The stoned ape theory, initially proposed by ethnobotanist Terrence McKenna in the 1990s, suggests that early hominids' consumption of magic mushrooms played a critical role in the rapid development of human consciousness and societal structures. Dismissed early on by critics as speculative, this theory has a new lease on life given the recent discussions highlighting the accelerated growth of the human brain around 200,000 years ago in documentaries like Fantastic Fungi and the potential role of psilocybin, found in these mushrooms, in enhancing various facets of cognition and serotonin-mimicking effects.