Hangover ruminations

I was a bit in hell this morning. Spent the night drinking. I would say a good 8 hours drinking. That's a full day of work! Good brews - Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, Yards Pale Ale, and I have to be honest and say I'm not sure what I finished the night with. I'll figure it out tonight, since I'm heading back to the same bar I ended at last night (The Royal Tavern at 937 Passyunk Ave in Philly. I'll write more about this gem of a bar in another post).

Given how I felt this morning (but luckily have recovered, since I'm heading out to do it all over again shortly), I started thinking about hangovers. I've experienced my fair share. Or rather, a lot more than my fair share.

So here's what I was wondering. Does drinking a mixture of beers cause a worse hangover? How about a mixture of alcohols? How many times have I said to myself "beer before wine, always fine, wine before liquor, never sicker" to determine what I can drink based on what I started with? Is there any truth to those silly rhymes?

I'd love to hear ideas on how to avoid hangovers. Well, other than not drinking too much, of course. To me that's like teaching only abstinence to teenagers. Better to be prepared with all the facts for when you inevitably do that which you probably shouldn't be doing.