A Guide To Superstitions

Libby Alexander reviews a number of old superstitions from The Cassell Dictionary of Superstitions, by David Pickering.  My favorite:

Drunkenness – Superstition proposes numerous cures for this condition, many of which depend upon slipping something unappetising into the drink of the person concerned. These extra ingredients vary from owl eggs and a few drops of the drunkard’s own blood to the powder of a dead man’s bones and live eels. To sober someone up quickly the best remedy is to roll him in manure and make him drink olive oil, then force him to smell is own urine and bind his genitals with a vinegar soaked cloth. According to the Welsh, conversely, eating the roasted lungs of a pig enables people to go on drinking all day long without getting drunk. (See also, Heather.)

As far as these go, I'll remain drunk, thank you very much.