It might seem that combining business and leisure is a futile endeavor. However, an increasing number of young people in Silicon Valley believe that consuming tiny doses of psychedelic drugs improves their job performance by making them more innovative and concentrated. Microdosing is the process of consuming small amounts of drugs like LSD, psilocybin (magic mushrooms), or mescaline (found in the Peyote cactus) every few days.

Bill Gates is well-known around the world for his contributions to the computing industry and his role in the creation of Microsoft. He’s been regularly rated as one of the world’s richest individuals. And, believe it or not, Gates confessed to using LSD, a powerful hallucinogen, in his “errant youth.”

Since its popularity during the 1960s counterculture heyday, LSD has been the most well-known psychedelic substance. But, maybe unsurprisingly, psychedelic substance usage to stimulate imagination has a long tradition in Silicon Valley: computer titans Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have famously experimented with LSD.

LSD has a strong effect on perception, mood, and a variety of cognitive functions when used in large doses. LSD continues to be one of the most often microdosed medications these days. A microdose of LSD is around a tenth of a recreational dose (usually 10-20 micrograms), which is usually ineffective in causing hallucinations. Rather, it is said to increase alertness, energy, and creativity.

In a 1994 interview with Playboy Magazine, Gates revealed a bit about his LSD use in his “errant youth.” Although Gates never explicitly refers to taking acid in his twenties, he does imply it in the interview.

Playboy: Ever take LSD?

Gates: My errant youth ended a long time ago.

Playboy: What does that mean?

Gates: That means there were things I did under the age of 25 that I ended up not doing subsequently.

Playboy: One LSD story involved you staring at a table and thinking the corner was going to plunge into your eye.

Gates: [Smiles]

Playboy: Ah, a glimmer of recognition.

Gates: That was on the other side of that boundary.

Gates has never been known to trip on peyote in the desert or have wild parties, so the admission — if you may term it that — is shocking. According to Jobs’ biography, Gates lacked creativity and may have benefited if “he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger.”

The Playboy interview has now been removed from the magazine’s website, but it can still be read in its entirety via the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.