Lemonade and the plague

The bubonic plague loomed over Europe throughout the seventeenth century. Large parts of the population died off. The only city spared was Paris, and lemonade was the saving grace. Lemonade growth soared when the hardier, juicer lemon varieties were cultivated and the price went down. Rome was the center point of the trend, soon lemonade was on every street corner. Parisian visitors fell in love with the drink, took it back to their homeland, and it spread like wildfire.

The citric acid in lemons not only helped to prevent bacterial growth in drinking water, it prevented the disease from spreading through rats and fleas as well. Parisian’s didn’t understand the benefits of their new found love, they just drank it for the taste. Imagine the escape cultivated in a glass of cold lemonade on a hot summer day. Sun streaming down the streets, cars and people whizzing by in all directions. A fresh taste of lemon — a little sour, a little sweet — is all you need to be back in paradise, without a care in the world.

At the time, there was no knowledge of the magical qualities of lemons, people simply followed their taste buds, their intuition. Today, our libraries are filled with books, our iphones cluttered with opinions. Eat this, don’t eat that. Eggs are good for you today, probably not tomorrow. How do we know what to trust? Who’s advice shall we seek?