Why do we use intoxicants?

Whether it’s booze, weed, opiates, or even caffeine, the drive to catch a buzz seems almost universal for members of our species. For big parts of the world, drinking alcohol plays a huge role in our social lives, in religious rituals, and in some eras it was even a prerequisite for civic engagement.

Find out how the phrase “take him down a peg or two” was derived from a drinking game, which animals consume alcohol, and hear from the professor inventing an alcohol substitute.