Ok, we’ve all been there. You’re out at a bar with your girlfriends, have one too many, and suddenly every man around you is hot as hell. This magic trick, otherwise known as beer goggles, happens to the best of us. And according to a 2002 study, our beer goggles are very, very real.

The study, by the University of St. Andrew, found that after you consume a moderate amount of alcohol, people around you become 25% more attractive. The researchers studied 80 college students, half of whom consumed an alcoholic beverage while the other group stayed sober. Then things got interesting. They showed the participants 120 photos of both men and female, and the group that had something to drink rated their attractiveness significantly higher.

A few studies similar to this one conducted over the years gives a scientific presence of our beer goggle phenomenon. A study out of the University of Roehampton in London suggests that our beer goggles are attracted to one thing and one thing only – face symmetry.

So next time you’re out at the bar with your squad, don’t judge your friend (or yourself) for their pick-up choice of the night. Their attraction is all in the beer goggles!