Rabbit served as an astrological marker-it was one of the signs of the Aztec zodiac, and anyone born on the day of Umetochtli-2- Rabbit -was destined to become a drunk, who “would not look for anything else in life save alcohol. In addition to the aforementioned exceptions, some people were cursed by the stars to drink. The results, according to a Spanish source, were ugly: “Once drunk, they would quarrel among themselves, they cuffed one another and fell on the fl oor on top of each other, or else they would go embracing each other.” The page begins with an illustration from the codex Mendoza with the caption "An Aztec Matron enjoys the milk of old age." He applied the “ Test” to his new book, Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol, and reported that "by happy co-incidence p 99 of Drink is indicative of the style and content of the rest of the book." Raised in Hong Kong, he studied law at Cambridge University and worked in the financial markets of London. Iain Gately's books include Tobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilization.
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