Hungover Brits declare full English breakfast the solution to all their ills

British revellers have been asked for their favourite hangover cures, with some frankly bizarre results. Those polled in the survey, which was commissioned by the makers of Tabasco sauce, declared that a full English breakfast was by far their favourite way of dealing with the consequences of a heavy night, with 32 per cent …

[Disgusted Of Tunbridge Wells]

If I'm actually hungover, a bacon butty and a can of full fat pop would see me right.

I can't drink coffee when I'm properly hungover. It just doesn't go down. And a full english is unappealing if you're really suffering.

[Captain Scarlet]

hmm if very very very hungover then yeah I can't do a full English, toast at the most.

If just hungover (So room not spinning) then yes I absolutely can.

Either I drink water, anything else makes me feel even worse.

[Anonymous Coward]

The solution is to eat before you go to bed.

At the University of Virginia, decades ago when it was known as a top party school, an all-night diner served a 'grills with'.It was a grilled glazed donut with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the hole. That and a cherry coke made the morning much more bearable. When I left school I relied on a late night Big Mac and a chocolate shake.

[The Oncoming Scorn]

Food trucks outside pubs n clubs & kebab shops in the UK bear testament to that.

Gawd I fancy a burger now either from Casablanca's (In pita with ketchup & chilli sauce) or Filthy Lill's.

[Captain Scarlet]

Used to be able to get a Kebab at 1 in the morning back in the day, until they were forced to shut at 10PM.

Shame I miss the drunkenness at that time of the morning.

[adam 40]

Ketchup on Egg?

That's just disgusting - the article photo looks like the eggs are fertilised. Bleurgh!!!

Beans must be kept away from egg, too.

[Schultz]

Liquids are the solution (in general))

And, in particular, you should try the Korean Hangover soup: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haejang-guk.

[elsergiovolador]

Monopoly

It's interesting how alcohol producers achieved a monopoly on providing a mind altering substance, and one that is a particularly nasty one.

There is a plethora of substances that can help you relax much better without having to look for "full English breakfast" solutions the next day.

Probably if we also taught at schools how one can defuse build up of emotions and the whole thoughts and feelings connections, without resorting to any substance, then our society would have been in a much better shape. But then, how all those booze peddlers would make their money?

It will be interesting to see when the lockdown ends, whether people will accept having only one drug on the pub menu (I am not counting coffee).

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Monopoly

I drink beer because I enjoy the taste and aroma of a well brewed pint. You seem to be making it a bit too complicated.

[elsergiovolador]

Re: Monopoly

I am not attacking the substance per se, as you know whatever floats your boat, but the lack of choice.

You know, people who prefer the herb for instance, are being excluded and cannot participate fully in life like the connoisseurs of fermented beverages. This creates societal divide for a financial benefit of the few, but the tide is slowly turning.

[logicalextreme]

Re: Monopoly

Sure, you can't sit there and smoke it in the pub but cannabis is widely consumed; you can go round someone's house or go to the park or up a hill or pretty much anywhere you like. Hell, inconsiderate bastards smoke it on the bus enough.

I take anything I can get my hands on and I've only felt "excluded from life" due to my own selfish behaviour getting out of hand. In fact I feel I can participate more in life since stopping drinking because of how severely impairing alcohol is, both during and after consumption — I'm not generally in the mood anymore to sit around with a bunch of people getting gradually less coordinated while we all repeat what we've just said for hours. Often a drug puts people on a certain wavelength, so it can be uncomfortable to try and e.g. socialise with a group of drinkers if you're on something else, but that's not really exclusion from life — just hang around people who accept your tastes. There's plenty of choice if you know where to look and you're unlikely to suffer any legal repercussions from consumption unless you do something stupid, or are unfortunate enough to be the wrong colour.

You shouldn't feel marginalised — the current system is a crock of shite, but that means you just don't have to participate in it. Lobby for reform by all means — this country (and the world) needs to address drug consumption properly, including alcohol — but remember that the alcohol industry is supplying for a demand, for all its guilt in helping to propagate that demand. It's doing its utmost to keep the problem alive, but it itself isn't the problem.

[elsergiovolador]

Re: Monopoly

> you can't sit there and smoke it

It's not the only route of administration. You can vape it - which is not as bad as smoking and some medical grade cannabis has modified terpenes so it doesn't smell much if any.

Then you have oils, edibles, patches... It doesn't have to be inconsiderate to other patrons.

[logicalextreme]

Re: Monopoly

Aye, though I'd expect vaping will still have to take place outside as a precaution. I've always preferred edibles, not least because it's usually some sort of monstrously delicious chocolate brownie-cake-affair

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I drink beer because I enjoy the taste and aroma of a well brewed pint.

You lot are weird. Alcohol is a drug, if you're taking it for it's taste and aroma you're doing yourself loads of damage for no reason.

Find a drink you like the taste and smell of that doesn't kill your liver. Or admit you drink alcohol because it gets you drunk.

[werdsmith]

Re: I drink beer because I enjoy the taste and aroma of a well brewed pint.

You lot are weird. Alcohol is a drug, if you're taking it for it's taste and aroma you're doing yourself loads of damage for no reason.

This is rubbish. In moderation it is harmless or even beneficial in some cases. I haven't been drunk in many years, but I keep a nice stock of enjoyable drinks to have the odd glass.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I drink beer because I enjoy the taste and aroma of a well brewed pint.

Nonsense, it DOES have taste and you don't have to get blind drunk to enjoy yourself.

I drink very little, but I do enjoy the occasional glass of wine, a Guiness, some cognac or single malt Scotch whisky and in all those cases it'll be one or two glasses at most, because I may like the taste but I do not like the feeling of getting drunk - my work demands too much control for that.

[ICL1900-G3]

Re: I drink beer because I enjoy the taste and aroma of a well brewed pint.

Amen to that. I used to drink myself senseless because I was so unhappy. Now I savour the occasional pint.

[Phil O'Sophical]

Re: Monopoly

It will be interesting to see when the lockdown ends, whether people will accept having only one drug on the pub menu

I'm certainly suffering from cravings for a Full English (with black pudding), they'd better not take that off the menu.

[Pascal Monett]

Re: Monopoly

I agree that there is a laundry list of mind-altering substances out there.

Alcohol has a major advantage over most of them : it's legal.

It also has another advantage : you can control your consumption of it.

Now I know that that last point will raise the ire of those who will answer "but it's just as addictive !". I will not refute that alcohol can be addictive. Hell, I'd gladly have a whiskey every evening before supper.

But alcohol is not crack. Those who have the willpower can control their consumption. With crack, you take one and you're on it, willpower or not.

In any case, addiction is a difficult subject. Whatever the vehicle.

[Disgusted Of Tunbridge Wells]

Re: Monopoly

Weed isn't crack.

( Also nothing is so addictive that one hit is addiction, not even heroin ).

[logicalextreme]

Re: Monopoly

One hit of something can definitely be addiction (or technically the second); depending on the person, their genetics, where they are in life, the drug, the form of the drug and the route of administration (think chewing coca leaves vs. smoking crack) — but not physical dependence, which is a different kettle of soldiers. Addiction's a psychosocial phenomenon.

[jmch]

Re: Monopoly

"Alcohol has a major advantage over most of them : it's legal"

Yes it is, but should it? You might want to read up on actual drug effects, and the history of prohibition. Both heroin and cocaine were legal relatively recently, with very little in the way of societal problems, mostly because, being legal, it was available in medicinal grade (without cutting additives and easily dosed correctly). Marijuana has been used safely for millenia. The legality or lack thereof of many drugs was pushed by the US getting other countries to follow its lead. In the US the outlawing of heroin, cocaine and marijuana (while alcohol was re-legalised) had nothing to do with their properties, but with who the majority users were: Alcohol was white peoples drug of choice, heroin was popular among Asians, Cocaine among South Americans and Marijuana among blacks.

Out of these, heroin is the most dangerous (highly addictive and low ratio of lethal dose to effective dose), alcohol the second-most (quite addictive and relatively easy to overdose). Cocaine is slightly more addictive to alcohol but less dangerous (more overdoses occur because illegality leads to unknown purity of batches). Marijuana is very slightly mentally addictive and not at all physically addictive. There are also literally zero cases of death attributed to MJ overdose in thousands of years of recorded history. The probability of indirect death is also much less as your average stoner is far more likely to lounge on a couch looking for munchies than partake in dangerous behaviours very often fuelled by alcohol.

In other words, if an objective assesment were made of perils of drugs, and their availabilty were to be made based on that and not on cultural history and profit-driven multinationals, alcohol would be far more severely restricted.

I agree completely that many people can control their alcohol intake and control themselves, but many cultures, particularly European and related, correlate manliness to being able to hold one's drink, and particularly Anglo-saxon 'lad culture' glorifies the stupid things done under the influence. The French and Italians seem to handle a glass of wine with every meal without a problem, so it's a cultural problem as well a chemical one.

[ICL1900-G3]

Re: Monopoly

And that hippy rag The Economist has, rightly, been in favour of legalising drugs for years. Remove the illegality and a shed load of people would instantly lose interest anyway - see Prohibition for details.

[juice]

Re: Monopoly

IT'S A CONSPIRACY!!1!! THE MAN WANTS US TO DRINK ALCHOL! WAKE UP SHEEPLE!!11!

Sheesh.

Alcohol is literally just yeast piss, and has been drunk by humans for thousands of years - and consumed by animals for millions, any time some fruit fell off a tree and was left to ferment.

It's also far from the only "mind altering" substance which people are free to consume. Have some caffeine. Or some e-numbers. Have a smoke. Chew some mushrooms. Hell, just eat a spoonful or two of processed sugar and then wait for the sugar rush... and the crash.

Alcohol has something of an advantage on other substances, in that it's woven into human society across the globe. Not that it's stopped various people from making an effort to do so on religious grounds, with the most famous perhaps being US prohibition. Which went well, at least for the Mafia.

Then too, as per above, it's ridiculously easy to make - since yeast particles drift through the air, you can literally make beer by just leaving the lid off a vat of wort...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambic

> Probably if we also taught at schools how one can defuse build up of emotions and the whole thoughts and feelings connections, without resorting to any substance, then our society would have been in a much better shape. But then, how all those booze peddlers would make their money?

Or, we could fix the many social, political and economic issues which lead to peoples lives being a misery. Hell, there's currently 2.5 million children in the UK alone, who are currently experiencing "food insecurity":

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/worried-kids-watch-mums-skip-23799872

But yeah. Let's ban alcohol and tell people to get in touch with their emotions. That'll fix everthing!

[logicalextreme]

Re: Monopoly

The availability of alcohol and the fact that it's so woven into culture and politics is a social, political and economic issue that leads to people's lives being a misery. Drinking will be a factor in that food insecurity in a proportion of cases, though it'd be hard to put numbers on it and I'd be wary of it being seized on as a scapegoat when basic social security should exist and doesn't. I agree that some sort of dispute resolution classes in schools is a bit of an odd idea — generally just asking "how many people that haven't drunk alcohol have you seen fighting?" is sufficient to make people check their consumption a bit :)

I don't think OP was suggesting a conspiracy — the behaviour of the alcohol industry is pretty overt when you look at it — but it is there because the industry wants you to drink alcohol, and they do not want other substances to get in on that money. I believe some of the savvier elements of the industry are making moves to be in a good position to diversify so that they can capture the market of any newly-regulated substance and make sure their margins are protected (some tobacco companies have done this with the recent glut of alternative nicotine and/or smoking products, and you can bet your bottom ass they'll be in on cannabis if anybody lets them).

It's true that alcohol pretty much makes itself, though — but that's a big reason why alcohol is so dominant; it's been making itself everywhere on the planet for time immemorial. Once it started to have taxes levied on it alternatives barely stood a chance (though there's a lot to blame the US and UN for on that front).

And I call alcohol yeast piss too! Int nature brilliant?

[jmch]

Re: Monopoly

"I agree that some sort of dispute resolution classes in schools is a bit of an odd idea"

I don't. School should be a place where kids learn to be good adults, learn how to get along with others, how to collaborate and negotiate, how things get done in the real world. In practice most schools are factories to churn out capable and obedient workers.

Why are students forced to do the majority of their work alone, when in real life they need to do most of their work as a team? Why are they forced to learn a bunch of names and dates by heart in detail, when they can be taught the general gist and can look up the details so easily? Why is physical education such an afterthought, and proper nutritional education almost nonexistant? And then we wonder about health and obesity crises!

[logicalextreme]

Re: Monopoly

I see dispute resolution as one of those things that's just incumbent upon teachers and parents during the day-to-day — kids fight, teachers sort it out and show them how people do things. Pretty much every subject you can study involves the concept of understanding that people see things differently. That said, I had a pretty good secondary education till the shit hit the fan.

I agree on PE and nutritional education though, despite the fact that I despised PE to the point that I worked out a deal with the teacher that I'd go to detention every Saturday if I could go to the library and read during his class. I can't speak for what most schools do though…people seem to be vaguely okay these days? Da yoof have the highest proportion of non-drinkers and non-smokers, I believe, so something must be going in the right direction.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Monopoly

"Not that it's stopped various people from making an effort to do so on religious grounds, with the most famous perhaps being US prohibition."

Hmm, I think I can think of a religious alcohol prohibition that is slightly more widespread than that one…

Which reminds me of a really really good theatrical production of "Tales of One Thousand and One Nights" that I saw a few years ago, with a mixed cast of actors from around the eastern Mediterranean (from various countries, from Egypt right up the east coast, and performed in Arabic, French and English, with surtitles).

It took me a little by surprise as, with hindsight, the original stories were written and set sufficiently long ago that many of the characters in the tales (contrary to modern day expectations for the area) were happily drinking wine (which of course also served as a cause for the events in some of those tales).

[Intractable Potsherd]

Re: Monopoly

There is good evidence that alcohol was being produced in large quantities at least 12000 years ago - https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01681-w

[logicalextreme]

Re: Monopoly

Further info for downvoters (or anyone interested) — originally from the Lancet paper by Nutt and friends, so you probably know the gist already, but worth a look: https://marlin-prod.literatumonline.com/cms/attachment/df9c8f42-25a2-4cdf-968e-c27b6d23b666/gr4.jpg

I don't believe anybody suggested banning alcohol (we all know how well that goes), but given that the industry's sheer lobbying power and monopoly on getting twisted (using the "woven into culture" as a nice catalyst where it suits) trounces that of the tobacco industry, advertising and lobbying should certainly be outlawed on public health grounds — and minimum unit pricing and possibly larger warning labels should be introduced.

You can say that an "advantage" of alcohol is that it's legal, but I'd argue that that's one of the main reasons that it's such a dominant public health menace.

To directly address points in the original comment though — people will accept one drug (for sale) in the pub because that's what pubs are for. There's always someone doing coke in the toilets, but you'd have a hard time getting cannabis legalisation to mesh nicely with the smoking laws unless you restricted to alternative routes of administration. I'd suggest hanging out at house parties and free parties instead — cheaper, safer (usually), more choice (including the music) and a lot less getting pints thrown on you/sick on your shoes/punched. Though if you like the pub, you can drink whatever you like and take anything that isn't smoked while you're there if you're sneaky — if it needs smoking, that's what "round the corner" is for!

[Intractable Potsherd]

Re: Monopoly

I'm glad I've never been in any of the pubs you seem to be familiar with!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Monopoly

Probably because, with the exception of a burning leaf alternative, which is just as unhealthy, if not even more so, none/few of the other alternative substances are legal (and some/many also have very unhealthy side effects, including severe addiction).

It is probably also only a case of ancient historical precedent that alcohol and tobacco are still legal as well? There are various other chemical substances that have been invented more recently that can (so I'm told) help enhance a good night out, and it certainly could be argued that, as long as they are safe, why shouldn't these be legal too?

Yes, I quite like a drink (although it's certainly a taste that you have to accustom yourself to), but obviously not the short or long term effects of over-indulgence. I think I would tend to agree that it's a shame that there isn't legal research into and sales of safe chemical alternative highs, as that could definitely be quite a profitable business. (I'm aware it is already a profitable 'business' for some, but not helped by the fact that the illegal nature means that the 'product' is manufactured without quality controls and often adulterated, and can have very nasty effects on purchasers, including death!)

Some sort of safe and legal pep pill (or perhaps a little something to sprinkle on your dinner, or perhaps more research into stimulant plants) that could help you enjoy a night out and without any nasty mental or physical health effects wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, I think.

[logicalextreme]

Re: Monopoly

Some sort of safe and legal pep pill (or perhaps a little something to sprinkle on your dinner, or perhaps more research into stimulant plants) that could help you enjoy a night out and without any nasty mental or physical health effects wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, I think.

So MDMA, then? Not something you'd want sprinkled on your dinner though :D

WRT why alcohol and tobacco are legal when other stuff isn't — it is partially entrenched historical use, but the UN's Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs in 1961 and the UK's Misuse of Drugs Act in 1971 are the main culprits for us in the UK. There are a huge number of factors that went into the current situation, but you can broadly categorise them into money and moral grandstanding. It's usually money, though.

[elsergiovolador]

Re: Monopoly

> it is partially entrenched historical use

Oh this old chestnut. Herb has been used for ages and is still being used. There is no reason for it to be illegal other than massive corruption.

[logicalextreme]

Re: Monopoly

I was talking about the UK specifically — cannabis wasn't widely available here until the last couple of centuries. It's illegal in most places because of the UN, which follows the US, but you can trace all modern suppression of it back to a combination of moral panic and threats to industry — because hemp is an excellent alternative to many things.

The UK is the largest producer and exporter of legal cannabis in Europe, to boot. We're appallingly behind the times on this and I feel like we'll be very late to the party on this one, given that one of the most vocal proponents of drug law reform is a member of the ruling party. All I can recommend is that you keep doing what you're doing — bringing it up! Check out Drug Science, The Loop (assuming the government don't destroy them), LEAP, and the Correlation European Harm Reduction Network if you haven't already. The walls will fall one day, and we can help push.

[NXM]

Re: Monopoly

Thank you Nanny. Mine's a pint with a whiskey chaser.

[The Oncoming Scorn]

Re: Monopoly

Ale brewing & consumption developed as it was considered (By the brewing process itself) healthier than drinking water with god knows what bacteria living in it the water.

I wish I could find find the original quote, but it goes along the lines of "Puny humans unable to cope with drinking impure water, forced to develop brewing instead!" with the addition of Beers better"

[MarkSitkowski]

Re: Monopoly

Yeah, but where's the fun in that...?

[adam 40]

Re: Monopolisnt

Eh? There is no monopoly because a number of different companies make it, in competition with each other.

Secondly, you can home brew if you want.

[Dabooka]

Age changes things

Full fat original Lucozade and ready salted Hula Hoops as a young 'un.

Now full English. Possibly because I don't go daft on school nights anymore, where the above was consumed on the train on the way in work.

[disgruntled yank]

Home remedies

In certain Hispanic pockets of America, menudo, a tripe soup, is regarded as sovereign. Or so I've heard: I've never actually consumed menudo, hungover or not.

The cure that always worked for me was a hard run of four to six miles.

[elsergiovolador]

Re: Home remedies

Just make sure you don't accidentally run to Windsor, you know when endorphins kick in.

[Disgusted Of Tunbridge Wells]

Re: Home remedies

This crack is very moreish

[The Oncoming Scorn]

Re: Home remedies

Windsor, why is Pizza Express open that early in the morning?

[Disgusted Of Tunbridge Wells]

Re: Home remedies

it's a Peep Show reference

[ShadowSystems]

Re: Home remedies

At Disgruntled Yank, re: a hard run.

I, too, tended to get sober via a hard run, but usually I lost my pursuers in a mile or two rather than four or five. I suggest taking up Parkour so you can take routes the others find too difficult. Cheers! =-D

[Chris G]

For most of my life, no matter how drunk I have been I have always tried to knock back a pint of milk before retiring, that will either purge the system quite rapidly or help to rehydrate.

At any rate a BGB( big greasy breakfast) is the perfect start to new consiousness, whenever it happens.

My misspent youth lasted until I was nearly forty and has been revisited quite a few times since.

A BGB has never failed to get me back to a reasonably functionable level.

[jmch]

" I have always tried to knock back a pint of milk before retiring, that will either purge the system quite rapidly or help to rehydrate."

I have found that during the night out, alternating a glass of water with every glass of alcohol both keeps hydration up and alcohol consumption (and the bill!) down.

[adam 40]

Or you can drink beer, which has the optional water build in already.

Kills two birds with one stone and makes you look more attractive to the opposite sex (and the same sex probably).

[Anonymous Coward]

A full english, or if you can manage a hollandaise then eggs benedict, in fact the best way to master the hollandaise is while one is hungover based on the premise of if you can do feeling that bad you can manage it any time!

So I guess the makers of tabasco are hoping we'd be using one of their products to help with our hangovers? Sorry guys in the UK its tomato sauce, brown sauce (HP) or worcestershire sause/henderson's relish

[Stumpy]

There's two solutions I have for avoiding a hangover.

The first is to mix up a Muddy Puddle first thing in the morning (1/2 Pint Full-fat Coke + 1/2 Pint fresh OJ) and chug it.

The other is simply to not stop drinking in the first place.

[Anonymous Coward]

(1/2 Pint Full-fat Coke + 1/2 Pint fresh OJ) and chug it.

I fear that the consequences of that would be an immediate technicolour puddle on the backswing.

[Disgusted Of Tunbridge Wells]

You know that the hangover is the punishment, don't you?

You don't need to compound it.

[logicalextreme]

I may be blessed, but when I used to cane at least half a bottle of whisky a night I soon found that I just didn't have hangovers. I only realised much later that I definitely didn't feel "normal" during the day back then, but I was certainly very functional and felt that I was fine. About twice a year I'd get a full-day hangover though.

WRT this Muddy Puddle, which I've never tried and now really want to, have you had the pleasure of trying Mezzo Mix?

[Stumpy]

Never even heard of Mezzo Mix before ... strangely though I now want to try it.

[GreggS]

sweet and sour pork balls

"The 3 per cent of respondents who suggested a day with a hangover should best be started with sweet and sour pork balls (30th) are clearly suffering from a hangover caused by something other than alcohol. Possibly crack."

Nope. It's an indication of our changing population and Student demographic.

[Disgusted Of Tunbridge Wells]

Re: sweet and sour pork balls

It's crack.

[elsergiovolador]

Re: sweet and sour pork balls

And it's moreish

[OssianScotland]

No mention of "Cold Carry Out" (Chinese or Indian according to taste) eaten at silly o'clock? That, plus hot, sweet, tea is my sovreign cure for over-indulgence.

[DrXym]

No cure for a hangover

Although rehydrating with a couple of cups of tea helps.

[I ain't Spartacus]

Re: No cure for a hangover

The cure is just not to get them. I don't get hangovers. Not that I'm gloating or anything... My only problem is when drinking until stupid o'clock in the morning, and then having to get up early - while still drunk. That's not so pleasant. But I'm older and wiser now, so that doesn't happen too often, maybe once every 5 years.

Obviously it's not true that I don't have any ill effects. But it's just a thirst that's hard to shift, no headache or sickness or anything. And you can deal with the dehydration by drinking a lot before bed - or drking a lot while you're drinking a lot, which I try to do. Although I'm mostly pretty sensible nowadays, I've barely drunk during lockdown and not only am I becoming more sensible with age, but so are my friends - and I tend to be a social drinker.

Bacon sandwich, tea (then more tea), glass of orange juice - happiness. But then that's a nice way to start any day.

Also, were the organisers hung over? There survey doesn't appear to add up to 100. So how come they're giving percentages?

[jmch]

Re: No cure for a hangover

"The cure is just not to get them."

As I have grown older (and loosened the shackles of a student budget) I have found that a major factor in having or not having a hangover is the quality of the booze. Doesn't have to be a single malt whisky or £20 bottle of wine, but drinking a decent quality alcohol instead of the cheapest plonk available in the off-licence significantly reduces hangover severity.

Another factor is sugar - more sugary drink = worse hangover, but that could be just me

[ShadowSystems]

Re: No cure for a hangover

I don't get hangovers either, but then that's because I was always the Designated Driver. Even on my 21st birthday when I should have been the one to be getting free drinks during the pub crawl, I wound up being the DD for the group. The first bartender we visited asked why I wasn't drinking. I told him I was the DD. He got a sour look & asked "But isn't it YOUR birthday those bastards are getting drunk to celebrate?" I nodded yes. He gave them all the StinkEye & started charging them double "for being right assholes". I didn't stop him, I felt he had the right of it, besides it wasn't my place to complain what he might charge for alcoholic drinks. (As a DD you usually got free non-alc drinks while there.) As my friends decided they wanted to visit the next pub, the bartender handed me a stack of cash. I asked what it was for, he replied "This is what I charged them for booze. Get yourself something nice on me. Happy fekkin' birthday, Lad." I smiled, accepted the money, & felt MUCH better.

I learned many good & horrible potential cures for hangovers though from dealing with said friends the next morning. My favorite was to mix up a large pitcher of chocolate laxative powder, cod liver oil, the juice from multiple cans of tuna in water/oil, a couple of raw eggs, & an entire tub of cottage cheese. Pour it all into a blender, cover, blend until it turns to sludge. Pour into plastic drink cups. Drag the hung over outside to the lawn, hand each one a tumbler of the goop. Lock the door behind you when the first sounds of barfing reach your ears. You get a decent amount of sleep while the assholes barf & shite themselves all over the lawn. Locking the door prevents them from coming back in, and latching the windows keeps that potential avenue from them as well. Bonus points for using sparkly sprinkles in the goop to make the barf that much more feastive.

Why yes, I AM grumpy about "friends" like them, why do you ask? =-Jp

[Howard Sway]

A crisp sandwich

A big yay to everyone who admitted to enjoying this little unsophisticated pleasure! Cheese and Onion crisps definitely the best.

Who the hell eats dry roasted peanuts as a hangover cure? It would be like pouring sand into your dehydrated mouth.

[logicalextreme]

Re: A crisp sandwich

I hate dry-roasted peanuts. They're all coarse, and rough, and irritating. And they get everywhere.

[Rosie Davies]

Cocktails

Savoy recipe corpse reviver number 2 for preference.

Works as well today as it did 100 years ago.

Rosie

[Paul Herber]

I do not understand how prawn vindaloo failed to get into that list!

[Anonymous Coward]

It probably did, but then went straight through & off again.

[logicalextreme]

[orson-welles-clap.gif]

[chivo243]

easy

Lots of water and 2 ibuprofen, something salty, more water, something sweet, a good cuppa and a short nap!

[werdsmith]

Re: easy

Yes, it's not very exciting, but 2 x ibuprofen 200mg with water dealt with any hangover within 30 minutes, in the old days when I occasionally drunk enough to earn one.

[You aint sin me, roit]

Amateurs

Can of special brew, left over cold kebab, and a handful of Nurofen and you're good to go.

Ready for round two!

[elsergiovolador]

Re: Amateurs

Don't forget a line of crushed caffeine pill from poundland

[po]

Spanish style

Churros and a carajillo (expresso and whisky) every time. All the essential nutrients - sugar, fat, caffeine, hair-of-the-dog - without that awful bloated feeling.

[I ain't Spartacus]

Re: Spanish style

Surely any hangover cure needs some serious salt?

[My other car WAS an IAV Stryker]

Back in college: junk food

Wish I even had options like those listed back then, although I would certainly avoid eggs in that situation, even to this day.

After many Friday night benders, Saturday morning came with waking by 0800 [1], no dormitory meal service until 1100, and plenty of homework to be done at the engineering computer lab before everyone else showed up in the afternoon. Despite the dehydration, plain water would not sit well, so the salt & fat components were often provided via vending machine, usually opting for a bag of chips/crisps and a candy bar. Pop (soda, etc.) was optional for the calming carbonation but I tried to avoid the additional dehydration of caffeine.

[1] No matter how late I staggered in, the traffic noise and general discomfort (stomach and/or headache) would always rouse me, save maybe once. I remember after a particularly bad night I had crashed with some friends, woke to my watch alarm, staggered back to the dorm, then crashed again. Not sure I even made "brunch" service that day.

[I ain't Spartacus]

Re: Back in college: junk food

Well, if you've slept through brunch, there's always "linner". Linner is traditionally eaten at about 4pm, between lunch and dinnertime. I think I prefer dunch though - for rhyming with brunch - but it doesn't sound terribly appetising.

[MutantAlgorithm]

Don't get old!

The best way to avoid hangovers is to stay young! More years ago than I care (or can) remember a hangover used to last an hour or two tops, some tea, aspirin and a bacon sandwich and all was well with the world. These days a really good one can last easily 48hrs, filled with pain and self-loathing. Doesn't stop me though, which probably says something...

[logicalextreme]

Re: Don't get old!

Aspirin was my painkiller of choice too back in the day! Seemed to work for the morning after where paracetamol and NSAIDs didn't.

Worth mentioning for anyone reading however that it should not be taken immediately before or after alcohol (or with, pedants), especially if there's a lot of alcohol involved or it's being done on the regs. Stick to paracetamol or ibuprofen if they work as they're arguably safer than aspirin overall.

[RedneckMother]

Re: Don't get old!

Hmmm. I take 750mg or 1000mg of "enteric coated" aspirin with a full glass of water when retiring after a proper slosh, and I feel fine when I wake.

Paracetamol has a negative effect on one's liver and kidneys. I never take it (or ibuprofen).

[Haynomonous]

Food of the Gods

No mention of yesterday's pizza? What the hell kind of demographic ignores that as a hungover breakfast option?

[logicalextreme]

Re: Food of the Gods

It's on the list.

[Haynomonous]

Re: Food of the Gods

So it is. Must be hungover.

[logicalextreme]

Re: Food of the Gods

Get some pizza down yer

[elsergiovolador]

Re: Food of the Gods

When you Google "Can you eat three day old" - pizza is the first result.

[Pen-y-gors]

Tabasco?

Possibly a waste of money by the makers of Tabasco sauce, and a godsend to the makers of HP sauce. Only one item in the list benefits from/requires tabasco, and that's the Bloody Mary at number 26!

Whereas HP makes just about everything better (maybe not the bowl of cereal)

[Dasreg]

Continental

this list is illustrative of the problem with Brexit. Also it is clear that the respondents of the survey are alcoholic yobs...

[I ain't Spartacus]

Re: Continental

Also it is clear that the respondents of the survey are alcoholic yobs...

Proper Brits then! European travel writers have been writing appalled pieces about the drinking habits of the English and Scots since Roman times. It's a tradition which each generation is duty bound to honour and uphold!

Plus bacon sandwiches are yummy, and no excuse is required! Although I've got to be honest, a full English brekkie is a thing of beauty, but something to be eaten no more than every couple of months, in order to fully appreciate its declisiousity. Also something to be savoured with friends over sereral hours, rather than rushed in order to shovel calories and salt into you.

Also, having cooked fry-ups for ten people in someone else's kitchen - it's not a thing to be approached lightly, or when not in tip-top condition. It needs to be organised and coordinated properly, with thought, in order to achieve close to perfect results. You shouldn't even be starting until 10 o'clock with a few cups of tea in you - also in order to have a good appetite for a meal intended to fill you up until dinner time.

[gandalfcn]

Re: Continental

Some of the best piss artists I know are German, French, Spanish etc. You should try a hangover in Naples.

[kick.the.side.panel]

my 5-course hangover recharge - the ordering is crucially important

2 paracetamol, 2 ibuprofen, washed down with a small (but concentrated) tumbler of berocca

1 salted, boiled egg

2 staffordshire oatcakes with cheese and brown sauce

as much of a full english breakfast as can be managed (with extra black pudding and mushrooms), washed down with yorkshire tea

then, a chupa chup while on the train to work

[I ain't Spartacus]

I read that as Staffordshire bull terrier for some reason. And was then surprised you still had room to eat the full english.

[seanj]

"2 paracetamol, 2 ibuprofen, washed down with a small (but concentrated) tumbler of berocca"

This - except I tend to use the cheap Tesco/Asda own-brand of Dioralyte. Then back to bed for a bit followed by much full fat lemonade and fried chicken...

[logicalextreme]

Which flavour Chupa Chups?

[s. pam]

Nothing better than the Texan cure of...

Chicken Fried Steak with gravy*

Hash Brown potatoes

2 scrambled eggs

Southern style biscuits

*= either gravy w/ bacon grease or sausage grease works fine!

[Chris G]

Re: Nothing better than the Texan cure of...

Most Brits will not recognise the biscuits and gravy you mention.

If I am in your neck of the woods, anything fitting the description of a Trucker's breakfast will do.

[logicalextreme]

Re: Nothing better than the Texan cure of...

I've never met a UKite who doesn't know what biscuits and gravy are. They won't have tried them — I haven't — but everybody's heard of them.

[Tom 38]

Re: Nothing better than the Texan cure of...

The gravy is white though, isn't it? It just seems wrong. Gravy should be dark and glossy, not white with bits in it.

[I ain't Spartacus]

Re: Nothing better than the Texan cure of...

I'm not too much of a fan of biscuits and gravy. Although they're much nicer than what most of us Brits first think of when we hear the words.

Personally I'm a big fan of another US brekkie staple, the stack of pancakes with maple syrup - with bacon, fried eggs and sausage. The only problem it's harder to cook the more people you've got. Unless you want to feed them in shifts.

[gandalfcn]

Re: Nothing better than the Texan cure of...

And a bottle of red?

[Inspector71]

Made in Scotland from......

For me, got to be AG Barr's finest magic orange beverage. Ice cold and has to be the real sugar version. Painkillers optional.

[steelpillow]

Full English Whinge

Never seen so much sanctimonious tosh from our commentards. Plenty of cases have been documented of wild animals getting smashed on rotting, aka fermenting, fruit. Alcohol and its consequences have been a part of human culture since before human culture came along. Take it or leave it, but don't lecture the other team on the fscking time of day, alright? Sheesh!

As for the Full English Breakfast, I heartily endorse it. Preferably followed without delay by a trip up the nearest mountain. In winter. Got me recovered from Hogmanay anyway, and boy do the Scots know a thing or two about celebrating the New Year! To decline would have been soo churlish :)

[elsergiovolador]

Re: Full English Whinge

Most intelligent animals look into altering their minds in one way or another and that's not only limited to fermenting fruits. Google what Dolphins are up to...

[This is my handle]

Re: Full English Whinge

In fact, I was just looking for the link to a radio snippet about the hominid adaptation that allows us to metabolize (yes "Z" or "Zed" -- I'm a Yank) alcohol, allowing hunter gatherers to digest fruits & berries past their prime. Instead I found an equally interesting snippet that explains why many of my E. Asian friends get flushed when they try to keep up: https://www.livescience.com/61845-evolution-may-decrease-alcohol-tolerance.html.

[Danny 2]

I'm an World Class drinker - ask me anything

1) My credentials are in my posting history. I out-drink Belarusians according to the BBC. The last Irish guy who tried to out-drink me puked over my kitchen, burst out in tears, leaving me to clean up and put him to bed. I drink more than Finns. I am increasingly confident against hardened Russians. If any of you want to challenge me, feel free.

2) Practice makes perfect. Like anything else you have to put in the work, put in the hours.

3) Forget the food, you are just going to puke it up later. If you have to eat then avoid anything, like rice, that will rip up your oesophagus on the way up. Scrambled eggs wasn't a bad suggestion.

4) Water is the only hangover cure. Drink it until you are sick, then drink it some more. We are lucky to live on a blue planet.

My mum sang this as a lullaby to me, gave me childhood nightmares of dying of thirst: Frankie Laine - "Cool Water"

Oh, and drink three cups of coffee a day, supposedly it prevents liver disease. That may explain why I'm still alive.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jun/22/drinking-coffee-may-cut-risk-of-chronic-liver-disease-study-suggests

[You aint sin me, roit]

World Class drinker?

According to the BBC calculator 12 pints a week is enough to out drink a Belarusian.

That's a Friday night... doesn't your mum let you out the rest of the week?

[Danny 2]

Re: World Class drinker?

I don't drink beer. Beer is fizzy and makes you pee and puke.

Real drinkers, hard drinkers, either drink Polish spirit (80% proof, tastes like bleaugh and a kick in the balls) or Scottish malt which tastes like summer rain as your first love is caressing you.

I would be delighted to outdrink any of you, put you to bed and clear up after. You lot have an unrealistic idea of how much alcohol you can handle and how to cope with that, but I could train you to be less, you know.

I have so many alcohol anecdotes. My 18th birthday was a Burr Brown party, free bar, I had a table full of free drinks in a rainbow. I could drink a rainbow!

I must've been 28, Seel paid me to help a shitty salesman sell their imaging software to a conference, unlimited bar tab and instructed to get everyone drunk. £300 tab. You know that Homer Simpson cartoon where he passed out with his head in the lift doors? That actually happened. My salesman appeared groggily at breakfast the next morning with two bruises on each side of his head. Me? I felt alive - water.

[werdsmith]

Re: I'm an World Class drinker - ask me anything

Not something to be proud of @Danny 2.

It's not the drink that's the problem, more the drinking culture.

[Danny 2]

Re: I'm an World Class drinker - ask me anything

I'm not proud Werdsmith, I'm not boasting, and I'm not part of a drinking culture. I'm Scottish but I've surpassed my peers.

It's an obvious truism that staying sober is the best hangover prevention, and I respect that. I feel contempt though for people who drink and then complain about their hangover- pick a lane! And then you recommend pseudo cures like high fa,t high protein breakfasts and fizzy juice.

I hate Ronaldo as much as the next man, but when he removed the Coca Cola from his Euro2020 table and recommended water instead then I applauded him for recommending water.

Drinking, like smoking, is a very slow form of suicide. Rational happy people don't do it. But I'm living it and am good at it. I'm not sugar coating it, unlike the many posters here who say daft things like drink carbonated drinks and eat meat. I seriously doubt many of you have drank more than one bottle of 40% proof in a night. I do that without a hangover regularly.

If you ever do then I recommend water. If you ever do then your own body will be insisting on water.

[James Anderson]

Ethnic imbalance

There is no mention of Irn-,,Bru or Lorne sausage which can only mean there were no Scott's involved in the survey.

Of the ,100 "cures"actually listed only three have any scientific value. The banana, the bloody Mary and especially the Bacon Butty.

Consult the "Ladybird book of the Hangover" for information on "Bacon Replacement Therapy"

[Danny 2]

Re: Ethnic imbalance

Scots.

Lining your stomach with animal fat is a good preventative in advance of a drinking session, it's not a cure for after.

Fizzy drinks is a sure way to puke after. Irn Bru 1901 is currently on sale, with the same ingredients from 1901 - no aspartame. It's deliciously unhealthy but it's not a hangover cure. It is a great cure for constipation if you drink two bottles and don't mind bright orange jobbies.

[Philip Stott]

I suspect the respondents who replied "chow mein" & "s&s pork balls" were still in that delicious stage of drunkenness before the horrors set in.

[Dom 3]

Rollmops

As this German wikipedia page points out:

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollmops&prev=search&pto=aue

"a traditional part of the hangover breakfast". Preferably the "Zigeunerroller" variety.

[The Oncoming Scorn]

Where I Wake Up, Whats Available In No Particular Order (Except Tea Thats Priority #1).

Full English (With OJ, Yoghurt, hot buttered toast & as much tea as can be consumed) - Hotel\BnB.

Bacon or sausage sandwich or burger from a roadside van - Especially if breakfast wasn't available on waking up.

Can of full fat coke (With smokey bacon crisps & a Mars bar) - This will at least get me functional if breakfast wasn't available.

Hot buttered toast (Marmite optional) - Home.

Tin of UK Heinz spaghetti, cooked in butter\Marmite (Premelted in the saucepan) & the tomato\cheese sauce strained off with toast accompaniment - Home.

Pancakes (Crepes) - Home.

Finally a purgative visit to the loo to ensure that (Icon)....

[MrDamage]

How about the multi approach?

6 first, followed by 3 and then washed down with 2.

[FIA]

I'm sorry, but no.....

What the jeffing jeff is that picture on the front page?

For a start there's both kinds of sauce on there.... that's basically illegal.

Then the beans appear to have been confined into some kind of swimming pool arangement? How are they meant to add flavour to the egg when they can't mingle??

and I'm not even going to begin to address whatever that 'green' stuff is??

Lester would never have let such a.... travesty.... happen....

Mine's the one with the triple fried egg, chillie sauce and chutney sandwich congealing in the pocket...

[Sub 20 Pilot]

When in my teens and twenties a solid bike ride or run for a couple of hours while still mainly drunk would do the trick.

Later on it became a few bacon rolls, with runny fried egg if really bad.

Then it became several cups of tea with sugar in ( which I normally hate.)

Now it is a whole day of pain and fucking misery.

I try to restrict those days to a few times a year where a good day's acrobatic paragliding in Oludeniz leads to wine and raki..

[Horizontal]

Hairy Dog...

Disappointed that hair of the dog hasn't made the list...

[ICam]

Re: Hairy Dog...

I'm glad I'm not the only one wondering why hair of the dog hasn't made it to the list.

A visit to a pub the following day is usually the best answer, because you can enjoy:

1) hair of the dog to settle things down

2) a full English breakfast

3) the company of friends to discuss the carnage of the night before or continue talking crap

Previously, I would have said a Wetherspoon outlet would have been a good choice for the next day (they still are mostly), but I'm kind of put off saying that now because Tim Martin is such an utter bellend.

[Danny 2]

German beer purity laws

I spent an evening drinking German lager on the company tab, must've downed 15, was pished, collapsed in my hotel bed, woke up fresh as a daisy the next morning.

The barman who served me beer the previous evening served me breakfast. I told him I didn't have a hangover, and said that must be down to the German beer purity laws of 1516. He replied, dry, "Yes, it could be that. Or it could be that you chose alcohol free beer all night."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You seemed to be having a great time."

The placebo and nocebo effects strongly affect drunkenness, more than any other factor. If you expect to be drunk, you're drunk. If you expect to be sober, you're wasting alcohol.

[logicalextreme]

Re: German beer purity laws

Set and setting, essentially. That said, I don't believe those effects hold up when it comes to crucial safety matters like coordination for drink-driving — the actual alcohol wins out there. Somebody in a placebo state of inebriation will snap to and avoid a hazard; somebody who's truly inebriated simply won't.

[logicalextreme]

Re: German beer purity laws

This is an exchange I would pay money to have seen

[gandalfcn]

Re: German beer purity laws

That puts me in mind of when I was Master on a stainless steel chemical tanker. We went to Leixões to fill a couple of tanks with port for carriage to Antwerp. Whilst we were preparing to load I discussed a number of things with the shipper (owner of the cargo) including sampling for quality etc. We established that only clean stainless steel samplers were to be used and then out of the blue the shipper added that we could draw as many samples as we wanted during the voyage to ensure there were no problems! I explained this to the crew when we departed, to general delight. The next evening we drew some samples and settled down in the Mess for a drink or twenty. Everyone stuck with the port other than the 2nd.Engineer who also had a few cans of lager. Next morning the only one with a hangover was the 2/E.

[NerryTutkins]

Re: German beer purity laws

In the early 2000s, I ran a software company with my brother. For our christmas party, we decided to take the guys (there were 5 or 6 of us) up to a medieval banquet near Tower Bridge. So we wouldn't have to get home drunk, we book hotel rooms not to far away.

They had a bottomless jug of beer on the table so we just kept knocking it back. We saw people going to the bar to order name brand beers, and we chortled what mugs they were. The beer on our table was a bit weak but we figured that was the medieval theme, and we'd just drink more.

At the end of the night we all headed back to the hotel feeling in a great christmassy mood. We knew it was probably a bad idea, considering how much we'd had, but we stopped in the hotel bar for a couple of whisky and cokes before turning in. I think when these gave us an instant shot, it finally dawned on us that we'd been drinking alcohol free all night.

[gandalfcn]

"if struggling with a hangover in the sullen company of similarly afflicted friends is more fun than the evening that got you there." Actually, it usually continues into the afternoon and evening.

I also suspect the full English would have included a livener of some kind.

[Winkypop]

Breakfast of champions

Hot pie and a can of coke

[gandalfcn]

Re: Breakfast of champions

Cream pie and a line of coke

[Joe Gurman]

Really?

"It is a sad indictment of Britain's socialising habits if struggling with a hangover in the sullen company of similarly afflicted friends is more fun than the evening that got you there."

Or is getting absolutely pissed by binge drinking next to other people but able to have no meaningful interaction with them when you're paralytic perhaps just a tad inferior to healthier food and drink the next "morning," under a broad definition of morning?

[Grunchy]

Choose not to be poisoned?

“Hungover” is a word that means “alcohol poisoning.”

[Scott 53]

Tea only at number 11?

I despair of this country.

[Anonymous Coward]

I have two favorite breakfasts. The first and simplest is cold pizza straight from the fridge.

The second is a half pound flame grilled back bacon sandwich on a toasted kaiser with hot mustard. This is a dish that MUST be served by the greasy spoon downstairs from your buddy's walk-up where you crashed last night. :)

[Primus Secundus Tertius]

I like ice cream

I was delighted to see the list of proper English food, not do-gooder food (greens, etc.). I could almost believe in a religion if it banned greens rather than banning the good things.

But when my stomach is delicate, the one true remedy is ice cream.

[Timbo 1]

I've a sneaky suspicion the "meet friends for brunch"...

...is more of a hair of the dog thing than any warmth-of-friendship-freeing-me-from-the-shackles-of-the-self-induced-pain.

[Tom 7]

Missed the one thing that does work.

Vigorous exercise. At uni people were baffled by my joyous presence in the pub Sunday lunchtime - I'd been playing basketball from 10 for an hour. Sorted.

Now I go for a row at 9 for an hour and a half and when I've finished there is no sign of a hangover and sometimes no sign of the breakfast I'd chucked over the side! It really is the best cure possible. And you can have the full breakfast twice if you chuck it up! I've been a drunken bastard for near 50 years now and tried everything but its the only thing guaranteed to work.

[Fruit and Nutcase]

Post Pub Nosh

"The late and much-missed Lester Haines wrote a series called Post-Pub Nosh Neckfiller, high calorie food you can cook when drunk, or hungover. These veered into sophisticated recipes hard to rustle up when sober, let alone drunk..." *

https://www.theregister.com/2015/12/30/post_pub_nosh_slideshow/

https://search.theregister.com/?q=neckfiller

* https://www.theregister.com/2018/12/31/the_great_british_curry/

[Anonymous Coward]

They've missed a great Balkan traditional breakfast

I found on a trip to the "Accursed Mountains" (Albanian Alps) that the traditional breakfast of the region is coffee and raki.

Followed in some cases by driving minibuses on gravel roads winding up or down mountainsides. (Still, those roads manage a lower accident rate than the A14.)

[tweell]

Technology - use it!

The hangover cure that has never failed: IV of Ringer's or saline, along with breathing pure O2. Expensive, certainly, but you won't be hungover. Much cheaper if you have a friend that does ambulance duty.

[albaleo]

Umeboshi

I don't think these have been mentioned yet (a salt-pickled plum/apricot thingy). They are considered a standard hangover cure in Japan, and are a common breakfast accompaniment. Some will describe their nutritional benefits, but I think the big thing is their alkali content. The main benefit is that you can eat one or two when you wake up rather than wait a couple of hours for the black pudding and bacon. It makes the wait more comfortable.

[KingMarmite]

Marmite

Some sort of high level hackery going on here. No mention of Marmite. Suspect Australian secret service.

[gandalfcn]

Re: Marmite

Vegemite Security Division?