Today's useless fact - How can I get rid of a hangover?

Common folk medicine has a wide variety of hangover cures. Indeed there appear to be nearly as many ways of curing hangovers as there are of getting drunk in the first place.

Among the more common (and relatively effective) cures are:

drink a large amount of water before going to bed, and during the night (a little water is much better than none)

eat pickles, canned fish, or other mineral-rich foods

eat anything substantial, especially before going to bed (pizza, sandwich)

drink some (not too strong) coffee but be wary of caffeine-induced dehydration

orange juice/vitamin C

cabbage leaves or tomato juice

cysteine, which is available as the over the counter supplement N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is known to assist in processing acetaldehyde, best taken already while drinking and before going to bed. (Egg yolk is also rich in cysteine, and it is notable that many hangover folk remedies or morning-after breakfasts incorporate eggs.) drink some more (hair of the dog)

take a vitamin B1 supplement before going to bed as alcohol flushes out all B1.

As of 2003, the latest fad hangover cure is a Russian pill, sold in Russia as Antipokhmelin (Anti-Hangover), and marketed as RU-21 in the USA. It is also known as the KGB pill due to its supposed use by the KGB to allow spies to keep a clear head while drinking. Check out the links in our Hangover category for more.