Use Seltzer Water for Healthier Cocktails

You know how to choose the healthiest alcoholic drink, but things aren't that easy when you're making cocktails. Greatist has come up with eight rules to make drinks healthier, along with a list of non-fattening cocktails.

The eight quick tips are a bit of common sense and a bit of "Why didn't I think of that?" Take, for instance, substituting carbonated waters with seltzer or light alcohol over dark:

Choose seltzer water over other carbonated waters to eliminate added sodium and other additives. For recipes that call for soda, skimp on portions, or opt for diet or natural (read: less added sugar) versions—though those can have their pitfalls, too.

Choose light alcohol over dark alcohol. The dark stuff contains more compounds known as congeners, which can worsen hangovers.

We're not sure we agree with the "diet" recommendation—diet sodas have their own share of problems—but some of the other tips are pretty good. Neither of these should affect the taste of your cocktail too significantly, either. The full guidelines are listed below and you can hit the link for the 60 healthier cocktail recipes.

60 Healthier Drinks For Boozing | Greatist

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Save Sticky Photographs by Soaking Them in Lukewarm Water

In case your old album of photos has been damaged, whether stuck together or by spilling some sticky liquid, don't panic. All you need is lukewarm water to save the day, says WikiHow.

Soak any that are stuck together. Water will not harm most photographs, as exposure to water is actually part of the chemical development process for conventional photographs. If photographs have stuck together: soak the photographs for at least an hour in lukewarm water. Gently peel apart.

Once you peel them apart, it's best to hang them on a line to dry, being careful to put a single clip on one corner. The same method also works if the photos are drenched with a sticky liquid, although some substances like coffee, tea, grape juice and wine don't come off easily.

How to Save a Wet Photo Album | WikiHow

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Don't Drink Water on an Airplane Unless It Came from a Bottle

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When you want to quench your thirst on an airplane, make sure the water you get came from a bottle. As the Huffington Post notes, there's a strong likelihood you'll get some pretty bad stuff inside if it was obtained from the tap.

"Do not EVER drink water on an aircraft that did not come from a bottle. Don't even TOUCH IT. The reason being the ports to purge lavatory sh*t and refill the aircraft with potable water are within feet from each other and sometimes serviced all at once by the same guy." —@gruntman

*While the exact water refill process probably varies by airline, the Wall Street Journal ran a test of tap water from 14 different flights in 2002 that found bacteria levels "tens, sometimes hundreds of times above U.S. government limits."

Yuck.

16 Alarming Airline Secrets That Will Change How You Feel About Flying | Huffington Post

Photo by withGod (Shutterstock).

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Swish Warm Water to Cool Down Your Mouth After a Spicy Meal

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If you've just eaten a spicy meal and your mouth is burning, you might think cold water would help you find relief. As it turns out, you want that water to be warm.

How-to illustrator Yumi Sakugawa points out many ways to cool down your mouth—from lemons to fatty milk to honey—but notes that if you don't have anything around, warm water is the best option. You just fill your mouth, swish it around for a little while, and spit it back out. This will help remove the leftover spice from your tongue.

They key thing to remember is spitting. Milk is always preferred because of the casein protein it contains, which counteracts the spicy chemical capsaicin, but any liquid will pick up the spice and move it around. That's useless if you swallow, but if you spit you'll get it out of your mouth and not stuck on the back of your tongue and throat. (More on this at wikiHow.)

9 Ways to Cool Down Your Burning Hot Mouth After Eating Really Spicy Foods | WonderHowTo

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