Happy New Year links - history, advice and lots of hangover cures

Happy New Year! A happy and healthy 2019 to all.

How (Not) to Celebrate the New Year: advice from 700 AD (hint - if you dress up as a stag or a calf you'll spend 3 years doing penance). 

Strange New Year traditions around the world.

Smithsonian's Top 11 Stories of 2018. 

The Guardian's best photographs of 2018, with commentary by the people who shot them. Also, National Geographic's 100 best images of the year. and their Best Animal Photos.

The Surprising Origins of the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop Tradition.

Lifehacker's Most Popular Posts of 2018. 

The 16 Best Gadgets of 2018. 

The Top 10 Websites for Science in 2018. 

Advice from 1862: How to Tell Your Fortune for the New Year.

Dave Barry’s 2018 Year in Review. Here's the 2017 version, and the columns for previous years are available here.

Some links to avoid becoming philogrobolized: 

Your Complete Guide to the Science of Hangovers

Infographic on the Anatomy of a Hangover

Hangover Cures From Famous Heavy Drinkers

Scientists Find a Way to Cut Wine Hangovers. 

5 Really Strange Ways to Cure a Hangover

Dark Liquor Makes For Worse Hangovers

How to Cure a Hangover in 10 Simple Steps.

According to a study in the Journal of Food Science, the amino acids and minerals found in asparagus extract may alleviate alcohol hangover and protect liver cells against toxins.

My favorite New Year's resolution story.

Why We Sing Auld Lang Syne on New Year’s Eve, and here's Mark Steyn singing and explaining the song What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

Eat your heart out, New York: Boise, Idaho drops a giant potato downtown on New Year's Eve.

ICYMI, Most recent (all Christmas-related) links are here.

Roundup of Christmas links

Please accept with no obligation, implied or explicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2019, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

In the Christmas In Other Cultures category, here's a Klingon Christmas Carol. Also, how to have a British Christmas, Sweden's bizarre tradition of watching Donald Duck (Kalle Anka) cartoons on Christmas Eve, Strange Christmas Traditions Around the World, and Japan's obsession with Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas.

At Christmas, this town builds a Giant Yule goat and then torches it.

Great Literary Christmas Tales That Aren’t A Christmas Carol.

The real history of ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ - it all started with a Montgomery Ward marketing campaign in 1939.

In 1863, Santa Claus entered the fray on the side of the Union.

The Real Story Behind A Charlie Brown Christmas (and why it almost wasn’t shown).

Using Fox Urine to prevent Christmas Tree Theft.

Little Drummer Boy, sung by David Bowie and Bing Crosby.

Why Did NORAD Start Tracking Santa? Related: How NORAD's Santa tracker works.

The story of the real life George Bailey of It's a Wonderful Life.

Supercut of movie Santas.

Gingerbread Houses Inspired By Movies And TV Shows.

10 Important Facts About A Christmas Story's Leg Lamp. Related: Ralphie teamed up with Flash Gordon in a deleted scene from A Christmas Story.

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include the winter solstice (plus descriptions of the concurrent celebrations of Saturnalia and Halcyon Days), why we kiss under the mistletoe and how the plant got that strange name (spoiler - it literally means "dung twig"), and the classic Christmas drunken fruitcake recipe.