abramis
18th February 2004, 02:10 PM
Hmm. A couple of weeks ago at my University I was studying with some of my class mates, when someone began telling a myth that has been circulated for, oh, about 30 years here in Sweden.
This myth is usuallly strongly defended by the believers, even when faced with the bare facts.
In Sweden we have to buy our liqour at special stores called Systembolaget, which have monopoly on the market, and is controlled by the state. This is how they try to keep consumption down, so that we donīt drink ourselves to death.At the same time though, they are run with the intention of making profit. You can think what you will of this system, but it works to some degree.
The myth goes that Systembolaget, in itīs efforts to protect the consumers of alcoholic beverages, put in a certain substance which is said to induce nausuea, thus prevent any further drinking and in the end, alcohol poisoning.
I argued that it seems pretty unlikely that they on every single imported bottle, like say Dom Perignon, would unkork it to pour the named substance, without any complaints from the brewery. This argument was countered with: - They are all involved in a secret pact, and will of course deny it when questioned!
I asked how they, if this is a secret, knew about it? Answer: - Because when you travel to another country on vacation, you donīt throw up as much when you drink their liqour.
Aha... I should have figured. I tried to point out the fact that alcohol, is chemically considered to be toxic to our bodies, and maybe this was the cause of their nausea. I recieved a pretty sour answer, that it was just non-drinker propaganda. (This was aimed at me, since I donīt drink.) Anyway, I said that I would look this up, and provide them with facts.
About a day later, I had gathered several sources from the internet, including Systembolagets own homepage, dealing with this myth. I presented this to my opponents.
What freaked me out, was that they accepted the facts, with just a couple of tiny protests. I also gained some respect, as they said that it was a good thing that someone keep track of things. Usually, when I oppose something that doesnīt seem right, I donīt make many friends. But this time it seems to have given a positive reaction. Strange, but good for future discussions.
Anyway, I just had to tell about this rare event... There is hope for skeptisism.
:D
This myth is usuallly strongly defended by the believers, even when faced with the bare facts.
In Sweden we have to buy our liqour at special stores called Systembolaget, which have monopoly on the market, and is controlled by the state. This is how they try to keep consumption down, so that we donīt drink ourselves to death.At the same time though, they are run with the intention of making profit. You can think what you will of this system, but it works to some degree.
The myth goes that Systembolaget, in itīs efforts to protect the consumers of alcoholic beverages, put in a certain substance which is said to induce nausuea, thus prevent any further drinking and in the end, alcohol poisoning.
I argued that it seems pretty unlikely that they on every single imported bottle, like say Dom Perignon, would unkork it to pour the named substance, without any complaints from the brewery. This argument was countered with: - They are all involved in a secret pact, and will of course deny it when questioned!
I asked how they, if this is a secret, knew about it? Answer: - Because when you travel to another country on vacation, you donīt throw up as much when you drink their liqour.
Aha... I should have figured. I tried to point out the fact that alcohol, is chemically considered to be toxic to our bodies, and maybe this was the cause of their nausea. I recieved a pretty sour answer, that it was just non-drinker propaganda. (This was aimed at me, since I donīt drink.) Anyway, I said that I would look this up, and provide them with facts.
About a day later, I had gathered several sources from the internet, including Systembolagets own homepage, dealing with this myth. I presented this to my opponents.
What freaked me out, was that they accepted the facts, with just a couple of tiny protests. I also gained some respect, as they said that it was a good thing that someone keep track of things. Usually, when I oppose something that doesnīt seem right, I donīt make many friends. But this time it seems to have given a positive reaction. Strange, but good for future discussions.
Anyway, I just had to tell about this rare event... There is hope for skeptisism.
:D