We're all familiar with a Louisiana crawfish boil. In addition to several pounds of hot and usually spicy mudbugs, there is also an abundance of beer. It seems to be the beverage of choice for the typical crawfish consumer.

Did you know there was an even more interesting connection between crawfish and humans in regards to alcohol? While many of us feel a cultural bond between ourselves and crawfish there is also a biological bond between the two species.

Scientists are using crawfish to examine how social behavior affects our willingness to over imbibe with alcohol. Wait, I'm not kidding there is a really a study that has done that. The details of the report were chronicled in a report from NOLA.com and the Times-Picayune.

The Economist has reported on a study that was done at the University of Maryland in which 165 crawfish were used. 102 of those crustaceans were kept together in a single habitat. The other 63 crawfish were sequestered individually or in solitary for the same amount of time.

The crawfish were then submerged in a tank filled water and ethanol alcohol. That's the kind of alcohol that affects human beings when they drink. Since crawfish and humans tend to experience similar effects from alcohol as humans that's why they were used.

The results were not surprising. Crawfish in a group setting tended to become more intoxicated faster than those in a solitary setting. Scientists on the project say the nervous system of the crawfish makes it easier to study the effects of alcohol.

So, what does a drunk crawfish do that a sober crawfish wouldn't? I am pretty sure with those big claws they can't drunk text an ex-lover in the middle of the night. They don't have crawfish cars to crash. They don't have the physical structure to wear lampshades. I am also fairly certain that crawfish do not dance nor do they pretend to be singers during crawfish karaoke.

Alas, I can't help but wonder how much of our tax dollars went into this study.