ipl-logo

Compare And Contrast Alcohol And Caffeinated Drinks

845 Words4 Pages

Tom Standage’s book “A History of the World in 6 Glasses”, showed how six varied drinks can have drastic effects on human civilization. Beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and Coca-Cola all have helped mold the world into what it is today, and though the marks of alcoholic and caffeinated drinks are different, there are similarities between them as well. With their effects on the body being polar opposites, alcohol and caffeine impacted economies differently, and even influenced the U.S. in their own distinctive ways. One thing they both share however is their impact on ancient medicine, giving way to decreased disease and increased population. Alcohol was first consumed as beer in ancient Sumeria when growing wheat and barley became popular. …show more content…

Most, if not all, of these drinks had medicinal uses before they were either proven wrong or were surpassed by a better product. Aqua vitae, a distilled wine, was a popular medicine that was either consumed or applied on a wound. The higher alcohol content provided by distillation allowed aqua vitae to “preserve youth; improve memory; treat diseases of the brain, nerves, and joints,; revive the heart; calm toothache; cure blindness, speech defects, and paralysis; and even protect against the plague.” The caffeinated drink that was used the most among medicine is easily tea. Originating in China, people immediately noticed the decline in bacterial diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and dysentery, which were killed off while boiling the water. “It was, in effect, an efficient and convenient water-purification technology that dramatically reduced the prevalence of waterborne diseases, reducing infant mortality, and increasing longevity.” Coca-Cola was even considered a medicinal drink for a short period of time as well since it contained kola nuts, which had caffeine, and coca leaves, which released small amounts of

Show More
Related
1077 Words | 5 Pages

This examples shows us that this drinks did not only have a positive affect on the world, there are some negative uses of these drinks that came about as well. This is a prime example of how history can have positive or negative effects depending on your point of view. Another piece of this book that we can draw something important from is during the British control of tea trade. Originally, tea originated in Japan but was brought to Britain where it began to flourish. This example of cross-cultural exchange had a profound effect on the world, as Britain was able to gain a large amount of control simply from a drink.

Read More
814 Words | 4 Pages

John Pemberton was a pharmacist who developed an early version of the soda drink. His expensive addiction to morphine made him desperate to make money. This led him to sell his rights to the drink shortly before he died. The production of Coca Cola led to the creation of bottling plants and factories which provided individuals with jobs where they could work to earn a living. Conditions for people working in the factories (depending on

Read More
349 Words | 2 Pages

As is true for many medical discoveries, aboriginal peoples on every continent were the first to discover plants and practices that control disease and promote healing. When Captain James Cook saw Australia 's first people collect and brew leaves, then drink the resulting tea for its healing properties, he called the associated plant a “Tea tree”. Thanks to research in the 1920 's, scientists realized that oils from the Tea Tree 's leaves held more anti-microbial power than the era 's most commonly prescribed medication, Phenol, also known as Carbolic Acid. In the 1930 's, a Dr. Humphrey discovered that Tea Tree Oil treated one of the most common concerns of fighting forces, world wide. With his discovery, this essential oil became part of

Read More
586 Words | 3 Pages

In John Standage’s book, A History of the World in Six Glasses, the history of the world is told through the history of six beverages; beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and Coca Cola. The effect that each has had on the world is profound and immeasurable, however, of the six beverages, I have found that coffee has played the largest and most significant role in world history. One way that coffee affected world history is that establishments that served coffee created a social venue for members of the community to bond over various topics. Standage wrote that coffeehouses were hotspots for “gossip, rumor, political debate, and satirical discussion.”, similar to what they are in the present day. These topics led to Kha’ir Beg, ruler of Egypt, as well as his superiors worrying about coffeehouses being a popular meeting place for those wishing to overthrow the government.

Read More
981 Words | 4 Pages

This book reveals to us how beer and wine were used for cultural, social, political, and even medical purposes. Finally, Standage shows us how civilizations grew by the spreading of beer and wine, and how the spreading of these drinks spread culture around the world. To Standage beer and wine is a technology that played huge role in the developing and advancing civilization. In the introduction, Standage states that throughout history various drinks have/had such high significance

Read More
726 Words | 3 Pages

“The Frontiersmen” was written by Allan W. Eckert in 1967. It is a narrative historical fiction story. The book is full of excitement and adventure chronicling the relationship between the American frontiersman and the Native Americans. Mr. Eckert did research for seven years, hiking around the United States. He learned to live off the land and find out all that he could about wildlife and survival during difficult circumstances.

Read More
1233 Words | 5 Pages

Each drink is still relevant in today 's world therefore allowing the audience to relate back to the earliest of times using drinks that are still a part of our daily lives. By using something so ordinary to teach something as remarkable as the history of our world, Standage displays his creativity as an author through this book. The book begins in ancient Mesopotamia, during the neolithic revolution, when the first civilizations developed. Beer was discovered

Read More
1274 Words | 6 Pages

A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage is not the typical history read that one might expect. To some who find reading history books quite tedious and overwhelming, this book is for you. Standage divides his book into 6 main sections via beverages: Beer, Wine, Spirits, Coffee, Tea and Coca-Cola. These drinks, which all started as a form of medicine, not only have great affects on today’s social culture but have also affected the historical spread of technology, religion, exploration, trade, slavery, and noteworthy worldwide events that changed society. As Standage describes it, Beer was a representation of both liquid wealth and health during the early civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Read More
295 Words | 2 Pages

The history of beer reveals ancient social and gender roles among men and women of Southeast Asia as well as Egypt. During these ancient times where beer was extremely valued and foreseen as a gift from the gods, anyone who worked or was due payment, was paid in beer for it was “easily divisible” and an “ideal currency” (Standage; pp 35). For example, “ The records indicate that at the time of the pyramids construction, around 2500 BCE, the standard ration was three of four loaves of bread and two jugs containing about four liters (eight American pints) of beer.” Standage, Tom. “Civilized Beer.”

Read More
545 Words | 3 Pages

An item that has the abilities to make individual feel relaxed and numbed, but also the ability to cause the individual to become addicted and potentially ruin lives; even more critically, cause death. The location and time of the dispute at hand is, the early 1900’s in the United States of America. A new fad was sweeping the nation; which was, that of temperance. The believers of this new doctrine often stated, “that the use of alcohol was reckless and destructive and that prohibition would reduce crime and corruption, solve social problems, decrease the need for welfare and prisons, and improve the health of all Americans” (Andersen). It is common knowledge that alcoholism has been a major problem in the world, since it has been introduced as a consumable product.

Read More
905 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout human history, many different things affected culture and history as a whole. From laws, to inventions, to technological advancements. One thing most people do not consider to be part of this list is drinks. In the book “A History of the World in 6 Glasses” by Tom Standage, six different drinks that heavily affected world history are discussed and analyzed. Beer and wine had an extensive effect on the world, but coffee is, without question, the most influential of the three.

Read More
461 Words | 2 Pages

Prohibition was a period of 13 years in U.S. history in which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor was made illegal from 1920 to 1933. It was known as the “Noble Experiment” and led to the first and only time an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was repealed. There were many reasons for why prohibition was introduced, one was that a ban on alcohol would practically boost supplies of important grains such as barley. Another was, when America entered the war in 1917, the national mood turned against drinking alcohol.

Read More
1418 Words | 6 Pages

Caffeine is a chemical found naturally in few plants all over the world. From these plants it is processed into its pure form and then put into other things such as soda, energy drinks, tea, and pills. Energy drinks and soda are some of the most widely marketed products in the world, even though they contain the highest concentration of caffeine outside of pure caffeine supplements. It is a stimulant that affects everyone in strange but semi predictable ways. Research has been done on this topic since the 1920’s and many different conclusions have been reached.

Read More
1159 Words | 5 Pages

With the constantly increasing paces of everyday life the search for an energy source, capable of boosting the human body to new limits by extending its endurance, continues. In the recent years a specific product, called an energy drink, has received much publicity worldwide. The energy drink is a highly caffeinated stimulant that is able to rise the performance of the human body. Many people consider it as a refreshment after a hard day’s work. What’s more one of the most frequently used cases of energy drinks is in combination with alcohol during parties.

Read More
7179 Words | 29 Pages

Coca Cola was first introduced by John Styth Pemberton, a pharmacist, in the year 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia when he concocted caramel-colored syrup in a three-legged brass kettle in his backyard. He first “distributed” the product by carrying it in a jug down the street to Jacob’s Pharmacy and customers bought the drink for five cents at the soda fountain. Carbonated water was teamed with the new syrup, whether by accident or otherwise, producing a drink that was proclaimed “delicious and refreshing”, a theme that continues to echo today wherever Coca-Cola is enjoyed. Coca-Cola originated as a soda fountain beverage in 1886 selling for five cents a glass. Early growth was impressive, but it was only when a strong bottling system developed that Coca-Cola became the world-famous brand it is today.

Read More

More about Compare And Contrast Alcohol And Caffeinated Drinks

Related Topics

Open Document