Book Review: Drunk Flies and Stoned Dolphins

 

Book reviews

Drunk Flies and Stoned Dolphins: A Trip Through the World of Animal Intoxication

Oné R. Pagán

BenBella Books, 2021. 320pp

Dr. Oné R. Pagán, a biologist, biochemist, and pharmacologist, has written a book that’s as much fun as the title indicates, with fascinating science as a bonus.  He explains the history of our research on naturally occurring pharmaceutically and psychedelically active substances and the many uses other animals, intentionally or unintentionally, put them to.  Did you know what happens to elephants on LSD (nothing good)? Have you ever heard the claim we evolved our brains because psychedelic plants expanded out consciousness? It’s called the Stoned Ape Theory, and an actual scientist was serious about it. This is not to be confused with the Drunken Monkey Hypothesis, which holds our ancestors found the ripest fruit by following their tastes for alcohol.  (One wonders at times what exactly the scientists consumed.)   

Pagán questions some popular stories. Elephants, it turns out, will greedily dive into liquor and can be very dangerous drunks, but the claim that they do this with fermented fruit is dubious. (Some smaller animals do get drunk that way.) The much-reported tale of dolphins passing around a puffer fish to get high is likewise unproven: they may just have been using it as an inflatable toy.  My favorite bit is that sea slugs apparently hallucinate on amphetamines. It’s not exactly useful knowledge, of course.

The author explains the chemistry of the subject in clear words and illustrations. He reviews the theories, adding a few of his own, about why intoxicating substances evolve and the way they have “unintended” effects (e.g., a plant may evolve an insecticide that’s an intoxicant to other animals). 

Pagán’s engagingly conversational style occasionally gets a little cutesy, but it succeeds in making the book a lively read that explains science without getting boring.  I came away knowing a lot more about biochemistry, animal behavior, and how to determine how drunk a fruit fly is. A unique book!