Random Insane True Story Behind America's History with Alcohol (10 items)

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  (#8) Moonshine Was A Way To Beat A Tax As Well As A Way To Poison Yourself

  Moonshine first began as a way for people in rural areas to produce their own whiskey; after the Revolutionary War, it became a way to avoid the recently established alcohol tax. It was also HUGE during Prohibition because there's no way people were going to suddenly give up their drinking. It was known by many names (firewater, white lightning, mountain dew, hooch), but the moniker "moonshine" comes from the way the farmers made it in secret, by the light of the moon. 

  The process of making moonshine was completely unregulated, which was the other reason for the government's concern. There was no cap on alcohol content, and it could be made from anything the brewers wanted to use. If a mistake was made, a bad batch could cause blindness or even death. Man, people really wanted their booze back then, regardless of the risk.

  But accidental poison wasn't the only surprising invention that came from moonshine...
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  (#3) People Drank Beer for Hydration Because It Was Safer Than Water

  George Washington was a producer of what was known as "small beer," a low-alcohol version of the popular hoppy beverage. See, in the early days, alcohol was often consumed instead of water, since it couldn't harbor potentially harmful bacteria like water often did. People (wisely) trusted beer more than they did water. Beer that wasn't too strong was needed back in those days, since water was sometimes not drinkable, and the colonists and early Americans needed a substitute whistle-wetter. The usual consumers of small beer were soldiers, paid servants, and male workers (usually of a lower class). 

  George Washington's small beer recipe has been reproduced by many modern beer makers to get a taste of what drinking was like in colonial America. The custom of drinking them while on the job, however, has not been recreated in America.
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  (#2) In The Early Days, There Was No Legal Drinking Age

  The drinking age of the United States is one of the highest in the world at 21 years old. It took effect in all states in 1984, after Ronald Reagan threatened to cut the federal highway budget of any state that didn't comply with the mandate. But, back before Prohibition, the rules were a lot more loose. 

  From 1176 to 1919 (the beginning of Prohibition), there was no set drinking age for the country as a whole. States set their own drinking ages – and 15 was a pretty common one –  but most states didn't enforce a drinking age at all. 

  Really, the concern with the drinking age is mostly related to drunk driving accidents. The reason the drinking age was changed from 18 to 21 was because there was an increase in drunk-driving-related accidents in the 1960s and 1970s, the majority of which came from drivers under 20. 

  But why were we letting so many young children drink beer way in the past? Well, that brings us to our next point...
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  (#10) Alcohol Has Been A Part Of Prison Life Since The Beginning Of The US

  The settlers of the United States brought a very old tradition over from Europe – selling alcohol to prisoners. In the 1780s, some of the founding fathers began to discus prison reform and questioned how much those alcohol sales were hurting the prison population. 

  Before the reforms were made, the prison system in Philadelphia was considered to be a bit broken – instead of protecting the prisoners from each other, the guards sold them alcohol. According to the Smithsonian, it was up to 20 gallons per day. 

  Although rules have changed a lot since then, prisoners throughout history have become extremely creative with making "prison hooch" after the sales from the guards stopped. 
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  (#1) The Mayflower Only Landed on Plymouth Rock Because They Ran Out of Beer

  We're taught in school that the Pilgrims made the daring journey from England to America in search of ideological freedom and a fresh start that was free from political or religious tyranny and that Plymouth Rock would be the metaphorical cornerstone upon which they built their bright new future... but it turns out they were just out of beer.

  Originally the Pilgrims were supposed to land in what is now New York but made a stop in Massachusetts because they were out of beer and needed some quick. Beer certainly helped folks pass the time on their nine-week Atlantic crossing, but they also used it for hydration. (At least that's probably what they told themselves when they decided to make a quick pit stop in Plymouth Rock instead of going straight to New York.)

  The fact that they even thought they were running low is still pretty insane, because the Mayflower was reportedly carrying 10,000 barrels of wine, in addition to a large supply of beer. Truly, it takes a special kind of person to look at 10,000 barrels of wine and say "What if we run out between Massachusetts and New York? Forget it, we're stopping here, this is where we live now."

  So that's why the Pilgrims landed on, settled and eventually had the first Thanksgiving: we were simply out of beer.
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  (#7) Anti-Alcohol Advocate Carrie Nation Was Incredible (and Terrifying)

  Carrie Nation was a Prohibition-era superhero (or a booze-hating supervillain, depending on how you feel about alcohol).

  Nation was one of the strongest voices in the Temperance Movement of the late 1800s. Her first husband died soon after they began their life together – the result of hard drinking. Left alone to raise their child, Nation developed a hatred of alcohol and the domestic problems it was causing around the country. 

  She founded the Women's Christian Temperance Union in 1874 (which fought against alcohol before Prohibition even happened) and, when local saloons ignored the new alcohol bans put in place by the government, she took matters into her own hands. 

  Convinced that she was operating on God's orders, Nation traveled the, uh, nation, with a hatchet. She would go from speakeasy to speakeasy and destroy bottles and other bar fixtures with her hatchet (engraved with the words "Death to Rum" on the handle), conducting what she referred to as "hatchetations." Sometimes she would travel with a group of women that would sing hymns to accompany her smashing, which somehow makes it more terrifying. All told, she was arrested over 30 times for her hatchetations and eventually started publishing a newspaper about stopping alcohol called "The Hatchet." She collapsed on stage doing what she loved (delivering a terrifying lecture on the dangers of alcohol) and passed away shortly thereafter.

  We don't necessarily believe in ghosts, but if you're ever drinking too much in a bar and suddenly hear a bunch of women singing hymns, run. CARRIE NATION IS BACK!

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