Get Mosquitos to Bug Someone Else with Beer
Alert! According to medical professionals whom Your Correspondent has spoken to on the matter, drinking beer is a good way to ward off mosquitos. Miraculous news!
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New Malaria Tonic
Beer has a lot of Vitamin B in it, you see, which in turn produces an odor in your sweat that drives mosquitos away. So, in addition to taking the malaria-avoiding steps in SA Logue’s Malaria Advice post (wear long-sleeved clothing, use bug spray, sleep under mosquito nets, etc.), drink beer for fewer mosquito bites! Or just take a B pill. Not nearly as fun.
Of course, for added delight, you can chase the beer with that good old “hot climate” standby, a gin and tonic, which will add malaria-fighting molecules to your blood, in addition to the unslurred-speech-fighting ones. (Tonic has quinine in it, which was the malaria treatment drug of choice before Larium and its successors.)
Last, an essential disclaimer: if you just drink beer and G&Ts to avoid getting malaria, then you’re clearly not sober and should hand the car keys to someone else. Got it?