Beer IS better than water - Page 4

Alidar Jarok · June 12 2009, 12:01 AM

K'ehleyr wrote:

Alidar Jarok wrote:

Look, I love beer. Beer was the foundation that western civilization was built on (I'm not making that up, it was a major reason for grain production and it purified water so it was safe to consume)...

Is this why Westerners are supposed to have a greater ingrained (yes the pun was intentional) tolerance for alcohol because they purified water by making into beer whereas in Eastern culture they boiled water to make tea?
I don't have a theory for Sake though

That's part of the theory, yeah. The theory suggests that most of those who couldn't handle alcohol in the west died out because they drank impure water (assuming at one time, tolerance in the east and west were equal). Therefore, most westerners these days have a tolerance for alcohol.

They do have alcohol in the east (sake is a good example), but I just chalk that up to everyone loving to get drunk. There are nomads in Mongolia who make alcohol out of milk, so people like to get drunk even when it seems like a terrible idea.

Kirk's_Tights · June 12 2009, 12:03 AM

This made me cry happy tears that taste like beer.

K'Ehleyr · June 12 2009, 12:06 AM

^ It's seldom a terrible idea at the time ~ the next morning however is another matter

Goliath · June 12 2009, 01:02 AM

Alidar Jarok wrote:

That's part of the theory, yeah. The theory suggests that most of those who couldn't handle alcohol in the west died out because they drank impure water (assuming at one time, tolerance in the east and west were equal). Therefore, most westerners these days have a tolerance for alcohol.

If that's true, then that's natural selection in action.

God bless my European ancestors for being too stupid and ignorant to boil their water.

They do have alcohol in the east (sake is a good example), but I just chalk that up to everyone loving to get drunk. There are nomads in Mongolia who make alcohol out of milk, so people like to get drunk even when it seems like a terrible idea.

If Asian people were smart enough to drink tea instead of beer, then that would provide a possible evolutionary explanation for alcohol flush reaction, to which so many Asian people are susceptible.

For some competing evolutionary explanations, see here.

Alidar Jarok · June 12 2009, 01:33 AM

Camelopard wrote:

Alidar Jarok wrote:

That's part of the theory, yeah. The theory suggests that most of those who couldn't handle alcohol in the west died out because they drank impure water (assuming at one time, tolerance in the east and west were equal). Therefore, most westerners these days have a tolerance for alcohol.

If that's true, then that's natural selection in action.

Well, it's an idea perpetuated by biological anthropologists, so they would be using the theory of evolution as a basis for their theory.

God bless my European ancestors for being too stupid and ignorant to boil their water.

Amen to that

June 12 2009, 12:03 AM	#47
Kirk's_Tights Fleet Captain Location: Hugh Jackman's pants	Re: Beer IS better than water This made me cry happy tears that taste like beer. __________________ Краще, ніж ви. http://www.last.fm/user/LadyZeppelinX

June 12 2009, 12:06 AM	#48
K'Ehleyr Commodore Location: In a world which very few others see	Re: Beer IS better than water ^ It's seldom a terrible idea at the time ~ the next morning however is another matter __________________ Oh for goodness sake it's not that important. Unless it is really important ~ then you can always email it to me and I'll ignore it again tomorrow.

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