The Bwog
The Columbia Olympics: Hangovers

Welcome to the Columbia Olympics. Through this series, Bwog hopes to prepare you for at least some of the events that you will participate in at Columbia. Unlike the real Olympics, no one's too young, too old, too juiced, or too angry to participate. Since everything must be judged, though, we have included gold medal outcomes at the end of each post.

Bwog believes in timely advice. For Sunday mornings, timely advice means tips on how to lessen a hangover. Hangovers (aka "nature's way of telling you you possibly did something dumb last night") are annoying regardless, but the length and strength of the hangover can make a big difference in how productive and enjoyable your day will be. Here's some ideas from the Bwog and Blue & White staff. Use the comments to add your own advice.

Also, as a magazine and blog of mostly humanities majors, Bwog takes no responsibility for the scientific veracity of these "cures."

  • Winning the hangover battle is all about preemption.
  • The night before, eat a heavy meal if you're planning on drinking a lot. It will slow withdrawal, settle your stomach, and leave you fed.
  • Even a snack afterwards can help if you drink more than you thought.

  • Drink lots of water, both the night before and in the morning. You might end up having to get up to pee in the middle of the night a lot, but you will be very glad when the sun rises.
  • You're going to want caffeine, but stay away from coffee unless you have to. Take Excedrin instead, it's easier on the stomach.
  • Gatorade and other sports drinks can also work in lieu of water.
  • Be careful with pain relievers like Tylenol - there's a reason these drugs carry warning labels against consuming with alcohol.
  • Get some fresh air or exercise.
  • Read this New Yorker article and act accordingly. (Yes, we know it labels several of these tips as placebos. What's your point?)
Gold medal outcome: Waking up without a hangover.

Posted by um....: #1 · reply · track
August 31, 2008 at 12:37 PM
i really would NOT take excedrin. It contains acetomenaphin (tylenol), which is highly toxic when combined with any amount of alcochol. I suppose you won't have a headache, but you might get liver damage. Try aspirin instead, or better yet don't take any medicines.
Posted by waait wut.: #2 (in reply to #1) · reply · track
August 31, 2008 at 1:48 PM (from campus)
im allergic to basically everything except tylenol, so i've done the hangover + acetaminophen combo and my liver is fine (even my liver function blood tests say so)
Posted by broken: #3 · reply · track
August 31, 2008 at 2:08 PM
link to New Yorker article
Posted by CUre: #4 · reply · track
August 31, 2008 at 2:44 PM
I've found the best cure is waking up next to a hot barnard bitch. Unfortunately this one is extremely hard to come by.
Posted by Jim (Site staff): #5 (in reply to #3) · reply · track
August 31, 2008 at 3:02 PM (from campus)
Sorry, fixed.
Posted by also: #6 · reply · track
August 31, 2008 at 3:32 PM (from campus)
getting high. it makes some people sick as shit, but always works for me.
Posted by or...: #7 · reply · track
August 31, 2008 at 3:57 PM (from campus)
smoke weed instead. no hangover - ever!
Posted by exercise: #8 · reply · track
August 31, 2008 at 4:24 PM (from campus)
is the most effective and most painful cure
Posted by Just: #9 · reply · track
August 31, 2008 at 4:39 PM
smoke a j, drink a beer, or deal with it.
Posted by fire: #10 · reply · track
August 31, 2008 at 5:03 PM (from campus)
up the bong. duh
Posted by i mean: #11 · reply · track
August 31, 2008 at 5:38 PM
Also, be smart about how much you drink. You're there to have a good time with friends.

I mean, drink, yeah. Just don't be a fucking idiot about how much. Have one too many instead of five too many.
Posted by todd p: #12 · reply · track
August 31, 2008 at 5:50 PM
hey guys -- what time is today's nsop concert on the steps?
Posted by doesn't matter: #13 · reply · track
August 31, 2008 at 6:51 PM (from campus)
there are no freshmen at the bars
Posted by liver: #14 (in reply to #2) · reply · track
September 1, 2008 at 1:26 PM (from campus)
That shit still kills people, for real.

[external link to www.straightdope.com]

The other thing is that if you get really drunk and take Tylenol, you can forget if you've already taken it and are more likely to OD. Don't fuck with that shit.
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