Alcohol, for all its benefits, has many drawbacks. Now, Korean researchers have found a way of tweaking alcohol to limit the fallout without cutting its potency. Doctors Kwang-il Kwon and Hye Gwang Jeong of Chungnam National University, studied the properties of oxygenated alcohol – booze with oxygen bubbles added – a popular concoction in Korea. In these drinks, oxygen is added the way carbonation is added to soda, and scientists have found that it sped up how fast drinkers got sober and cut back hangover time.

The drinks with added oxygen content sobered people up 20-30 minutes faster, under the influence of the rather potent alcohol they used for the trials. 20% alcohol is around the strength of fortified wine or a very strong mixed drink. So, while shaving a half hour off your drunken tomfoolery might not seem a great deal, when you’re trying to fall asleep at night and combating the spins, you’ll appreciate it. Researchers also found that people who drank oxygenated booze had less severe and fewer hangovers than people who drank the non-fizzy stuff.

So, I guess we just we are all a step away from being functional alcoholics. No hangover = no lesson the next morning. Moreover, there is an argument to be had that the hangover is the best part. It’s a rite of passage into the underworld, an excuse for forgetting someone’s name or not making conversation in the morning, and your reason for a late night kebab or fatty eggs, bacon sausage and beans breakfast washed down with a colossal milkshake. Without the hangover, how can we value the stupidity of what we’ve done the night before. Without it, what do we learn?

Thanks to Gavin Cumine for this story.


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