A guy told me in a bar, that the reason the Europeans gained immense power over the world in general was that they drank an inordinate amount of alcoholic beverages, to the exclusion of water, and thereby were healthier than the people they met, due to the other people carrying water-borne disease such as dysentry and so forth.
Is he full of it?
Originally posted by Azeri guyActually... as far back as the Greeks or earlier... they use to think it uncivilised if water was drank without a small amout of alchohol.. usually waine (1part wine per 4 parts water)... This nutrelized the bacteria... and much resurch has ben proven that a glass of wine (the drink of europ) and or a beer higher in hopps(hops is good 4 u) actually has manny health benifits... such as this..
pretty stupid statement... the guy was probably drunk when said that! 😏
"
Moderate alcohol consumption may provide some health benefits. It can:
Reduce your risk of developing heart disease, peripheral vascular disease and intermittent claudication
Reduce your risk of dying of a heart attack
Reduce your risk of strokes, particularly ischemic strokes
Lower your risk of gallstones
Possibly reduce your risk of diabetes "
or...http://magickalmusings.net/bos/rewind/2002/12/herb_talk_hops.php for more on hops..
DRINK UP....
Originally posted by KneverKnightMy theory is that alcohol drinking cultures, like the Europeans, were aggressive and mean due to their drug; while weed smoking cultures, like the Moors maybe, were lethargic and passive and got beat up by the alcoholics. Hallucinogen using cultures like the Native Americans spent so much time in the Spirit World that they couldn't tell the difference between a dude on a horse who's come to rob them and a god in the form of a centaur fulfilling a prophecy.
A guy told me in a bar, that the reason the Europeans gained immense power over the world in general was that they drank an inordinate amount of alcoholic beverages, to the exclusion of water, and thereby were healthier than the people they met, due to the other people carrying water-borne disease such as dysentry and so forth.
Is he full of it?
Apart from the recently discovered health benefits as mentioned by xxxenophobe, the most important thing at the time, when clean water was hard to come by, was that alcohol made water safe to drink. In other places, tea had the same effect.
Anyway, the guy in the bar was probably talking rubbish, although soldiers did used to drink a lot in order to gain courage for battles (thi was back in the day when a shield wall was used, and you had to stand there with sheild and spear and wait for a load of men with spears and horses to charge at you).
Originally posted by VargYup, Alcohol was added to water by the europeans to make the water safe to drink.
Apart from the recently discovered health benefits as mentioned by xxxenophobe, the most important thing at the time, when clean water was hard to come by, was that alcohol made water safe to drink. In other places, tea had the same effect.
Anyway, the guy in the bar was probably talking rubbish, although soldiers did used to drink a lot in order to gain coura ...[text shortened]... here with sheild and spear and wait for a load of men with spears and horses to charge at you).
In asia a different technique was used to purify water and this is why a lot of asians cannot drink alcohol, their bodies cannot break down the alcohol like the eurpoeans can..
Originally posted by KneverKnightthey didn't gain immense power over the world because they were healthier, did they? ... some other cultures had plenty of people to spare ...
A guy told me in a bar, that the reason the Europeans gained immense power over the world in general was that they drank an inordinate amount of alcoholic beverages, to the exclusion of water, and thereby were healthier than the people they met, due to the other people carrying water-borne disease such as dysentry and so forth.
Is he full of it?
The "pulley" and "winch" played a much bigger role than alcohol. All cultures have had alcohol. Some used it to better benefit.
The pulley allowed the first canons to be drawn, replaced and lit faster than the opposition.
The winch and pulley allowed Britain to rule the waves. Faster, better and stronger. Mr. Ludd wasn't too happy when the first machines replaced "man made pulleys" in Britain. He and his planted a bomb under the pariament and thus we now know those "opposed to technological advancement" as Luddites.
Go figure. I wonder if mr. Ludd drank any booze before planting the bomb? Grease? To get the job done? Mayhaps.
Originally posted by StarValleyWyWhat?!
The "pulley" and "winch" played a much bigger role than alcohol. All cultures have had alcohol. Some used it to better benefit.
The pulley allowed the first canons to be drawn, replaced and lit faster than the opposition.
The winch and pulley allowed Britain to rule the waves. Faster, better and stronger. Mr. Ludd wasn't too happy when the fi ...[text shortened]... nder if mr. Ludd drank any booze before planting the bomb? Grease? To get the job done? Mayhaps.
When did Ned Ludd plant a bomb under parliament?
Originally posted by dk3nnyAsians. japanese, chinese, korean etc tend to go red very quickly after drinking alcohol. Having a sneaky drink is very difficult.
Yup, Alcohol was added to water by the europeans to make the water safe to drink.
In asia a different technique was used to purify water and this is why a lot of asians cannot drink alcohol, their bodies cannot break down the alcohol like the eurpoeans can..
Originally posted by KneverKnightI reckon the main reason Europeans were so healthy is that Europe is so far North. Tropical climate = more vectors for disease, generally. I think disease was a key factor in the conquest of the Americas, but I doubt it made much difference elsewhere as usually the Europeans caught local diseases a lot more readily than they spread them to the locals.
A guy told me in a bar, that the reason the Europeans gained immense power over the world in general was that they drank an inordinate amount of alcoholic beverages, to the exclusion of water, and thereby were healthier than the people they met, due to the other people carrying water-borne disease such as dysentry and so forth.
Is he full of it?
Also, it should be pointed out that Europe didn't start to surpass the Muslim world, India, China and Japan technologically until the 16th century, and in many fields not until industrialisation got underway. By most accounts the age of European dominance of the world was relatively short, ending in WWII and starting perhaps two centuries before, whereas you could say that for almost all of recorded history before then, Asia (specifically Persia, India, China, Mesopotamia, the Levant, Arabia and even Anatolia) was richer, more advanced and more powerful than Europe. I don't know how much that has to do with booze, though.