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June 2, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels May 24, 2004 Food & History Alcohol and civilization Jeff Cheek Alcohol has been part of our daily lives for thousands of years. Sumerian cuneiforms six thousand years ago set the pay of a temple worker at 2 1/2 pints of beer per day. The overseer got 15 pints. In the 18th Century B.C., the great Babylonian king Hammurabi decreed laws that are now known as the Codes of Hammurabi, of which 282 survive. One of these codes fixed the punishment for any tavern keeper who cheated his customers by adding water to their beer. Beer was the reason the pilgrims settled on the rocky coast at Plymouth Rock instead of searching for a more favorable site. "We could not take more time for further search or consideration, our victuals being much spent, especially our beer." Alcohol has heavily impacted our language. In England, gentlemen went to their members-only clubs to drink. The commoners went to neighborhood bars or public houses. This was shortened to pub. The pub also gave us the slang invitation to have a drink: "Want to wet your whistle?" It was hard to get the publican's (bartender) attention in a crowded pub. The solution was to hang a whistle on the beer stein. Just whistle when you wanted a refill. The word bar comes from the Danish word "bur" (butter). The Danes stored their butter in a cool dry room or cellar. Beer was stored in the same type room to keep it cool, so bur is the root for bar. We Americans can take credit for the word saloon. A salon (sa-laan) is a posh establishment catering to fashionable clients. A New Orleans bar owner decided to add a little class to his place by adding a second O, making it a saloon (sa-loon). The words "lush" and "donnybrook" are other bar-bred terms. Dr. Thomas Lushington (1590-1661) was an English chaplain who loved to drink. The term lush has come to mean anyone who is overly fond of alcohol. A donnybrook is a brawl, often started in a pub or bar. The village of Donnybrook, Ireland, was famous (or infamous) for the fist fights that started in the pub then spilled out onto the street. Alcohol has long been a primary source of revenue for the government. Mary Stuart, or Mary, Queen of Scots, was a beer drinker. While she was imprisoned by her cousin, Elizabeth I, secret messages were smuggled in to Mary in waterproof pouches in kegs of beer. Her son was James VI of Scotland then became James I of the United Kingdom upon the death of the childless Elizabeth in 1603. He needed money. He was the first ruler to start selling licenses to bars and pubs allowing them to do business. From 1920 until Dec. 5, 1933, our 18th Amendment prohibited the manufacture, transportation, or sale of any alcoholic beverage in the United States. When the prohibitionist movement first started in the 1860s it was less restrictive. Members were allowed to sign their names then add an M, for moderation. An A meant abstinence from whiskey, only. They could still drink wine or beer. A T stood for teetotal. A Teetotaler would not drink any alcoholic beverage. After repeal of the 18th Amendment, the Internal Revenue Service calculated that we had consumed 4,200,000,000 gallons of alcohol during Prohibition without one cent in federal taxes being collected. Writer's Comment This column should not be seen as either pro or anti alcohol. My father gave his five sons the best advise I have ever heard on the subject. "Remember, whiskey is a good servant but a bad master." None of us became teetotalers. On the other hand, none of us turned into lushes, either. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams