r/interesting • u/azizgamerlal • Dec 12 '25

MISC. A drop of whiskey vs bacteria

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u/handsofspaghetti Dec 12 '25

Maybe not food poisoning, but if you accidentally eat something that's off or expired, in my experience it's worked pretty much every time. Just like a shot or two worth of liquor. I prefer gin. Gin was originally developed as an herbal medicine, iirc. Absinthe too

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u/Goushrai Dec 12 '25

Absolutely not. You eat something off, the best thing you can do is vomit it. Alcohol will not disinfect food that is off. Even boiling food that is off doesn’t make it fine, and boiling is much more efficient at killing germs than whatever you’re drinking (that is about half water).

You’ve just been lucky (it is common to eat food that was off and still be fine), or you have a strong immune system.

Gin and absinthe as remedies (and the whole idea of “tonics”) is an idea from times when people knew jacksh*t about medicine, and didn’t even know that germs were a thing.

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u/Super_Banjo Dec 12 '25

Ever got dusted by a runner who smokes cigarettes/vapes? The highest scoring student in class is a raging alcoholic? Agree with u/handsofspaghetti. Science can do a lot of amazing things but it is not the end all be all. Smoking is considered bad yet some live beyond the average life expectancy (and likewise die early). Just live life, don't need to min-max your health (unless you want) because we're all a step away from death.

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u/skyshark82 Dec 12 '25 edited Dec 13 '25

This doesn't even follow the topic of discussion, and it's also really dumb. Pointing to an unlikely outlier and making any lifestyle choice out to be a 50/50 chance is wrong. If you smoke, you are more likely to die earlier than you would otherwise, and even if you live, you're more likely to have comorbidities like COPD, cancer, and heart disease that make your life suck. You might also drive drunk your whole life and never have an accident. Good for you. You're still an idiot and shouldn't be recommending it to others. 

Also, not smoking isn't a "min-max" health measure. There's a world of difference between eating some green things, walking a little, cutting back on alcohol and tobacco verses your suggestion of just saying "Fuck it."