it starts being an effective disinfectant.
- krageon 8y agoI could be reading it wrong, but I think the grandparent jumped back to speaking about alcohol in general somewhere along his line of reasoning (without specifically saying where).