You shake a Marlboro from that iconic red-and-white pack and, letting it dangle from your lips, you flick open your Zippo with practiced ease. Cupping the flame from imaginary wind, you light up, snap the lighter closed and inhale. The familiar flavor of cigarette smoke floods the senses and a few seconds after it hits your lungs you feel the nicotine sway your world, a welcome counterpoint to the mild burn that comes from inhaling smoke. After a second you exhale through your nostrils, blowing smoke like dragon and casually tap ash from the tip of your cigarette. You’re cool, you’re hip and you’re participating in a minor form of conspicuous consumption. You’re also taking around 13 years off you life, and even if you ash that dart right away you’ll still be at a greater risk of smoking-related disease 15 years later.

Tags: Alcohol,Cigarettes,Health,Marlboro,Smoking,Travel
Categories: Odds And Ends
2 Comments »

Hangovers have been a curse on the human race since before the beginning of recorded history. But modern science, along with building nuclear bombs and MP3 players, has dedicated some serious research time to the subject.

The Cause - For light to moderate drinkers, it takes about five to seven drinks over about five hours to bring on a hangover. Hangovers can be made worse by drinking on an empty stomach, dancing, not having had enough sleep, being dehydrated, and so on. The science of hangovers is myriad. One of the big things is the diuretic effect of alcohol. Once you start drinking, you urinate more than you consume. To make it worse, you also pee away salts like potassium, plus vitamin B and C, which work together with the liver.

Tags: Alcohol,Beer,Drinks,Gin,Hangover,Vodka,Wine
Categories: Odds And Ends
9 Comments »