The incredible disappearing gorilla.

Six people are on a basketball court, three in white outfits, three in black outfits. The folks in white are passing a ball amongst themselves; the folks in black are doing the same with their own ball. You are asked to watch this scene and count how many times the white team passes the ball. As you look on, counting away, a gorilla walks onto the court, beats on its chest, and walks off. Do you think you'd notice the gorilla? In a phenomena called inattentional blindness, only 46% of people do. The percentage is even lower if folks have been drinking. The NY Times reports that a study done by the Behavioral Alcohol Research Lab (BarLab!) at the University of Washington found that the number of people who notice the gorilla drops to 18% if participants have drunk enough to bring their blood alcohol level to .04.

Insert your own story of a few drinks leading to gross oversight here. Need not include a gorilla.