We’ve been inventing crazy hangover remedies for four millennia (and none of them work), Ibuprofen, a cold shower, raw eggs, coffee … are the typical traditional remedies that come to mind when you have woken up with a hangover of a thousand demons . We know that with some ages, a night of alcohol and debauchery can cost one a whole Sunday in bed. And we talk about symptoms that include fatigue, headache, nausea, dizziness, thirst and even sensitivity to light or sound.
Over the centuries, different cultures and civilizations have followed certain rites to get rid of such a circumstance. And there has been no lack of “miracle” cures , ranging from drinking a glass of pickle juice to rubbing a lemon in the armpit before drinking. Few of them (or none) backed by science , of course. But books and history give us some of the most surreal stories.
A few days ago, a team of archaeologists in Israel discovered a completely different solution: a ring of gold and purple amethyst. Waiting. A hangover ring? Where do I buy it?
Excavated in the city of Yavne, the ancient gem was discovered on the site of the largest known winery from the Byzantine era, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority . In a press release, the archaeologists explained that it is very likely that this gem was used to prevent the harmful effects of ingesting too much alcohol . “Many virtues have been attributed to this gem, including preventing the drinking side effect, the hangover,” they argued.
The ring was found only 150 meters from the remains of a warehouse that contained amphorae, a type of jug used to store wine. The excavation site d dates from approximately the 7th century , around the end of the Byzantine era and the beginning of the early Islamic period. “The gold rings inlaid with amethyst stone are known in the Roman world, and it is possible that the discovery of the ring belonged to the elites who lived in the city as early as the 3rd century AD,” they explained.
Since time immemorial, amethyst has had many other “virtues” and religious associations , having been mentioned in the Bible. They also speculated that the ring, which weighs 5, 11 grams, once belonged to a “rich” person. Did the person wearing the ring want to avoid poisoning from drinking wine? We will probably never know.
“Miracle” remedies all over the world But amethyst isn’t the only ancient hangover cure that has fallen out of favor. On 2015, an ancient Greek remedy was discovered in a papyrus of 1. 900 years of antiguaty, who recommended wearing a bay leaf necklace as a “cure for a drunk headache,” according to Live Science. And in ancient Mesopotamia, a doctor recommended a tincture of licorice, oleander, beans, oil and wine in the event that “a man has drunk strong wine and it affects his head. ”
It has transcended the whole world . Ancient Romans, fond of massive orgiastic bacchanalia, sometimes woke up with the feeling that there was a wagon race in their heads. Pliny the Elder recommended frying a canary and devouring it . The debate continues as to whether the bird was beheaded and skinned or eaten whole, but everyone seems to agree that those crunchy bones were a health feast.
Supposedly, drinkers in Puerto Rico have also discovered how to prevent hangovers. Before a night of indulgence, rub a lemon wedge on the armpit of the arm they drink with . Supposedly prevents dehydration. An important fact: there is no way this works and there is no science behind it.
In Japan, after drinking too much sake in one of the small bars nomiya from Tokyo, customers eat umeboshi , a dry pickled ume, which is similar to a plum or apricot. Some dip it in green tea and then drink it to make it less concentrated, but it’s still horribly bitter (even the milder version without drying is hard to swallow) . There is at least a bit of science behind it, as plum salt can actually help replenish electrolytes.
Rubbing a lemon on your armpit is a traditional hangover cure in Puerto Rico. pic.twitter.com/GmEZnRdZHF
— Believe It or Not! (@Ripleys) March 17, 2017 This may be old-fashioned, but in the past, hungover Sicilians bit dry bull’s penis. The assumption was that it restores virility. But the Haitian thing does not have a name. Some voodoo practitioners go on the offensive with their hangovers: nailed 13 black headed pins in the bottle cork that did that to them. A kind of revenge against the bottle that caused this horrible sensation in the darkness of the night.
The ancient Greeks they treated their hangovers with a breakfast of sheep lungs and two owl eggs. It’s hard to imagine that bouncing off an upset stomach. And, according to Irish legend, the best way to cure a hangover is to bury up to the neck in the wet sand of the river . Ireland is not a warm country, so the wet sand of the river should be quite cold. This could have the same effect as a cold shower. It will wake you up and get your blood pumping, but there isn’t much medical evidence that it will cure headaches and nausea. Another lie turned into legend.
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