"Do you drink?"

[DaviDaVinci]

Anyone know how/when/where this phrase got the meaning of 'Do you drink alcohol?'

 

[Konigin]

No, I don't know.

 

[Booster]

Well in other languages it means the same AFAIK. And who would ask a question if you drink in general? Everybody has to drink something or they die. Everybody drinks. But not everybody drinks alcohol.

 

[beer]

Because in most of recent - the last millenia or so - human history, the only things people 'drank' were alcohols of some sort. Water, etc, was often too dirty to be consumed safely. Sodas, fruit juices, etc, are creations of the last century. Milk didn't stay well until the creation of refrigeration.

 

[Booster]

Originally posted by: Elemental007
Because in most of recent - the last millenia or so - human history, the only things people 'drank' were alcohols of some sort. Water, etc, was often too dirty to be consumed safely. Sodas, fruit juices, etc, are creations of the last century. Milk didn't stay well until the creation of refrigeration.

That's an interesting theory. So I reckon our ancestors were just a bunch of drunkards? I don't think so. I think we'd be all dead by now then b/c drinking leads to degeneration in future generations, mental and physical. Plus, alcohol is quite difficult to produce in large quantities and it costs a lot so I don't think all they ever drank was alcohol of some sort.

 

[ElFenix]

been drinkin?

 

[beer]

Originally posted by: Booster

Originally posted by: Elemental007
Because in most of recent - the last millenia or so - human history, the only things people 'drank' were alcohols of some sort. Water, etc, was often too dirty to be consumed safely. Sodas, fruit juices, etc, are creations of the last century. Milk didn't stay well until the creation of refrigeration.

That's an interesting theory. So I reckon our ancestors were just a bunch of drunkards? I don't think so. I think we'd be all dead by now then b/c drinking leads to degeneration in future generations, mental and physical. Plus, alcohol is quite difficult to produce in large quantities and it costs a lot so I don't think all they ever drank was alcohol of some sort.

If you read literature from the last 1000 years, when they reference drinking, it is usually alcohols of some sort. Not necessarily distilled beverages, but things like honey alcohols were big around 1200 or so.

It's not ALL they ever drank. But it was generally considered unsafe to consume water unless it was heated to near a boil, such as coffee or teas.

And the process of distilling alcohol is much simplier than that of purifying large amounts of drinking water.

 

[DaFinn]

"Do you drink?"

Yes please.

:beer:😀

 

[huesmann]

Better question: Been tokin?

 

[GtPrOjEcTX]

no idea. but "do you drink alcohol" doubles the syllables.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Booster

Originally posted by: Elemental007
Because in most of recent - the last millenia or so - human history, the only things people 'drank' were alcohols of some sort. Water, etc, was often too dirty to be consumed safely. Sodas, fruit juices, etc, are creations of the last century. Milk didn't stay well until the creation of refrigeration.

That's an interesting theory. So I reckon our ancestors were just a bunch of drunkards? I don't think so. I think we'd be all dead by now then b/c drinking leads to degeneration in future generations, mental and physical. Plus, alcohol is quite difficult to produce in large quantities and it costs a lot so I don't think all they ever drank was alcohol of some sort.

It's not a theory. Up until the last hundred years or so, water sources were often polluted and/or infected with disease (particularly cholera, which is deadly in a MOST unpleasant way). Mixing alcohol with water rendered it safe to drink.
And it wasn't like people were always drinking to the point of intoxication. That has been frowned upon in most societies throughout history just as it is frowned upon today. Generally, people would lightly drink relatively low-alcohol wines, beers, and meads (honey beers) just as we might drink Coke or Pepsi today. Hard alcohols, because they dehydrate and intoxicate too quickly, were called spirits and were not used for this purpose.

 

[Anubis]

yes i got wasted last night we had a sexy party

getting wasted tonight also. The Roots are gonna be sweet

 

[beer]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Booster

Originally posted by: Elemental007
Because in most of recent - the last millenia or so - human history, the only things people 'drank' were alcohols of some sort. Water, etc, was often too dirty to be consumed safely. Sodas, fruit juices, etc, are creations of the last century. Milk didn't stay well until the creation of refrigeration.

That's an interesting theory. So I reckon our ancestors were just a bunch of drunkards? I don't think so. I think we'd be all dead by now then b/c drinking leads to degeneration in future generations, mental and physical. Plus, alcohol is quite difficult to produce in large quantities and it costs a lot so I don't think all they ever drank was alcohol of some sort.

It's not a theory. Up until the last hundred years or so, water sources were often polluted and/or infected with disease (particularly cholera, which is deadly in a MOST unpleasant way). Mixing alcohol with water rendered it safe to drink.
And it wasn't like people were always drinking to the point of intoxication. That has been frowned upon in most societies throughout history just as it is frowned upon today. Generally, people would lightly drink relatively low-alcohol wines, beers, and meads (honey beers) just as we might drink Coke or Pepsi today. Hard alcohols, because they dehydrate and intoxicate too quickly, were called spirits and were not used for this purpose.

It's also worth nothing that a lot of cultures are like this today. Sodas and juices aren't very common over in western europe. German culture generally favors beer and french culture favors wine. Both cultures drink a lot, but not necessarily to intoxication. Just like people would consume a soda at dinner over here, it is definitely a regular occurance to drink beer or wine with meals over in western europe.