“Alcohol has long been one of the most popular chemicals used by human beings,” writes Dwight B. Heath, a research professor at Brown University who examines the role of alcohol in cultures worldwide and across history. There is evidence that ancient civilizations consumed alcohol as early as 7000 BC, and with half of adults expected to be drinking by 2030 (according to a report published by the medical journal Lancet), it’s clearly something we’ll be taking with us into the future—perhaps to other worlds.