Today in 1903, US Patent 734305 A was issued, an invention of Francisque Crotte, for his “Process Of Preserving Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
This invention relates to, the preservation of beer or other liquids; and the object of the invention is to provide a process by which the organic or germ life in the beer is rendered harmless, so that the beer will keep without deterioration for a great length of time.
The invention consists of the process of preserving beer which comprises the steps of placing a suitable preservative substance in a receptacle in contact with the beer to be treated and then passing through said substance, receptacle, and the beer an electric current of high tension, said current being of such direction, strength, tension,and character as to induce a cataphoric transference of said preservative substance through the receptacle into the beer.
The invention consists also in certain other combinations of steps hereinafter described and claimed, all however, involving the same principle of cataphoric action.
Today, we’d go WTF?; 1903 – nobody knew better.