Endnote 1 – Jesus the Teetotaler

Despite popular belief, a “teetotaler,” a person who abstains completely from alcohol, has nothing to do with tea. Rather, the word stems from a dreidel-like top popular in Europe from the 16th to 19th century. The tops had four lettered sides, one of which was inscribed with the letter T for Latin totum, “all,” signifying “take all.” Thus teetotaler became a term used for somebody practicing total abstinence from something, such as alcohol.