A lucidly drunk Jenny Slate gleefully recounts the history of discovering the Big Bang

Drunk History tackles the discovery of the Big Bang theory
(Image credit: Comedy Central/YouTube)

Jenny Slate, who famously lost her job at Saturday Night Live for inadvertently saying the F word on live TV, doesn't swear when she gets drunk and tells the history of how Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson earned their Nobel Prize for finding proof of the Big Bang theory. She does discuss her dog's genitalia, however, in the season premiere of Comedy Central's Drunk History. And more importantly, she makes the story of a big moment in science relatable and fun — with a big assist from Justin Long (Penzias) and Jason Ritter (Wilson).

Slate is "the perfect Drunk History narrator: silly but focused," says Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya at AV Club. "And she weirdly cares about the story she's telling, giving endearing — if ahistorical — details to the characters." The video is mostly safe for work, so feel free to sit down and learn about how two scientists made history with New Jersey's Holmdel Horn Antenna:

If Slate's slightly inebriated storytelling piqued your interest, there are plenty of more sober (and more accurate) versions out there waiting.

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Peter Weber

Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.