Italy! Mecca! Sweden! Prussia! Constantinople! The 16th and 17th century was full of attempts to ban the bean and it’s certainly got would-be historian bloggers buzzing! Jimmy Fallon blog writer Emmy Blotnick uncovers the hidden past of anti-coffee enthusiasts over at Mental Floss. Turns out that Murad IV was a real piece of work:
After Murad IV claimed the Ottoman throne in 1623, he quickly forbade coffee and set up a system of reasonable penalties. The punishment for a first offense was a beating. Anyone caught with coffee a second time was sewn into a leather bag and thrown into the waters of the Bosporus.
Weak! Read the whole rude roster right here.
