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For many beer is the beverage of choice, whether it be at your local watering hole, at a restaurant or even at home with friends cheering your favorite sports team.  But there’s definitely more to this mug of sudsy goodness, so I present to you 10 Things to Know About Beer.

Oldie But a Goodie: Beer is one of the world’s oldest beverages, with the history of beer dating back to the 6th millennium BC, and being recorded in the written history of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.

To Hop or Not to Hop: The use of hops in beer was written of in 822 by a Carolingian Abbot. Again in 1067 by Abbess Hildegard of Bingen: “If one intends to make beer from oats, it is prepared with hops.” Flavoring beer with hops was known at least since the 9th century, but was only gradually adopted because of difficulties in establishing the right proportions of ingredients. In 15th century England, an unhopped beer would have been known as an ale, while the use of hops would make it a beer. However, by the 16th century, “ale” had come to refer to any strong beer, and all ales and beers were hopped.

No Beer, No Go: Apparently, running out of beer was the reason that Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock as opposed to heading further on to Virginia, as was their original intention.  As the diary of one Mayflower passenger reads, “We could not now take time for further search or consideration; our victuals being much spent, especially our beere.”

Beer Can Be Healthy. Part 1: Dark beer is better for you than light. It contains more flavanoids which are natural oxidants that help to protect the body from disease.

All Shiny and Bright: Let some beer sit until it goes flat, then, dampen a washcloth with it, and rub your wooden furniture. This will polish it, and give it a more shiny and healthy look.

Mama Mia: In the 1600s and 1700s, midwives in Europe and Colonial America gave delivering mothers “Groaning Ale”, which was fermented for seven or eight months and tapped when contractions began. After the birth it wasn’t uncommon for the child to be bathed in the remaining ale, since it was often more sanitary that readily available water.

Beer Can Be Healthy. Part 2: Up to two beers a day for men (women should only have one), will help to reduce your risk of having strokes, and heart disease. Light drinking appears to reduce the risk by as much as 20% according to research in United States.

Priorities. Priorities: The Finnish epic Kalevala, collected in written form in the 19th century but based on oral traditions many centuries old, devotes more lines to the origin of beer and brewing than it does to the origin of mankind.

No More Brown Grass Blues: Help grass grow easier.  Pour beer on those irritating brown spots on your lawns to help your grass grow. The grass absorbs the nutrients, sugar and energy it needs to be able to grow.

Stealing the Thunder: The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 devastated the local beer industry, allowing nearby Milwaukee brewers to swoop in and snatch up market share. After establishing a foothold there, breweries like Schlitz took advantage of Chicago’s extensive railroad hub to begin shipping across the country.