Survival of the Sudsiest. Apparently modern society owes a lot of its existence to beer drinkers. The aside about alcoholism in Native American and Aboriginal communities is pretty fascinating. I have to wonder, though, how Johnson’s book accounts for the inability of many Asians to digest alcohol. Wouldn’t that have been selected against? I guess I’ll have to look out for the book. (Link courtesy of Daring Fireball.)
TOAST
July 12, 2008 — 3:14 am
See TOAST’s PhD thesis. Russian vodka (or the cheaper stuff, I forget the name) is fermented from potatoes, yes? What they don’t tell you is that these are a robust form of potato that will grow in mud and frost.. and is INEDIBLE. But, you can convert it to ethanol, drink it, and get 7 cal / gram.
So, while the life expectancy of Russians is 10 years less than Western Europeans (or more), attributable to alcohol, it’s 10 or 20 years more than what it would have been due to famine under Stalin.
Next step, air-drop stills and yeast into Darfur.
There’s a PhD in it. And I could save the world.
Stop looking at me like that.
TOAST
July 12, 2008 — 3:20 am
See also: Tea (and other beverages such as barley tea) consumption on civilisation.