Gin and tonic prevented malaria
Malaria is a pretty terrible disease. Caused by a small parasite delivered by an infected mosquito, it causes fever, chills, and sometimes death. As the British empire sent its emissaries out to conquer the world, the potential perils of malaria were naturally top of mind. Fortunately, by the turn of the 19th century, people had figured out that quinine protected against the infection.
But there was one problem: Quinine, which is derived from cinchona bark, tastes really gross. So the Brits started mixing it with soda and sugar, which is how we got tonic water. Eventually, the colonists got even more clever about their spoonful of sugar, mixing the sweetened medicine with gin and a little lime. And that’s how homemade medicine gave us Jay Gatsby’s favorite drink: the gin and tonic.
Source : https://www.popsci.com/coca-cola-lysol-kotex-medicinal-origins#page-5
Source : https://www.popsci.com/coca-cola-lysol-kotex-medicinal-origins#page-5