I am not sure where I obtained the following quotation but it has to do with women protesting the popularity of coffee houses in London in the late 1600s from which women were barred. I believe that it came from a petition to Parliament as it was stuck in some notes I gathered in 1989 reading old newspapers in the British Museum (library at that time). I wonder what it would do to the market for coffee if this rumor was revived!! "...coffee makes men unfruitful, causes domestic disorders and interferes with business as the men spend idle time and too much money at such houses." cheers, Jim -- James R. McIntosh Professor & Chair Department of Sociology & Anthropology Lehigh University 681 Taylor Street Tel. 610 758 3809 Fax: 610 758 6552