Lisa's Wine Wednesdays
Our ancestors drank beer, wine, and mead. They have been for 9000+ years. No one is certain, but it's likely that barley got wet (and fermented), grape juice sat too long (and fermented), and water sweetened with honey, sat too long (and fermented). My guess is the folks who tried this stuff were kind of like us... smelling the expired milk container to see if it smells bad.... if it doesn't smell bad then some of us taste it if we are desperate enough to need it for our morning coffee, or our kids bowl of cereal before school...... then, when it tastes ok, we sigh in relief. In their case, they got tipsy and kept making the stuff. At any rate, humans aren't the only ones with a penchant for imbibing....
Swarms of Cedar Waxwings, which eat berries that are sometimes overripe and partially fermented, have been known to crash into home windows in droves. They swarm in groups and often dive together. It's like that saying my mom used, "If Becky jumped off of a bridge, would you too?" Well... maybe.... these guys did. In 2018, Minnesota Residents called the police on these rowdy birds. The police did not assist with these complaints, but they did say to call back if the birds decided to operate heavy machinery in an unsafe manner......
In the rain forests of Malaysia lives the Pen-Tailed Tree Shrew, a small rodent no bigger than your average mouse, which feasts every night on fermented palm nectar. They booze it up for 2 hours each night.
Tropical bats from both Central and South America have been observed to regularly eat fermented fruits and nectar; however they are found to rarely feel the effects of the alcohol. Bats navigate during flight through the use of echolocation. It was found that when they had a blood alcohol content of 0.3% (bear in mind all states in America require a driver to have a blood alcohol content less than 0.08%) they were still able to navigate a tricky obstacle course using their echolocation. They also did not slur their words or holler angry words of angst at their friends or loved ones........
Bees are known to get drunk from fermented nectar, and when drunk are very dangerous flyers, often causing accidents. It has been observed that the ones that actually make it home can often be blocked from entering the hive until they sober up. The queen bee doesn't mess around.....
And finally, on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts there lives a population of wild Green Vervet Monkeys that are notorious alcoholics! They are known for stealing the tourist beverages..... A study conducted on these monkeys found that, much like us humans, the monkeys tend to split into four different categories of drinker: social drinker, steady drinker, binge drinker, and teetotaler. Most of the monkeys are social drinkers who tend to only have a moderate tipple with other monkeys, although never before lunch. 12% are steady drinkers who enjoy more than their social drinking friends, 5% are excessive boozy binge drinkers, and only a small fraction are teetotal. Those 5% that are classed as binge drinkers are notorious for stumbling about, vomiting, starting fights and binge eating until they pass out whilst under the influence! The same study also found that juvenile monkeys drink more than adults and all of the monkeys much prefer a fruity cocktail......this study just left me speechless......
So, whatever your drink of choice, do it in moderation. Studies have shown a glass of red wine per day has cardiac benefits. Beyond that, those benefits drop and your risk of heart disease and cancer rise......did they ever say how large that glass could be?? (wink)
Saluti!
Xoxo -Lisa