alcohol the next day is called ”tasoittava” or ”loiventava” which means the leveller, or sometimes ”korjaussarja”, the repair kit. Also the phrase, ”sillä se lähtee millä tulikin”, that is, ”what caused it, will also cure it”. The Americas In Costa Rica (Central America), the same expression is used but it refers to a pig, as in: hair of the same pig ("pelos de la misma chancha" in Central America) referring to the same method to cure the hangover. In Puerto Rico, drinking alcohol as a remedy for a hangover is called "matar al ratón", or "to kill the mouse". Asia The earliest known reference to the phrase "hair of the dog" in connection with drunkenness is found in a text from ancient Ugarit dating from the mid to late second millennium BC, in which the god ʾIlu becomes hungover after a drinking binge. The text includes a recipe for a salve to be applied to the forehead, which consists of "hairs of a dog" and parts of an unknown plant mixed with olive oil. In Korea, alcohol (typically soju) drunk in the morning to relieve hangovers is called "haejangsul" (해장술), which literally translates as "a drink that relieves the bowels." In China, alcohol drunk to relieve hangover is called "huíhúnjiǔ" (回魂酒), which literally translates to "the drink that brings back your soul". In Japan, the equivalent phrase is “mukaezake” (迎え酒), which can be literally translated as “alcohol for facing (greeting) the next day.” Africa In Cape Afrikaans, drinking alcohol to cure a hangover (babbelas) is called "kopskiet", or "shot to the head". In Tanzania, the equivalent Swahili phrase used is "kuzimua" which means "assist to wake up after a coma". The phrase also exists in (Sheng) Swahili Slang: In Kenya taking alcohol to relieve a hangover is called "kutoa lock", translated into "removing the lock". Scientific background There are at least two hypotheses as to how "hair of the dog" works. In the first, hangovers are described as the first stage of alcohol withdrawal, which is then alleviated by further alcohol intake. Although "...Low [ethanol] doses may effectively prevent alcohol withdrawal syndrome in surgical patients", this idea is questionable as the signs and symptoms of hangover and alcohol withdrawal are very different. In the second, hangovers are partly attributed to methanol metabolism. Levels of methanol, present as a congener in alcohol, have been correlated with severity of hangover and methanol