Folklore, Myths, Facts and Other Interesting Tidbits About a Beer in the World
When something has been around as long as beer has, it's bound to be surrounded by a vast amount of interesting information. There's not room to talk about it all, but here are some of the best bits of beer info:
• Taming the Beast
Egyptian mythology would have you believe that their blood-thirsty lioness goddess known as Sekhmet became nothing more than a docile house cat that wouldn't harm a mouse after being tricked into drinking a really large amount of beer.
• Healthy Heart
Italian researchers declared that studies prove that those who drink beer in moderation are 31 percent less likely to be afflicted with heart disease. These are the same healthy statistics that are attributed to wine, so feel free to drink up that beer.
• Nightmare Brews
In the race to produce a better variety of beer, some countries have come up with beers that would give most people bad dreams and even worse stomach aches. These include Cambodia's Tarantula beer that is flavored with copious amounts of dead tarantulas and Korea's Baby Mouse beer that offers a not-so-lovely blend of distilled rice spirits and dead baby mice, which is fermented for an entire year before being served to the thirsty buyers.
• Easy Hangover Cures
Russians who drink a little bit too much beer may wake up with a hangover, but many believe the cure for that is a bit of vodka in the morning. Hangover cures in other countries include eating a breakfast made up of bananas and red meats in Germany, and Puerto Ricans find relief by rubbing a wedge of lemon under the arm that they used to carry the beer to their mouth.
• Farmer's Friend
Every farmer who makes his living off of the land can thank beer for the agricultural revolution. It got going full-speed ahead because brewers needed to find ways to make more beer to meet the ever-increasing demand, and it led to the invention of such popular farming items as the plow, the wheel and irrigation systems.
• Beer for the Family
During the European Middle Ages, beer was consumed as often as it was available by both the adults and the children in the family. It was simply a matter of survival as the availability of nutritional foods was quite scarce, and beer actually contains every mineral that you need in order to survive.
• Bartender's Lament
The Code of Hammurabi, which is the Babylonian law code that was used in ancient Mesopotamia, has one particular law that shows just how serious they were about their beer. It declares that any bartender who is found to have watered down the beer served to any patron is subject to execution.
• Will Work for Beer
In Egypt, those who came to work together in order to build the Great Pyramid of Giza were exceptionally happy with their payment. At the end of each working day, they were paid for their labor with a ration of beer. It is said that many tended to work as slowly as possible to ensure that more days ended with beer.
• Beer Bath
If you take a vacation to Europe and happen to be a lover of beer, then you will want to be sure to check out the local spas. Many European spas offer clients the opportunity to immerse themselves in a full bath of beer as a method of mental and physical therapy.
• The Great Beer Flood
There have been many horrific floods throughout history that have caused the loss of life and limb, but one flood found some happy drinkers in the streets. This occurred in London in 1814 when a huge beer vat ruptured and spilled some 388,000 gallons of beer into the streets.