Scholars have often debated why humans gave up their hunter/gather ways and settled down to farming. In many ways, the change is hard to explain because hunting/gathering provided a more reliable standard of living with less work. Experts suggest that hunter/gathers worked fewer hours per week than most people do today.

So why did we do it? According to a University of Pennsylvania anthropologist, the answer is beer. Yes, that’s right. We started cultivating grain, so we could get drunk. Our ancestors took up the back-breaking work of farming, so we could waste away in Margaritaville, so to speak.

The oldest recipe we have discovered is a Sumerian recipe for beer. The UPenn anthropologist theorizes that some ancient person in making gruel left wheat and barley soaking in water for too long and, thereby, discovered the wonders of beer.

Is anything that is happening today more absurd than taking up farming for beer? If civilization is founded on our desire to drink, doesn’t that prove we have always been an absurd species?

This is the first in my series of Absurd Past Event Stories (#APES) in which I’m seeking to answer the question, “Can the Humans still Win?” To participate in this experiment and be eligible for Awards and Prizes, answer in the comments below whether you think this story is true. Or did someone in the past merely write this as fiction? Or have I possibly made it up myself? Along with your opinion, include how you came to this opinion? Did you merely guess? (This is perfectly acceptable. Just say so.) Or did you do research? How did you do research, and what is your source? For the first 48 hours after posting this story, comments will be held in moderation so that you can post your answer without influencing others. See Rules for a full explanation of how to participate.