Tonight is the New Years Eve, and I suppose everybody will have at least one or two drinks. Well, for those of us who usually tend to overindulge in alcohol, the next day will start with an old familiar feeling of headache, dizziness, dry mouth and nausea, better known as hangover. Well, this year, I decided to do a little research and find out what are the best cures for hangover, but I only came across some ridiculous and absurd remedies which include rather bizarre ingredients like pickled sheep eyeballs, rabbit poop, etc. Therefor, I came to a conclusion, there isn't really much you can do, once you find yourself in this poor condition. We can only try to be moderate in our drinking (yeah, like that ever happens) and make fun of all these ridiculous hangover cures from around the world.
The ethanol contained in alcoholic beverages has a dehydrating effect which causes headaches, dry mouth and tiredness. This effect can be lessened by drinking plenty of water before and throughout your night of drinking. Your liver breaks this ethanol down and the resulting chemical reactions impair the liver's ability to supply glucose to tissues, in particular to the brain. Glucose is responsible for the brain's energy and the lack thereof results in fatigue, weakness, moodiness and decreased attention.
Apparently some Puerto Ricans (and other citrusy fresh people) swear by this method. While I’ve read a few different opinions, the general belief is that you need to rub a slice of lemon in the armpit of your drinking arm before you start boozing. I'm not sure if it works, but at least you'll smell fresh and fruity while drinking till oblivion.
Since Russians are one of the world's biggest drinkers, it's worth looking into their ways of getting rid of the hangover. Well, they happen to steam out their toxins in a sauna of course. Also, they say you need to drink the juice squeezed from a cucumber. I don't know how they manage to do this in sauna!
The Irish cure? Well they’re said “to bury the ailing person in moist river sand.†It’s not exactly clear if they keep the head above ground, or if this is simply the easiest way to get rid of the weakest drinkers. (Please, keep in mind that we deliberately looked for the least reliable sources)
I was having second thought whether to put this one in the list, but I guess the people who instituted organized crime probably know something about alcohol. Apparently, Sicilians believe that all you have to do after a wild night of drinking is eat a dried bull’s penis. Yep, that’s it. Plain and simple.
They say Native Americans would run around in the morning to get sweaty after a hard night on the village. Next step? They would then lick their sweat and spit it out, to get rid of the 'poison'. (If you weren't puking till now, you'll probably start.)
Is there anything more reliable than voodoo? This is usually my first thought the morning after heavy drinking, because magic trumps logic every time. Haitian voodoo people are said to recommend sticking 13 black pins in the cork of the offending bottle. It makes prefect sense.
The hangover cure for heavy drinkers in outer Mongolia is “a pair of pickled sheep’s eyes in tomato juice.†Sounds probably as disgusting as it tastes. I wonder if they put them on a stirring stick like olives and serve aside with drinks.
Cowboys in the Wild West, back in the old days used to drink a cup of fresh tea the morning after binge. Oh? That actually sounds nice... But, wait! Do you know what the secret ingredient was? It were rabbit droppings! Apparently, cowboys swore by drinking a cup of rabbit poo tea.
