al-kohl - a post about booze and slutty make up

[Kali]

Earlier today I was asking about various anise flavored beverages ( http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x3910892 ), and have been wasting time on and off, all afternoon with my friend google. I bet you didn't know the origins of the word ALCOHOL did you?:

It is believed that the arak is among the first of these liquors - apparently developed by the Christian and Jewish minorities in the Middle East. The art of distillation was initially discovered in the early Middle Ages by the 10th century Arab alchemist, Albukassem. However, the Arabs did not use his invention to produce alcoholic spirits since in Islam, liquor is forbidden. Hence, his discovery was employed to distil perfume from flowers and to produce kohl - a women's eye cosmetic where a black powder is liquified, then converted to vapour and allowed to re-solidify.
The Arabs carried the art of distilling kohl to Spain from where it spread to the remainder of Europe. In these Christian lands, it took on a much different use - the production of liquor. With the utilization of this method of producing hard spirits, the Arabic name al-kohl, which became alcohol, was adopted due to the similar method the Arabs used in manufacturing this cosmetic. The words in English relating to the art of distillation, besides alcohol, like alchemy, alchemist, and alembic attest to the Arab origin of producing the many intoxicants found in western lands.

More at http://www.winedine.co.uk/page.php?cid=744

Cool huh?

[Kali]

1. What?

Nobody thought this was interesting? (A friend just replied to me that she thought it was interesting but a bit Cliff Claven-ish - geez) :crazy:

[knowbody0]

2. i love this new knowledge

thanks Kali.

[Technowitch]

3. Kohl isn't slutty, IMHO -- I wear it frequently

It's natural, looks great, and lasts forever. Plus, I get lots of compliments on my eye-makeup.

[Kali]

7. heh

I was just trying to make an intriguing subject line. It may be natural, but if the item below is correct its made from mercury! Yikes - I always thought it was some kind of lampblack (smoke/carbon from kerosene lamps or wood fires)

[Kali]

10. OOPS

I am really wrong - I thought antimony was a mercury compound. WTF was I actually thinking of???

maybe amalgam?

[Technowitch]

14. No worries. Actually, antimony is lead-based

I just make sure I get the good stuff, because there are some kohl forumations which can be irritating to the eyes. Good kohl contains only a tiny trace amount of lead.

Anyway, I usually get mine through bellydance supply stores -- and one bottle lasts an eternity.

[liontamer]

4. how could alcohol have been banned before it was invented?

while i believe the word is arabic, that story doesn't wash.

[Kali]

6. here is some more

from online entymology dictionary http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=alcohol
alcohol
1543, "fine powder produced by sublimination," from M.L. alcohol "powdered ore of antimony," from Ar. al-kuhul "kohl," the fine metallic powder used to darken the eyelids, from kahala "to stain, paint." The al- is the Arabic definite article, "the." "Powdered cosmetic" was the earliest sense in Eng.; definition broadened 1672 to "any subliminated substance, the pure spirit of anything." Modern sense of "intoxicating ingredient in strong liquor" is first recorded 1753, short for alcohol of wine, which was extended to "the intoxicating element in fermented liquors." In organic chemistry, the word was extended 1850 to the class of compounds of the same type as this. Alcoholism "disease of alcohol addiction" is from 1852; alcoholic "one who is addicted to drinking in excess" is from 1891. Alcoholics Anonymous founded 1935 in Akron, Ohio, U.S. Alky is first recorded 1844 as a slang shortening of "alcoholic liquor;" 1960 in the sense of "a drunkard."


From Wikipedia:

Alcohol
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
In general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-khwl ÇáßÍæá, or al-ghawl ÇáÛæá) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage)......



Etymology
The word "alcohol" almost certainly comes from the Arabic language (the "al-" prefix being the Arabic definite article); however, the precise origin is unclear. It was introduced into Europe, together with the art of distillation and the substance itself, around the 12th century by various European authors who translated and popularized the discoveries of Islamic alchemists.

A popular theory, found in many dictionaries, is that it comes from ÇáßÍá = ALKHL = al-kuhul, originally the name of very finely powdered antimony sulfide Sb2S3 used as an antiseptic and eyeliner. The powder is prepared by sublimation of the natural mineral stibnite in a closed vessel. According to this theory, the meaning of alkuhul would have been first extended to distilled substances in general, and then narrowed to ethanol. This conjectured etymology has been circulating in England since 1672 at least (OED).

However, this derivation is suspicious since the current Arabic name for alcohol, ÇáßÍæá = ALKHWL = al???, does not derive from al-kuhul. The Qur'an in verse 37:47 uses the word ÇáÛæá = ALGhWL = al-ghawl — properly meaning "spirit" ("spiritual being") or "demon" — with the sense "the thing that gives the wine its headiness". The word al-ghawl also originated the English word "ghoul", and the name of the star Algol. This derivation would, of course, be consistent with the use of "spirit" or "spirit of wine" as synonymous of "alcohol" in most Western languages. (Incidentally, the etymology "alcohol" = "the devil" was used in the 1930s by the U.S. Temperance Movement for propaganda purposes.)

According to the second theory, the popular etymology and the spelling "alcohol" would not be due to generalization of the meaning of ALKHL, but rather to Western alchemists and authors confusing the two words ALKHL and ALGhWL, which have indeed been transliterated in many different and overlapping ways.

[Heidi]

5. What do you mean by "slutty"?

Can you explain that, please?

[LastKnight]

8. i think he means bad eye makeup...

but i could be wrong.

[Heidi]

9. I loathe the term "slutty" . . .

moreover, it's a description that has nothing to do with cosmetics. Eye makeup says nothing about a person's sexual behavior; that sort of thinking went out the window in the 1950s. :shrug:

[LastKnight]

11. i know.

but when a certian behavior becomes associated with another by method of both being found with common links between them. in this case, selling one's body and the overuse of makeup. its hard to break the stigma...

no, its not a rule, not all prostitutes overdo the make up, and likewise not all women who overdo makeup are prostitues. but the two have become associated with each other by one way or another and is likley here to stay, for an equally stuipid reason.

i dont like the term either. but i can just make sure i dont use it in that context, i cant control what everyone else does.

[Heidi]

12. I don't use that term at all.

What other consenting adults do with their sexuality is none of my beeswax. I'm always surprised when I hear of "progressives" using terms like that.

[Kali]

13. ahem

see above. intentionally provocative subject line. and it worked didn't it?

Trust me as a "bold" woman (note to the other poster: I am a "she") I have dealt plenty with the misapplication of the word slut.

[Heidi]

15. Same here.

I see your point, Kali, and I love your username. :hi:

[Kali]

16. thanks

sorry if I was offensive.

[Heidi]

17. Some words are hot buttons

with me; wasn't really offended, just getting on the record about "slutty." :hi:

(Edited for my own poor proofreading.)