Don't Drink The Water!

[Mordac]

Drink gin, not water!

Save gin, bath with a friend. No, that's not right, is it...

[SimonMac]

Drink gin, not water!

Gin was originally popular as it was healthier than drinking the water in 18th century

[Zigenare]

Texas residents warned over brain-eating microbe in tap water | London Evening Standard

Residents of a city in Texas have been warned to be careful with tap water, after a deadly brain-eating microbe was found in the water supply.

Lake Jackson was one of eight communities in Texas that were told not to use tap water on Friday after tests confirmed the presence of Naegleria fowleri, an amoeba that can cause a brain infection.

Authorities launched the probe after the death of a six-year-old boy earlier this month.

Warnings were lifted for seven of the communities on Saturday but remain in place for Lake Jackson, a city of nearly 27,000 people near the coast, south-west of Houston.

City authorities said in a statement that people must boil tap water before drinking it. Residents were also told including to not to go up their noses while taking a shower or bath.

Children, people with weakened immune systems and the elderly are "particularly vulnerable," they added.

Not just Texas -

[NotAllThere]

Gin was originally popular as it was healthier than drinking the water in 18th century got you drunk and was cheap and easy to produce

It was beer they drank instead of water, wasn't it?

[ladymuck]

It was beer they drank instead of water, wasn't it?

There seems to be some conflicting thoughts on that. In some areas beer was considered more nutritious than water and in others it was due to water quality. A quick google brings up both theories.

[vetran]

There seems to be some conflicting thoughts on that. In some areas beer was considered more nutritious than water and in others it was due to water quality. A quick google brings up both theories.

I always understood beer as being the water substitute and Gin being the luxury due to relative cost.

though some suggest that water was the norm.

Did Medieval People Drink Beer Instead of Water? | HowStuffWorks