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The researchers poked test subjects in the fleshy part of the hand between the base of the thumb and the index finger, also known as the first dorsal interosseus muscle.

Then they recorded how much force the test subject was enduring at the moment that they told the experimenter that the sensation changed from pressure to pain. (Test subjects weren’t paid, but they did get a U-branded cup.)

The results indicate that the pain-reducing effects of booze seem to increase in a linear fashion, according to Boissoneault. In other words the more you drink, the less it hurts.

In short, the expression “He’s feeling no pain” to describe a drunk person has some scientific basis.

The research also suggests that screenwriters of old western and war movies got it right when they depicted a character taking slugs out of a bottle of whiskey before undergoing an operation without proper anesthesia.

“It’s something that’s so ingrained in the culture,” Boissoneault said of the idea that alcohol eases pain.