Short answers, pulled from the story.
The earliest evidence of human alcohol consumption dates back to 13,000 years ago when the Natufian culture in the Middle East brewed beer in stone mortars at Raqefet Cave in Israel. This discovery predates the invention of agriculture and challenges the long-held belief that farming was a prerequisite for the development of complex social rituals.
Ethanol is a deceptively simple molecule with the chemical formula C2H6O. When consumed, it acts as a central nervous system depressant, slowing down the electrical activity of neurons and producing a state of intoxication that ranges from euphoria to unconsciousness.
England drank 2.2 gallons of gin per person per year by 1743 during the Gin Craze of the 18th century. This consumption reached staggering levels that led to widespread social decay and crime before the British Parliament enacted the Gin Act of 1751 to curb the consumption of distilled spirits.
The highest recorded survival level of blood alcohol concentration is 1.41%. Blood alcohol levels of 0.4% or higher often lead to death, and the risk of overdose is ever-present for those consuming alcohol.
The Prohibition era in the United States was a nationwide ban on the production and sale of alcohol from 1920 to 1933. This period ultimately failed to eliminate consumption and instead fueled the rise of organized crime.