Danny Seo's Do Just One Thing

May 16: Want your fresh floral arrangement to last longer? Give it a shot of vodka. Yes, just a splash of vodka in the water can help prolong the life of freshcut flowers. The alcohol helps keep the water clean and free of bacterial buildup, and the flowers benefit from drinking a little vodka, too, because the alcohol/water mixture helps lower the production of ethylene gas, which is a ripening gas that speeds up the decomposition process. Less gas means longer-lasting flowers.