Crazy Hangover Cures

Apparently the pain of the morning after a night of drinking has driven some people to try wild and crazy ideas to get rid of their hangovers. Here are some of the wildest if you are crazy enough - or desperate enough - to try them.

First, there are some crazy things that you can try eating. Maybe a cheese and onion sandwich would work for you. Or try two spicy tacos and a beer. Some people believe that buttered cinnamon toast with honey will get rid of headaches. Another recipe says to combine grated cheese with onion gravy, two pints of water, diced sausage and aspirin into a mash. The British enjoy chips and cream cakes, while the Germans will swear by sour herring. The Assyrians crushed swallows’ beaks. Or try cold beet soup with beef and marrow and topped with sour cream. Are you still hungry? A couple of owl’s eggs raw should do the trick.

If you do not feel like eating, there are plenty of hangover cures that come in drink form. Try a frozen coke. Or you could make tea using three teaspoons of crushed yellow dock root to three cups of boiling water. Others will simmer dandelion root and leaf with ginger in three cups of water. Prefer water? Try mixing in half a teaspoon of salt a few tablespoons of sugar in two liters of water. Or you could try 12 ounces of ginger ale mixed with four ounces cranberry juice and four ounces grapefruit juice, and stir in a packet of powered vitamin C. Own your own soda fountain? Warm cola syrup is supposed to do the trick. Warm some buttermilk, add a little cornflower, a little salt, and some pepper and drink it. Artichoke juice is supposed to help, and was even banned by the French since they thought it would encourage drunk driving. Peppermint or thyme tea can be soothing. If you want to take your life in your hands, you can try a glass of water with 4 drips of ammonia in it, or make a smoothie from two carrots, two oranges, tow bananas, two vitamins, and half a pound of raw chicken breast.

Of course, many hangover recipes include the “hair of the dog” that got you in this mess in the first place. While many people have their favorites, there are some that just sound worse than others. For instance “ultimate egg nog” includes 6 raw eggs, three-quarters cup of sugar, some water, and brandy and bourbon. Or try a “morning glory” with whiskey, absinthe, egg, sugar syrup, lime, and lemon - but not mixed.

If your stomach is not going to allow you to add anything new to it while you are suffering from a hangover, some other interesting ideas have come up. You could try burying yourself up to your neck in river bank sand, hypnosis, sex, or scalp stimulation. The Haitians use voodoo to cure hangovers - all you have to do is stick 13 black pins into the cork of the bottle you drank from the night before (obviously, this won’t work so well if you went to the bar). Still other people swear by essential oils. You can try a drop of rose oil on your temples, or add eucalyptus, peppermint, and sandalwood to warm bath water for a soak.