Do fruit flies get beer goggles?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, with an unusual Valentine’s Day question.
Researchers from Pennsylvania State University staged a bash for fruit flies. They coaxed them into specifically-designed viewing chambers called “Fly Pubs”—transparent cylinders pumped with vaporized alcohol.
The peep show lasted until all patrons passed out. Or, as scientists defined it, were “lying on their backs for over 10 seconds.” They repeated the party every day for a week.
Day One, the barflies acted normally—casually courting before passing out. But at each subsequent get together, males became more alcohol-tolerant, and more sexually aggressive.
By Day Six, they were falling all over themselves to mate with anything—female or male. Yet, drunk flies almost NEVER got lucky.
Sound familiar? Thank God it’s Friday!