then there's the issue of the safety of tap water :smile_45:

nonsense! if that was true, china's population should have been much lower than the west

LOL
Lower sperm count is only one of the factors. More factors are :

1.Quantities of mating can overcome this effect
2. the over population in china mainly is caused by the agriculture culture. (children = productivity), not sure about the Western.
3. Early marriage may be the reason too. ( not sure about Europe though, Chinese one is pretty early, like 13-15 for girls , definitely 衰十一 )
4. I guess Western society had the concept of birth control hundred years before China, like around the time for industrial revolution or a bit later.
5. Europe's land is so much less than China ( Russia oh well, their land is not that suitable for life ). Land related to food productivity which can maintain population

According to the history I know so far, Chinese population was not particularly more than the western society.
However, there are 2 huge growth of population ( ignore the effect of war ).
One is in middle of Ming Dynasty, when high output American crops was imported into China.
Another one , I forgot when, should be the improved species of rice with a huge improved food output, should happen earlier than the reason above.

Both of them boosted the food productivity and enhanced the population growth.

6. I don't know how to estimate the war effect. I am pretty sure WWI was really bad to Europe population when they were in transit to the modern warfare. People were still the main resources but the weapons were good enough to kill people fast. Few 10 millions people were dead in it. WW II was bad too but China suffered much as well. China had the 3 years of starvation and cultural revolution too though.

7. Diseases? Black Death? Don't know how to take into account too. I am sure Chinese population was kind of immobile and somehow should decrease the spread of epidemic, c.f. Europe.

8. Last one, I bet, soy milk was not that popular among most of the farmers who had food scarce.

As a conclusion, medical report, so as sociological report are hard to be well justified.

[ 本帖最後由 chefung 於 2009-1-30 04:40 AM 編輯 ]

... ...that's why people invented beer/wine     germs free (vs unclean water) and lactose free (vs milk).

increase consumption of beer and wine can also lead to population growth

... good first draft ..??........ :smile_35:

how can i miss this interesting sharing ha
anyone heard of Benjamin Fraklin? his famous quote "in wine there is widom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria" somehow resonates ur remark, U
read some articles b4 saying in a numer of the controlled trails, scientists hv demonstrated tat if we human beings drink 1L of h2o per day, at the end of the year we'd hv absorbed > 1L of escherichia coli which is the bacteria to be found in poo poo ... in other words we r consumin' 1L of poop

listen! but we do not run tat risk when drinkin' wine, beer, tequila, whisky or other spirits coz such drinks hv to go thru a purification process of boilin', filterin' n fermentin'
so wat's the conclusion? h20 = poop wine = health? ha
i dunno but it seems better to drink alcoholo n talk stupid, than to drink h20 n be full of shxt

i dun check in here every often so there's no need to thx me 4 this valuable info hehe

The E.Coli is inside your intestines even you don't intake them.
I am fine as far as the water doesn't stink.

[ 本帖最後由 chefung 於 2009-1-30 09:28 AM 編輯 ]

morning guys~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

then y we're only "blowing water" but not "blowing wine":smile_45: :smile_45:  May be alcohol is too easy to evaporate .. not so lasting for blowing:smile_30: