Book Report: A History of the World in Six Glasses
Kyle Chiu
A History of the World in 6 Glasses
AP World History – Due: August 25, 2015
A History of the World in 6 Glasses Have you ever questioned that the history of the world could be connected and intertwined in one aspect of life? The book, A History of the World in 6 Glasses, takes that question and answers it with one word: water. Since the first human walked the Earth, to the billions of people on the planet today, humans have needed food and most importantly water to survive. From the first civilization back in 10,000 B.C.E. to modern day society, author, Tom Standage proves that water has evolved into a variety of different drinks that have shaped and changed human history. The first glass was created through day-old gruel combined with cereal grains. It created an unknown fuzzy substance that eventually transformed into alcohol, or as we know it today as beer. Beer was discovered in 10,000 B.C.E. in Mesopotamia in the Fertile Crescent. It caused a chain reaction that led to the domestication of crops and beginning of agriculture. Crops such as cereal grain compelled many nomadic tribes to reside near rivers, and other waterways that formed the first civilizations like Mesopotamia. Beer was an essential part of their life, and culture, and it led to many advancements in human society. This drink became what “distinguished them from savages and made them fully human” (Standage, 27), so by drinking beer and eating bread, people are accepted into society as “real” civilized people. What seems to be an intoxicating and alcoholic drink also caused the creation of writing and currency in their society. Sumerians wrote on clay to keep track of their stock of bread and beer and the distribution of bread, beer, grain, and other goods. Beer, along with bread, was distributed to the community, and it was used as currency to pay wages for labor and other services. The city-states consumed such an abundant amount of beer and bread, due to the theory it was a
A History of the World in 6 Glasses
AP World History – Due: August 25, 2015
A History of the World in 6 Glasses Have you ever questioned that the history of the world could be connected and intertwined in one aspect of life? The book, A History of the World in 6 Glasses, takes that question and answers it with one word: water. Since the first human walked the Earth, to the billions of people on the planet today, humans have needed food and most importantly water to survive. From the first civilization back in 10,000 B.C.E. to modern day society, author, Tom Standage proves that water has evolved into a variety of different drinks that have shaped and changed human history. The first glass was created through day-old gruel combined with cereal grains. It created an unknown fuzzy substance that eventually transformed into alcohol, or as we know it today as beer. Beer was discovered in 10,000 B.C.E. in Mesopotamia in the Fertile Crescent. It caused a chain reaction that led to the domestication of crops and beginning of agriculture. Crops such as cereal grain compelled many nomadic tribes to reside near rivers, and other waterways that formed the first civilizations like Mesopotamia. Beer was an essential part of their life, and culture, and it led to many advancements in human society. This drink became what “distinguished them from savages and made them fully human” (Standage, 27), so by drinking beer and eating bread, people are accepted into society as “real” civilized people. What seems to be an intoxicating and alcoholic drink also caused the creation of writing and currency in their society. Sumerians wrote on clay to keep track of their stock of bread and beer and the distribution of bread, beer, grain, and other goods. Beer, along with bread, was distributed to the community, and it was used as currency to pay wages for labor and other services. The city-states consumed such an abundant amount of beer and bread, due to the theory it was a