A History of the World in Sex Glasses
A History of the World in Six Glasses: Summary
Beer
The discovery of beer happened around 10000 BCE. The hunter-gatherers, located in the Fertile Crescent, collected cereal grains because they could be stored for a number of months if kept dry and safe. The storage of grains made it harder to have a nomadic lifestyle; therefore the people started staying in one place. They would try to make water tight storage areas, however water did eventually get into them. After the grain would get wet and the people would cook it, it turned into gruel and when that was left sitting around for a few days it would turn into beer. Beer became important because it was safer to drink, due to the fact that you cooked it which got rid of bacteria. In the Sumerian and Egyptian societies beer was used in religious ceremonies, agricultural fertility rites and funerals. In Egypt beer was used as a currency, for example the workers who built the pyramids were paid in beer. Also, the use of beer as a currency made it become synonymous with prosperity. Egyptians then started to greet each other with the expression “bread and beer”, meaning good luck. 1. Some anthropologists believe that farming communities started because the people needed to ensure that they would have the wheat necessary to make beer. Others believe that beer could have had a more subtle effect on the transition to civilizations. The beer consumed by people back then had relatively low alcohol content and it had suspended yeast. Due to this it contained many vitamins and a lot of protein, including vitamin B which was needed because hunting was less prevalent. Another good aspect of beer was that it was made using boiled water. This helped communities live longer because it did not carry the bacteria that normal drinking did which had caused famines and spread quickly. 2. The history of beer tells us that civilizations were motivated to make advances and were highly influenced by their love of beer. Beer
Beer
The discovery of beer happened around 10000 BCE. The hunter-gatherers, located in the Fertile Crescent, collected cereal grains because they could be stored for a number of months if kept dry and safe. The storage of grains made it harder to have a nomadic lifestyle; therefore the people started staying in one place. They would try to make water tight storage areas, however water did eventually get into them. After the grain would get wet and the people would cook it, it turned into gruel and when that was left sitting around for a few days it would turn into beer. Beer became important because it was safer to drink, due to the fact that you cooked it which got rid of bacteria. In the Sumerian and Egyptian societies beer was used in religious ceremonies, agricultural fertility rites and funerals. In Egypt beer was used as a currency, for example the workers who built the pyramids were paid in beer. Also, the use of beer as a currency made it become synonymous with prosperity. Egyptians then started to greet each other with the expression “bread and beer”, meaning good luck. 1. Some anthropologists believe that farming communities started because the people needed to ensure that they would have the wheat necessary to make beer. Others believe that beer could have had a more subtle effect on the transition to civilizations. The beer consumed by people back then had relatively low alcohol content and it had suspended yeast. Due to this it contained many vitamins and a lot of protein, including vitamin B which was needed because hunting was less prevalent. Another good aspect of beer was that it was made using boiled water. This helped communities live longer because it did not carry the bacteria that normal drinking did which had caused famines and spread quickly. 2. The history of beer tells us that civilizations were motivated to make advances and were highly influenced by their love of beer. Beer