In what can only be described as a slow day in the laboratory, French researcher Gérard Liger-Belair has calculated exactly how many bubbles there are in your glass of Champagne.

The paper Liger-Belair published back in 2014, appropriately titled “How Many Bubbles in Your Glass of Bubbly?” has been making the rounds again lately, and according to the findings there are significantly fewer bubbles in a glass of Champers than previously thought. Because people are thinking about this.

Until the groundbreaking paper was published, many scientists and aficionados held the embarrassing misconception that a glass of Champagne had about 15 million bubbles in it. Liger-Belair rocked the scientific community when he posited that the number is actually closer to one million.

The paper describes a combination of factors to come to this conclusion including the tilt of the glass, temperature, and “bubble dynamics.” Carbon dioxide (the bubbles) releases from carbonated drinks faster when at a higher temperature, which is why beer, sparkling wine, soft drinks etc should be kept in the fridge once opened to avoid them going flat.

Related story: Why you need to be eating French fries with Champagne

But where things get really fascinating is the way that Champagne bubbles bead in a straight line up, when those in soft drinks and beers do not.

Research teams from both Brown University and the University of Toulouse published papers explaining how this phenomenon is achieved and what it could mean in the wider world of bubbles. The experiments at Brown included numerical and physical experiments, and plenty of “pouring out glasses of Champagne, beer, sparkling water, and sparkling wine.” And we are expected to believe that a group of college students poured them straight down the drain. Ok.

The researchers found that unlike other carbonated drinks, Champagne contains surfactant-like molecules that help reduce the tensions between the liquid and the gas bubbles. These molecules add to the flavour and texture of the Champagne, while also providing a smooth road from bottom to top of the Champagne flute. Hence – straight lines.

Now all that’s left to do is pop a bottle and conduct your own independent research.

Related story: Parlez-vous Champagne? How to pronounce these famous French Champagne brands