History of the world in 6 glasses questions

it gave a clean and safe alternative to water by ancient civilizations, increasing life expectancies and allowing cities to grow. it also allowed peoples to come together to form larger cities through its ability to convey equality and trust.

it tells us that ancient civilizations worshiped different deities then we do today, and did so to help explain why things were the way they were in the world. it says they were centered around food production and surplus, and that beer led to early people's job specializations and thus, the class system being born.

ancient Mesopotamian pictograms, a 1960s archaeological experiment over the cultivation of grains, Mesopotamian and Egyptian proverbs, the Epic of Gilgamesh, a survey of Egyptian literature, Egyptian scribe's practice texts, a survey of Mesopotamian ration texts, an early recipe for beer, refugee and marriage documents, ration records for the builders of the Egyptian Pyramids, and "The Ebers Papyrus."

beer was used in many ways, such as a payment and currency, gift from the gods, source of vitamin B, medicinal supplement, and as a way of bringing ancient peoples together.

it provided a reason to stay in one singular area, considering its low ability to be stored. This made a reason to create farms, and people to cluster together into cities for protection. These cities were where civilization was created.

the first written recipe for anything was for beer, beer was a staple food in the diets of most Mesopotamian and Egyptian people. It was a common ration, and was considered highly nutritious. As it was used as a currency, it is only logical that commerce would revolve around beer. It was also used as a sort of medicine, like a weak anesthetic. Simple rations of beer and bread were the first things to be recorded by Mesopotamian city states.

wine was used universally in Ancient Greece and Rome as a way to show that their nations were more civilized than those who drank beer. wine was also mixed with water, while beer was drank at its original strength. it was used as a disinfectant, while beer has very little disinfecting properties.

it was used by the Greeks as a way to show their civilization and social class. it also brought people together when everyone drank the same wine at symposium to show that they were equals.

wine was used to show social status when people who had more money could import better wines. people who drank more foreign and expensive wines were thought to be of a higher class. the ability to name certain wines was also a symbol of high class.

wine was consumed communally from a shared vat called a krater in the middle of a room. it was mixed with water to ensure that all guests in attendance do not become drunk, but stay at a more buzzed state. it tells us that Greeks thought that drunkenness was dishonorable and that all people were equals when they were together. it showed that people who commonly associated with each other were of similar social classes.

in Roman culture wine was used more as a class definer then it was in Greek culture. people at the same party would drink different wines based on their social class, and it allowed people to find similar company. in Greek times wine was used to bring people together at parties, while in Roman times it was used to push the classes further apart.

wine has shown where the first european civilizations existed, and continues to dominate cultures of those areas. it was used as an early disinfectant, and made previously undrinkable water drinkable and helped to make sure that wounds would not become infected, significantly lengthening the lives of the average person. it is used to help differentiate through religions, with Christianity using wine in its practices but Islam placing heavy restrictions on wine.

distilled Spirits come from the Muslim idea of distillation, which provided the ability to have more alcohol in less capacity.

spirits led to Triangle trade, which provided a way to easily earn money in the colonies. it also led to more people wanting to live in the colonies because there was more access to alcohol (which made the work week more tolerable for laborers) that had not previously been available in the region.

the need to produce spirits led to an increase in the need for labor, which slavery provided for. spirits also gave a way to pay for said slaves.

spirits allowed for longer sea voyages to be made and gave British sailors an edge over any other sailor in the colonial period.

spirits allowed for longer sea voyages to be made, and helped provide defense against scurvy, a common disease of sailors at the time.

spirits gave the laborer a break from the work week, and also employed several thousands of people in the Americas. it also gave a longer term unspoilable beverage.

rum and molasses taxes were the first time America disobeyed England, and gave them the idea that they were their own people. it also gave American troops a beverage that could last longer than beer or wine.

spirits made people much more intoxicated than their lesser alcoholic counterparts, leading to more intoxication by the people. it also opened up the need for more slaves to be taken from their homelands to the Americas, and was used as a currency to give to the slavers. It also allowed for the local indian populations to be taken advantage of through spirits intoxicating properties.

british travelers observed muslim coffee houses in cairo and palestine and brought the idea back to europe.

productivity shot up because laborers weren't drunk from drinking alcohol in the mornings.

arabs had monopoly on beans, dutch were middlemen with plantations in Java (took over europe because of better prices) and the french began planting in the west indies

coffee houses were information exchanges for scientists. coffee houses at oxford sparked discussions about science, specifically gravity with isaac newton.

discussion and lectures between scientists and merchants led them to exploit new tech navigation methods and mining techniques to form companies which led to the industrial revolution. coffee houses were also used a makeshift stock exchanges until a group founded a building and created the official london stock exchange, this let Great britain displace amsterdam as the economic powerhouse of the world.

coffee houses in paris were places where french intellectuals brewed over the ideas of the enlightenment and how the french government was so backwards (2% had all wealth and were exempt from tax) Coffeehouses were the beginning point of the riots that started the french revolution.

the second emperor of china brewed the first cup of tea supposedly, tea reached Europe in the 1600s

tea was consumed in a ceremony meant to cleanse the body and soul in japan and china, in europe it was consumed at parties, much like greek symposiums.

it was much more expensive.

in the beginning tea was only consumed by the wealthy because of its price. later on when direct trade with china was opened, even the common working man could drink it regularly, this gave rise to the drinking of tea in calm surroundings. additionally there were tea parties.

workers were offered "tea breaks" which provided them time to rest, but unlike the tradition worker drink of beer, tea sharpened the senses through caffeine and made the workers much more efficient. boiled tea decreased disease meaning more workers in one area

the british east india company had so much power in the government that in one policy it was able to take out a 1.4 million pound loan, become tax exempt and create a monopoly on tea sale, just because the government relied on their tea trade so much. (10% of their revenue)

the British east india company (BEIC) produced opium in india, sent it to auction in canton to auctioned off to smaller companies that they had control over, the companies then sold the opium to chinese merchants who smuggled it into china. the BEIC could grow enough money to pay for tea because china only took silver and silver prices were rising faster than tea prices so the BEIC couldn't pay for it. when chinese officials seized shipments of opium from british traders and arrested 2 british sailors, great britain declared war on china.

britain wanted to grow tea in india to provide a cheaper more sustainable alternative to china, this gave profits to britain and jobs to india.

coke was a medical tonic.

it was a medical tonic used to calm the nerves and sharpen the senses and used cocaine.

it was the base and symbol of capitalism. they put it in military bases and everywhere else. It was a way of improving moral in the military. one of the main reasons coke spread so far was when the military brought it with them. It was one of the reasons that other countries wanted to be like America. when other countries wanted to be like America, they introduced their countries to coke.

russia made coke and other american products the enemy, and denounced these products. they hated materialism and coke represented that.

the military brought coke with them everywhere, so coke spread everywhere in the world. coca cola was exported from America to every corner of the earth.tThis was one of the first american products to be moved around the world because it represented America as a whole.

coca cola is power and capitalism in America. whenever it was shipped from America to other countries, it represented American goods. when people think America, coca cola is one of the first things that comes to mind.

the identification of bacteria and how bacteria and other disease causing organisms cause disease has led to safer drinking water.

tap water is more regulated than bottled water, even though almost half of all bottled water comes from tap water.

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water has both created peace and cooperation between nations and has also been a reason for several modern wars.