hangover science

well, some scientists did some experiments and learned that the best hangover cure is pretty simple: coffee and aspirin. i'm okay with it, because that's pretty much what i do already.

They found the caffeine in coffee and the anti-inflammatory ingredients of aspirin and other painkillers reacted against the chemical compounds of ethanol, or pure alcohol.

Ethanol brings on headaches thanks to a chemical acetate it can produce and even low doses can affect some people more than others, said the study.

Professor Michael Oshinsky, of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, induced headaches in rats using small amounts of ethanol.

He then gave them doses of caffeine and anti-inflammatories to find it blocked the acetate and relieved the headaches.(via)

as one gawker commenter pointed out, it remains unclear how the scientists knew that the rats had headaches, and when they went away....

the dehydration factor is a myth apparently. so the inexplicable unquenchable thirst for orange gatorade when hungover remains a mystery. maybe it's just that it is delicious.