⚠️This fact has been debunked
This is a widely circulated internet myth. While scientific research confirms ants can become intoxicated by alcohol (affecting locomotion, social behavior, and coordination), there is no peer-reviewed scientific evidence supporting the claim that they consistently fall to their right side. A student experiment by Chris Viveros explicitly tested this 'myth' expecting random falling patterns. The claim appears in multiple 'fun fact' collections but lacks scientific validation.
Do Drunk Ants Really Fall to Their Right Side?
You've probably seen this "fact" floating around the internet: intoxicated ants always fall over on their right side. It shows up in trivia collections, bar conversation starters, and those "mind-blowing facts" Instagram posts. There's just one problem—it's not true.
This claim is what scientists might politely call "unsupported by evidence" and what the rest of us call a myth. While ants can definitely get drunk (more on that in a moment), there's no credible scientific research showing they have a directional preference when they topple over.
Where Did This Myth Come From?
The origin of this particular fiction is murky, but it follows a familiar pattern: someone makes up or misremembers something quirky about animal behavior, it gets repeated because it's amusing, and suddenly it's treated as fact. The claim has been specifically tested—student researcher Chris Viveros conducted an experiment with harvester ants and honeypot ants expecting to debunk "the myth that intoxicated ants always fall on their right side." Spoiler: they fell randomly, just like you'd expect.
No peer-reviewed scientific literature supports the right-side-falling claim. If this were true, it would represent a fascinating asymmetry in ant neurology or anatomy that would have attracted serious scientific attention. It hasn't, because it doesn't exist.
Ants Can Get Drunk, Though
Here's what's actually true and scientifically documented: ants absolutely can become intoxicated. Research on species like the narrow-headed ant (Formica exsecta) has shown that ethanol exposure significantly alters their behavior.
Effects of alcohol on ants include:
- Impaired locomotion and coordination
- Changes in exploratory behavior
- Altered self-grooming patterns
- Modified aggressive and social behaviors
In moderate doses, some ants even develop a preference for ethanol-containing food sources over normal ones. At high doses, ants can die from alcohol toxicity—just like larger animals.
The First Drunk Ant Experiments
Human curiosity about intoxicated insects isn't new. Sir John Lubbock, a British naturalist, conducted some of the first recorded experiments on drunk ants way back in 1884. Victorian scientists apparently had interesting hobbies.
Modern research uses ants and other insects like fruit flies and honeybees as models for studying alcohol's effects on behavior. Honeybees, for instance, show alcohol intoxication behaviors remarkably similar to mammals—which is both scientifically valuable and slightly hilarious to watch.
Why We Fall for Fake Facts
This myth persists because it has the hallmarks of a "good" fake fact: it's specific enough to sound researched ("right side"—not just "falls over"), it's about something obscure enough that most people won't verify it (ant lateralization), and it's amusing without being obviously absurd.
The real science of drunk ants is actually more interesting than the myth. Researchers study intoxicated insects to understand how alcohol affects neural systems, social behavior, and decision-making—findings that have implications for understanding alcohol's effects across species, including humans.
So next time someone shares this "fact" at a party, you can be the person who ruins the fun by explaining it's nonsense. Or better yet, redirect to the actual fascinating science of how alcohol messes with tiny ant brains. That's a conversation worth having.
