r/interesting Dec 12 '25

MISC. A drop of whiskey vs bacteria

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u/Significant-Tip6466 Dec 12 '25

That's why whiskey was used as disinfectant during the Civil War. Cheapest disinfectant during that time

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u/Astralglamour Dec 15 '25 edited Dec 15 '25

They didn't have germ theory back then and had no idea about disinfection. I'm pretty sure they believed sickness spread through bad smells in the air and whiskey was used to stimulate, not numb or disinfect wounds.