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> have been trying to cope with the stress of life since there have been people Did they? Alcohol was associated with feasts - not particularly stressful situa
by buboard 7y ago
> have been trying to cope with the stress of life since there have been people
Did they? Alcohol was associated with feasts - not particularly stressful situations. Alcoholism , OTOH has a ~50% genetic contribution.
- tapland 7y ago> Alcohol was associated with feasts Was it now? Alcoholic beverages were seen as a nutritious (!!!) staple food from it's discovery until recently. It was also the only thing to drink in areas that lacked clean water (and one cared about avoiding it). And yes, people have been trying to deal with people since there were people. And people have always been stressful.
- mywittyname 7y agoAlcohol has a ton of calories, it's cheap & easy to make, and keeps really well. The fact that it takes the edge off is just a bonus. Even without the effects of alcohol, beer is the perfect food for feeding slaves and soldiers.
- noelwelsh 7y agoAdding to this, it was common to drink very low alcohol beer, called small beer. It was usually below 1% alcohol, so very different to beer or wine that people typically drink these days.