Welcome back to another episode of Particle, Word for Word, the podcast where we bring Particle WA's stories to life.

Today's story is one of nature's boozy elixir, also known as alcohol, with three particle stories about breaking the seal, cutting back drinking and tackling climate change with tinnies.

These stories were written by Emily Evans, Thomas Crow and Alex Duke and read by Cat Williams.

Alcohol has a long and complex history dating back thousands of years.

It has been central to many societies and woven into the cultural, religious and social fabric of humans.

The first known alcoholic drink was in 7,000 B.C.

in ancient China, where people fermented rice, honey and fruit to create a boozy concoction.

By 4000 BC regions of Mesopotamia were brewing beer and wine.

We've come a long way to reach Seltzer's and Tommy Margaritas.

Alcohol was central to life in ancient Greece, where they celebrated Dionysus, the God of wine, with festivals and debates and philosophical discussions.

It was also central to ancient Rome, where they cultivated grapes and improved grape growing techniques and spread the joy of wine and wine hangovers throughout most of Europe.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, winemaking knowledge and techniques were preserved throughout monasteries.

In areas where grapes didn't grow so well, beer and mead became popular.

Alchemists had soon perfected the making of spirits, including brandy.

Rum was popularized and fueled colonial economies, particularly the transatlantic slave trade.

Rum wasn't the only distilled spirit causing chaos with the gin craze declared a health crisis in 18th century England.

After so long of being the beating heart of societies, the 20th century brought prohibition laws and temperance movements, prompting laws and regulations around the consumption and selling of alcohol.

Alcohol has been central to culture, art and societies for thousands of years.

How far we've come to vomiting in a bin somewhere in Northbridge during one of these Northbridge nights out or any pub sesh with your pals, someone has probably mentioned their desperate need to pee with someone else, aggressively convincing them to not break the seal.

Did the ancient Greeks break the seal?

Was this the reason for the prohibition?

Probably yes to the first question, but unlikely to the second.

So what is the seal?

Is it even real and can it be broken?

Breaking the seal and constantly needing to pee might be one reason why you might not enjoy drinking.

Or perhaps the Sunday scaries got a bit too scary.

Or perhaps the phrase sober curious caught your attention.

It cannot be understated that alcohol isn't good for us, it's not good for our bodies, it's not good for our bank account, and it's not good for many relationships and communities.

So is cutting back on alcohol worth a shot?

The only person who can decide what is best for themselves is you.

Maybe drinking isn't your thing.

Maybe you're a fan of a G and T on a Friday night, or a relaxing glass of red in the bathroom.

Or maybe you just love to party and six pints sounds like your perfect Saturday evening.

Like most things these days, everything comes back to the climate crisis.

Diet, climate crisis, clothes you wear, climate crisis, the insanity of the F1 schedule climate crisis.

Unfortunately, the same can be said about our drinking habits.

Luckily, some brewers are lending a helping hand, all with a little bit of algae.

Alcohol has been brewing and concocted at the hands of humans for thousands of years.

Over time, brewing evolved into an art form and from there into mass production.

Of course, brewing is not solely to blame for the climate crisis, but everyone can help play a role.

Whether you're installing some solar panels or choosing your brew based on their waste management practices.

Whatever you choose, cheers to that.