[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.79,0:00:12.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This chimpanzee stumbles across a \Nwindfall of overripe plums.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.12,0:00:17.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many of them have split open, drawing \Nhim to their intoxicating fruity odor.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.60,0:00:23.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He gorges himself and begins to \Nexperience some… strange effects.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.04,0:00:26.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This unwitting ape has \Nstumbled on a process
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.03,0:00:28.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that humans will eventually harness
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.18,0:00:33.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to create beer, wine, \Nand other alcoholic drinks.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.19,0:00:38.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The sugars in overripe fruit attract \Nmicroscopic organisms known as yeasts.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.88,0:00:43.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As the yeasts feed on the fruit sugars \Nthey produce a compound called ethanol—
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.78,0:00:46.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the type of alcohol in \Nalcoholic beverages.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.79,0:00:49.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This process is called fermentation.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.77,0:00:54.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nobody knows exactly when humans \Nbegan to create fermented beverages.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.61,0:00:59.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The earliest known evidence comes \Nfrom 7,000 BCE in China,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.57,0:01:01.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where residue in clay pots
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.68,0:01:04.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has revealed that people were \Nmaking an alcoholic beverage
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.88,0:01:09.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from fermented rice, millet, \Ngrapes, and honey.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.31,0:01:11.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Within a few thousand years,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.11,0:01:15.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cultures all over the world were \Nfermenting their own drinks.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.44,0:01:19.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ancient Mesopotamians and Egyptians \Nmade beer throughout the year
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.66,0:01:21.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from stored cereal grains.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.92,0:01:24.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This beer was available \Nto all social classes,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.84,0:01:28.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and workers even received it \Nin their daily rations.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.23,0:01:32.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They also made wine, but because the \Nclimate wasn’t ideal for growing grapes,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.88,0:01:36.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was a rare and expensive delicacy.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.21,0:01:40.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By contrast, in Greece and Rome, \Nwhere grapes grew more easily,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.16,0:01:45.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wine was as readily available as \Nbeer was in Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.07,0:01:48.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because yeasts will ferment \Nbasically any plant sugars,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.70,0:01:53.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ancient peoples made alcohol from whatever\Ncrops and plants grew where they lived.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.100,0:01:57.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In South America, people made \Nchicha from grains,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.20,0:01:59.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sometimes adding hallucinogenic herbs.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.91,0:02:05.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In what’s now Mexico, pulque, made from \Ncactus sap, was the drink of choice,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.32,0:02:09.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while East Africans made banana \Nand palm beer.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.48,0:02:13.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in the area that’s now Japan, \Npeople made sake from rice.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.92,0:02:17.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Almost every region of the globe \Nhad its own fermented drinks.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.69,0:02:21.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As alcohol consumption became \Npart of everyday life,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.12,0:02:25.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some authorities latched onto \Neffects they perceived as positive—
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.68,0:02:28.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Greek physicians considered wine \Nto be good for health,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.92,0:02:32.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and poets testified to its \Ncreative qualities.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.30,0:02:36.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Others were more concerned about \Nalcohol’s potential for abuse.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.43,0:02:38.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Greek philosophers promoted temperance.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.97,0:02:43.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Early Jewish and Christian writers in \NEurope integrated wine into rituals
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.55,0:02:46.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but considered excessive \Nintoxication a sin.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.94,0:02:49.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in the middle east, \NAfrica, and Spain,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.72,0:02:53.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an Islamic rule against praying while \Ndrunk gradually solidified
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.87,0:02:57.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into a general ban on alcohol.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.05,0:03:01.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ancient fermented beverages had \Nrelatively low alcohol content.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.61,0:03:07.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At about 13% alcohol, the by-products \Nwild yeasts generate during fermentation
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.33,0:03:09.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,become toxic and kill them.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.69,0:03:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When the yeasts die, fermentation stops \Nand the alcohol content levels off.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.00,0:03:18.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So for thousands of years, \Nalcohol content was limited.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.90,0:03:22.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That changed with the invention \Nof a process called distillation.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.83,0:03:27.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,9th century Arabic writings describe \Nboiling fermented liquids
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.28,0:03:29.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to vaporize the alcohol in them.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.71,0:03:34.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alcohol boils at a lower temperature \Nthan water, so it vaporizes first.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.74,0:03:39.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Capture this vapor, cool it down, \Nand what’s left is liquid alcohol
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.49,0:03:43.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,much more concentrated than \Nany fermented beverage.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.80,0:03:47.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At first, these stronger spirits were \Nused for medicinal purposes.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.99,0:03:51.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then, spirits became an important \Ntrade commodity because,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.54,0:03:55.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,unlike beer and wine, they didn’t spoil.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.10,0:03:59.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Rum made from sugar harvested in \NEuropean colonies in the Caribbean
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.36,0:04:03.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,became a staple for sailors \Nand was traded to North America.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.60,0:04:06.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Europeans brought brandy \Nand gin to Africa
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.66,0:04:12.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and traded it for enslaved people, \Nland, and goods like palm oil and rubber.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.25,0:04:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Spirits became a form of \Nmoney in these regions.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.00,0:04:17.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,During the Age of Exploration,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.90,0:04:21.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,spirits played a crucial role in \Nlong distance sea voyages.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.74,0:04:25.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sailing from Europe to east Asia \Nand the Americas could take months,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.68,0:04:28.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and keeping water fresh for the \Ncrews was a challenge.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.85,0:04:33.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Adding a bucket of brandy to a water \Nbarrel kept water fresh longer
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.73,0:04:38.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because alcohol is a preservative \Nthat kills harmful microbes.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.52,0:04:40.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So by the 1600s,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.32,0:04:43.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,alcohol had gone from simply \Ngiving animals a buzz
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.89,0:04:49.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to fueling global trade and exploration— \Nalong with all their consequences.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.75,0:04:55.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As time went on, its role in human \Nsociety would only get more complicated.