like oil and water

[gfish]

Interesting thought experiment that came up during dinner: How would things be different if alcohol wasn't miscible with water?

Mixology would be a lot more difficult. You'd need to start with making an emulsion -- lots of eggnogy drinks.

We would have had hard alcohol available since the neolithic. Which means access to a really good solvent and disinfectant.

There would be more whales around right now, as there never would have been a demand for whale oil.

Ethanol as a fuel would be a lot more practical, without the energy needed to distill the damned stuff. The entire 20th century would be radically different with far fewer petro-dollars distorting things.

Are we missing anything?

Comments

[neuro42.livejournal.com]

Right. More to the point, the only way for ethanol to be immiscible in water would be the absence of hydrogen bonding, which would make both ethanol and water gasses at human temperatures. Which would pretty much mean no humans. Or oceans. Or life.