However, it is unlike modern Americans to grimace and bear it; therefore, the market for the relief of symptoms is a lively one. Instructed to seek "hangover," your favorite Internet search engine will turn up nearly 9,000 hits, the vast majority of them suggesting one potion or another to counteract the effects of overindulgence.

Remarkably, according to the Distilled Spirits Council and the National Institute for Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, no government agency has compiled the economic impact of America's hangovers. For the mo-ment, they are content to point out that tomorrow, the country's unofficial National Hangover Day, is a holiday.

Offbeat author Nic Van Oudtshoorn, an Australian, compiled 101 "cures" for "The Hangover Handbook" (Mustang Publishing, 95 pages, $8.95), many of which contain raw eggs. Consider the ingredients of Hilda's Hangover Remedy, found on the World Wide Web: tomato juice, vinegar, lemon, onion, sugar, celery, Tabasco sauce and "salt and pepper to taste." To taste?