Sometimes, there are foods we're a little afraid to admit we don't like because they seem as if they're so universally loved. Cue the hateful eyes from my friends any time I pick the hellish nightmare that is cilantro off my food.
While both spaghetti and meatballs are quintessential Italian dishes, they aren't traditionally served together in Italy. The combination of meatballs, called polpette, with tomato sauce and spaghetti stems from an influx of Italians immigrating to the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s, where they found meat to be much more affordable and began to use it more liberally in their cooking.
There are a couple theories about why drunken noodles earned their name. One is that spicy food is what you crave while drinking (this checks out-Thai people love spicy foods any time of day, but especially when they're drunk). Another is that they are the perfect hangover cure. Whatever the reason, you don't need a night out to enjoy this dish.