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Alcoholic Irony

Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2004 12:18 am
by SunSprite86
This footnote in Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan) struck me as some wonderful ironic humor:Quote:[the product of fermentation] - a biochemical imperfection exploited by the beer, wine, and liquor industries, which profitably manufacture this addictive and dangerous drug, C2H5OH [ethanol]. Millions of people worldwide die from imbibing it each year. Or, looked at another way, distillers have been exploited by the fermenting bacteria and yeast, who have gotten us to arrange for their growth and reproduction on a worldwide, industrial scale -- because we love to drink ourselves senseless on microbial wastes. If they could speak, perhaps they would boast about how cleverly they've domesticated the humans.I'd love to go quote that to my dad who has a lifelong habit of overindulging in those "microbial wastes." Karen