  We consider examples of long-lived false vacua in quantum field theory that
arise from so-called `universes'. These false vacua are protected by a
$(d-1)$-form global symmetry, where $d$ is the dimension of spacetime. The
lifetimes of the false vacua are set by UV data: the tension of $(d-2)$-branes
charged under a $(d-2)$-form gauge symmetry. The lifetimes can be made
parametrically long even when the difference in energy density between the
false and true vacua is large compared to the natural scales of the field
theory. We study examples of near-eternal false vacua in abelian gauge theories
in two dimensions and in four-dimensional QCD. In both cases, it is possible to
view the $(d-1)$-form symmetries as arising from a modification of the sum over
instantons. We find that the modification of the instanton sum in 4d QCD leads
to a higher-group symmetry structure involving the 3-form and conventional
0-form global symmetries.
