I was sipping a cold glass of Jack Daniels while flipping through The Atlantic today when I stumbled upon this fun finding: drinking early and often is good for one’s career, at least according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.

In one study, a pair of health economists found that American men who drank heavily in high school in 1990 averaged noticeably higher incomes in 2000 than their sober former classmates. (No such link was found for women… sorry, ladies.)

Another study from the Reason Foundation found that self-described drinkers (male and female) earn 10-14% more than nondrinkers. The suggested reason? Drinking may help build the kinds of social networks that lead to success at the office.

I always knew I owed my career to the University of Illinois; turns out I was just toasting Champaign for all the wrong reasons.