Ridiculous myths about US (or other places') history

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

Why was clean water hard to come by?

Also, alcohol works as a diuretic basically. So, I don't buy that alcohol was a substitute for water, no way no how.

Why was the water dirty? Didn't they know to drink from the ripple of the stream? Didn't they have springs and ground water back in the bad old days?

Not EVERYONE had clean water, some did some didn't but for the most part if you lived far inland where there wasn't a clean source of water you were screwed.

People got sick all the time from drinking bad water in ancient times and as recent as 200 years ago.

Beer and liquor wasn't a substitute for water but they did drink it and as I said, even children drank beer...well a form of beer that was very watered down.

It's a myth to say that's all they drank but it's not a myth that it was drank more often than it is today.

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

Thats how the term 'limey' came about

Yes sir.....

[BattlingNelson]

i was just reading a a bit about jack johnson v jim jeffries. it said that jim's corner 'doused him with champagne between rounds' to refresh him.

that sounds like a pretty decent myth.

Hmmm.... Sounds plausible. The oldtimers drank whiskey between rounds if they had a particularly bad round before the intermission.

If someone tells you that it was because they had no water then reply that that is a myth.

[New England]

canada's land is too cold to be habitable. lol it's usually americans who think that though.

how far north have you been, jean luc, mon frere?


ive spent about six weeks in canada, all in the winter. maybe more than six weeks. it is very cold, especially at night. that's why it's not as populated as murrica.

hell, isn't a huge portion of montreal underground?
they aren't down there for the atmosphere, they're down there because it's too cold for tourists/shoppers to be walking around.


southern canada?
paradise

northern canada?
tundra.

[Drunken Cat]

This is yet another argument from personal incredulity. Strong spirits were not drunk in lieu of water but beer and wine certainly were throughout most of human history. Especially when water was stored. It was hard to store water without the growth of mould causing it to develop a nasty taste. Beer and wine had alcohol that prevented the growth of mould and bacteria and would therefore be drunk instead of water.

Interesting.

[Drunken Cat]

piggy is right about that. Through out time there has been problems storing water the romans had aqueducts which where good at bringing clean water from long distances. The romans had contaminated the tiber river. Ok so 90% of cities develop and are founded along rivers/ lakes. After a long time those water sources get contaminated and so they need to clean the toxic water no one knew about boiling water. However, to make alcoholic drinks. water is boiled. Therefore, alcohol was the only way to drink clean water.

I can see how it was so in certain cases. But I don't think it was whatsoever the norm.

[Drunken Cat]

Not EVERYONE had clean water, some did some didn't but for the most part if you lived far inland where there wasn't a clean source of water you were screwed.

People got sick all the time from drinking bad water in ancient times and as recent as 200 years ago.

Beer and liquor wasn't a substitute for water but they did drink it and as I said, even children drank beer...well a form of beer that was very watered down.

It's a myth to say that's all they drank but it's not a myth that it was drank more often than it is today.

Good points. But people also boozed a lot more in the old frontier towns than they do today, as well. I read a fascinating book about the development of Harbin, a Chinese city, which was to a large extent built by Russians as part of the trans-Siberian railroad (it is today an ordinary Chinese city, quite sizable too). The per-capita liquor consumption was very high. But, they were drinking spirits made from some plant, the name of which I can't presently remember, but the quality of the liquor itself was very bad, and could kill you. The authorities eventually allowed the importing of liquor from Russia, which sort of solved this issue.

Anyway, the the book was titled The Road to Harbin. I was going to post an image, but I haven't found one. In fact I borrowed the book from a professor.

[Drunken Cat]

Hmmm.... Sounds plausible. The oldtimers drank whiskey between rounds if they had a particularly bad round before the intermission.

If someone tells you that it was because they had no water then reply that that is a myth.

If you ever get a chance to read the account written by the doctor who attended to President Lincoln after he was shot, whiskey looms somewhat largely in the narrative. They had him drink whiskey mixed with water immediately after he was shot. Later on, when he was very well incapacitated, other doctors pressured the guy in charge into giving him some more whiskey, as many thought it would do him good. The attending physician was against it, but conceded to it. Just as he thought, Lincoln choked on the whiskey, and he had to spend several minutes attending to this. He claimed that no harm was done in the end though.

[BattlingNelson]

The oldest flag in the world is the danish.



The myth has it that the danes was losing the battle at Lyndanisse (present day Tallinn) on June 15 in 1219. Then suddenly the flag fell down from the sky courtesy of multiple prayers and soon the tide turned and King Valdemar led the danes to victory.

[Drunken Cat]

The oldest flag in the world is the danish.



The myth has it that the danes was losing the battle at Lyndanisse (present day Tallinn) on June 15 in 1219. Then suddenly the flag fell down from the sky courtesy of multiple prayers and soon the tide turned and King Valdemar led the danes to victory.

Very interesting.

Hard to say whether it is the oldest flag. I'm assuming that refers to official flags among present-day modern nation-states. It may be though.