1. The False Belief That Brandy – or any Alcohol – Warms Up the Body
There is a widespread belief nowadays – which was even more widespread in centuries past – that brandy or other strong spirits can warm a person. Because of that, the notion that a freezing traveler caught up in an Alpine blizzard could be revived and warmed up with brandy makes intuitive common sense. However, a lot of stuff that makes intuitive common sense does not actually work anywhere near as well as common sense says it should. That includes the assertion that alcohol warms us, which is actually false.
Drinking strong spirits like whiskey or brandy does lead to a warming sensation, but that sensation is illusory. What alcohol does is bring our blood closer to the skin, which makes us think that we are warming up. What it does not do, however, is warm up our vital organs, whose failure from excessive cold could seriously harm or kill us. Bringing somebody’s blood closer to the skin in the cold actually speeds up the lowering of our core body temperature, and places our vital organs at greater risk. So it is a good thing that Saint Bernards toting brandy barrels is a myth: otherwise many rescue attempts would have backfired.
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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading
Ancient History Encyclopedia – Fall of the Western Roman Empire
Atkin, Ronald – Pillar of Fire: Dunkirk 1940 (1990)
Clark, Alan – Barbarossa: The Russian-German Conflict, 1941-1945 (1985)
Daily Beast – The Myth of the Saint Bernard and the Brandy Keg
Den of Geek – The Real History Behind Bridgerton
Encyclopedia Britannica – Montezuma II
Harvard Gazette, The, December 9th, 2010 – ‘One Drop Rule’ Persists
Historic UK – The Evacuation of Dunkirk, May 1940
Japan Talk – 8 Common Ninja Myths
JSTOR – The Mexica Didn’t Believe the Conquistadors Were Gods
I. C. B. Dear, M. R. D. Foot – Oxford Companion to World War II (2002)
Lane Fox, Robin – The Search for Alexander (1980)
Mental Floss – Why Are Saint Bernards Always Depicted With Barrels Around Their Necks?
Military History Now – Enter the Ninja: Facts and Myths About Japan’s Most Mysterious Warriors
Montefiore, Simon Sebag – Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar (2004)
Skeptoid – No, Hitler Did Not Let the British Escape at Dunkirk
SOF Rep – On This Day in History: The Only Death Sentence For Desertion in WWII is Carried Out
Vox – The Debate Over Bridgerton and Race
Washington Post, May 5th, 2017 – Five Myths About the Mafia
Washington Post, December 27th, 2020 – Was Queen Charlotte Black? Here’s What We Know