Sunday/Funday - This is what happens when Bacteria meets whisky 🦠🥃

 Video from https://x.com/HowThingsWork_

Whiskey has a funny relationship with bacteria. On one hand, a strong enough alcohol concentration can absolutely ruin a bacterium’s day. That’s why alcohol is used in disinfectants and hand sanitizers. But before anyone starts pouring whiskey on every scrape like an old-timey cowboy doctor, most whiskey sits around 40% alcohol — good for cocktails, not exactly hospital-grade sterilization. So while whiskey might make some bacteria uncomfortable, it’s not marching into battle like a tiny microscopic action hero.

Historically, though, people treated whiskey like liquid medicine. Sore throat? Whiskey. Toothache? Whiskey. Snake bite? Definitely whiskey. Whether it actually helped was another story, but it probably made people care a whole lot less about the problem for a few hours. In some cases, the alcohol may have slightly reduced surface bacteria, but the real medical effect was mostly “temporary courage and questionable decision-making.”

The funniest part is that bacteria themselves can sometimes survive in surprising places. Certain microbes are incredibly stubborn little freeloaders, happily living in environments humans would describe as “absolutely not.” Fortunately, whiskey production itself — especially the distillation process — keeps the final bottle pretty hostile to most unwanted microscopic squatters. So your bottle of whiskey is generally safe from becoming a science experiment… unless it’s been sitting open since the last season finale of your favorite TV show.

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