3 ms·

Wasn’t alcohol popular historically because of it’s innate sterilization? I don’t think we can draw any special conclusions from alcohol being served at a fune

• chmod775 5y ago
  > Wasn’t alcohol popular historically because of it’s innate sterilization? I don't think brewing low-alcohol beer as a means of sterilizing water was important until human population density hit a certain threshold in the middle ages. The human body should have been able to handle most things found in water we consumed until human waste and leftovers from human industry started heavily polluting rivers.
  • otabdeveloper4 5y ago
    I doubt that, lots of nasty parasites and bacteria live in fresh water, and most of them don't focus on any one specific animal.
    • chmod775 5y ago
      And your body can cope with typical parasites/bacteria just fine - not to mention that these are way more common nowadays and come in larger variety than they used to. Especially with travel spreading species all around the globe. You are likely to be host to at least a dozen parasites right now. As for bacteria... I wouldn't even want to begin counting. Some of them will just die upon entering your body, some will make you sick, some will pay rent, some won't. If I was looking to get violently sick, I probably wouldn't start with springs or mountain rivers. The real nasty stuff can be more easily found in spaces where humans live.