What's the absinthe's mystery by Lenka Filipova

It has become well known that absinthe, which had been very popular among famous like Van Gogh or Picasso, is alcohol changing people mind. However, it had been a mystery what precisely causes this substance to bring such effects. It had been speculated whether not drunk to increase creativity.To resolve this controversy an analysis has been made. Old bottles of absinthe were examined. The results were quite simple to find: the century old absinthe was of 70 per cent alcohol, which stimulates 140-proof kick. Just for comparison, whiskey and vodka (both considered as very strong alcohols thus drank only in small amounts) are of 80 to 100-proof. Absinthe was really popular with artists in 19th and 20th century. It was titled “the Green Fairy” which make their minds broaden to further dimensions. However, it was later known to cause madness and its content was toxic for drinkers. That is why, this alcohol was banned. Today, the scientist agreed on the possibility that some toxic materials could have get in while distillation. But, there are some who claim that thujone was the compound that made it so harmful to people. Thujone is a name of the herb which is also put in the distillation and it gives absinthe its green color. Later on, it was taken as a culprit that causes symptoms like hallucinations, facial tics, numbness and dementia.On the contrary to this fact, the critics said that there is only a small trivial trace level of thujone in absinthe. However, the opponents said that alcohol in France in 1915 contained higher level of it. A chemist Dirk Lachenmeier told that majority of people do not want to be this myth true. And he said that there is no clear evidence supporting the myth. When they did the research approximately the same levels of thujone were found in the old bottles as in the modern once.

by Lenka Filipova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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Edited by: Katarina Zerzanova