Why did it take so long to discover that boiling water made it safe to drink?

by jspicedinucleotide

Ive heard the claim many times that alcohol was safer to drink than water in old societies. But boiling water seems so obvious, im curious as to why this procedure wasn't ever discovered.

Searocksandtrees

hi! not an answer to your question, but you may be interested in the validity of the claim that "alcohol was safer than water"

Drinking water