I was just googling the word "teetotaler" because I was curious about its origin, and since I am one, I figured I should know where the term came from. Wikipedia says:
One anecdote attributes the origin of the word to a meeting of the Preston Temperance Society in 1832 or 1833. This society was founded by Joseph Livesey, who was to become a leader of the temperance movement and the author of The Pledge: "We agree to abstain from all liquors of an intoxicating quality whether ale, porter, wine or ardent spirits, except as medicine." The story attributes the word to Dicky Turner, a member of the society, who had a stammer, and in a speech said that nothing would do but "tee-tee-total abstinence".
A more likely explanation is that teetotal is simply a repetition of the ‘T’ in total (T-total). It is said that as early as 1827 in some Temperance Societies signing a ‘T’ after one’s name signified one’s pledge for total abstinence.
So I thought, hrm, okay, then scrolled down to see what else was in the entry. Included was a link to a list of famous teetotalers, so I clicked over to see who they listed. Before doing so, I was thinking, "Hey, wouldn’t it be funny if John or John Quincy Adams was a teetotaler?" Well, turns out there was a famous–or perhaps I should say infamous (and I don’t mean that in the Three Amigos sense)–John Adams who was a teetotaler: John Bodkin Adams, who was apparently a British suspected serial killer. Creepy. Team JA loses a point there.
Update: I emailed word of this discovery to my Facebook Doppelganger, and he pointed out that Bodkin died on the 4th of July–the same day that President John Adams died. Hrm. Guess I should dread each passing Independence Day, since that’s apparently when John Adamses die.
Read More
