3 ms·
Earlier discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36850113 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36850113 Not mentioned is, that the answer to the headlin
by cf141q5325 3y ago
Earlier discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36850113 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36850113
Not mentioned is, that the answer to the headline and the explanation for the drop in England is very likely the introduction and wide adaptation of Laudanum among the poorest segments of society. Like Lobster being formerly food for the poor (its icky insects after all) same pattern is visible with opiates.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_trade https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_trade
Wiki also mentions it being the most effective treatment for dysentery and cholera. Here its worth mentioning that drinkable water was the initial reason for the adaptation of alcoholic beverages.
- Anticlockwise 3y agoDrinking alcohol because water was unsafe is a modern myth. Prior to (and for a long time after, too) the germ theory of disease, water was evaluated purely by taste. They drank lots of water. Thus the whole "cholera epidemic because one well in London was near where poop ran off" thing. https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/the-myth-of-medieval-small-beer-19763/ https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/the-myth-of-medieval-sm...
- cf141q5325 3y agoThat source is a bit thin for that kind of statement. Regardless, thank you for pointing that out.