Drunk birds slur their songs — just like you

Drunk birds slur their songs — just like you
(Image credit: iStock)

A bunch of zebra finches had a whole lot of fun in the name of science. Oregon Health and Science University researchers gave the birds spiked juice so they could study how alcohol impairs speech.

Sure enough, when the birds got buzzed, they started slurring their songs, not unlike your friends belting out "You Oughta Know" on karaoke night. Interestingly, some syllables of the birds' songs were more messed up than others, meaning alcohol could affect different parts of the brain in different ways.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.