Nine blindfolded women were asked to determine, by smell alone, whether any among a group of nine men was worth pursuing.
Three men had just showered using a body wash with synthesized pheromones, three had used a body wash without pheromones, and the rest had worked up a sweat and not washed at all. They then rubbed their arms on scent strips, and handed them to the women to sniff.
— Find out what happened at Banking on a Chemical Reaction at the New York Times. Many thanks to Jessica for the link!
Sounds as silly as that hideous new “Dating in the Dark” show, a nadir for recent trash reality television… and that’s saying a lot (not that I’ve watched it, seriously, LOL). I don’t want to read about what happened, but you know I’m going to.
OK, I read half that article and it offended me even more than I thought it would. Haha. I got to the quotes by the “brand manager” and clicked closed in disgust. Good grief. They should just market it as “Spanish Fly Body Wash.”
LOL! But do go back, in the 2nd half of the article they give the nay-sayers a hearing.
I’m usually pretty grounded in science but I can’t help but wonder about pheremones. I have been inexplicably attracted to some guys. They’re not physically my “type”, I didn’t notice if they smelled freshly showered or as if they’d just worked out, there was nothing really remarkable about them other than I just found myself extremely attracted to them. I think most of the research about pheremones that I’ve heard about has involved the use of pheromones of other species or synthetic pheromones. Isn’t it still up for debate if humans actually produce pheromones?
Sorry, just read the rest of the article and realized some of the links within will probably answer some of my own questions. And btw, the pics from that article gave me the heebie jeebies. It looks like a cross between a sleazy spa and a nightclub inspired by the movie “Eyes Wide Shut”!
Here is a recent white paper from the Sense of Smell institute on pheromones:
http://senseofsmell.org/papers/Human_Pheromones_Final%207-15-09.pdf
I tried to read it but couldn’t — my eyes glazed over almost right away. If you can read it, tell me what it says.
I found the article to be lacking in RESULTS! “one woman who…” what about the other 8 ? One woman out of nine lacks any kind of statistical significance! Shoddy research!
9 women is hardly statistically relevant in any case. I assume they did more & that’s just all that were mentioned in the article??
I know! I totally wanted the last paragraph to be:
Of the testees, 3 liked the blah blah blah….
Yikes. I’m a strong believer in smell as an indicator of how attracted you are to someone. I don’t like the idea that the natural smell (pheromones) can now be purchased over the counter.
Eh, perhaps there’s nothing to worry about. What are the chances that this kind of thing will actually take off, given that the research on pheromones is so inconclusive?
There are already fragrance w/ pheromones, although I don’t know how many. I do seem to remember the first Paris Hilton scent had pheromones? And of course there are the Marilyn Miglin scents, etc etc.
I’m probably alone here, but I find the idea of using pheromones to “catch babes” (ala Spanish Fly) to be kinda creepy & weird.
I guess it doesn’t bother me because I don’t think it works.
The silly thing about this — OK, one of the silly things — is the notion that there is ONE type of pheromone/scent that will reel in the babes. Hasn’t science shown that we’re attracted to the smell of people whose genetic makeup is very different to our own, thereby helping us produce genetically strong offspring? Call me when they can map my genome and tailor a scent to it.
Exactly!
Yes, humans do produce pheromones; but they are not just about sexual attraction. They also signal how healthy we are in general, and what our mood is at the time. They are very much affected by the diet. Culture plays a big part in this, too. For example, in India, both sexes love to wear scent. In any city, town or village all throughout India, you can go to the upscale shops in the big hotels, right down to the street corner shops, and you will find not just women but men buying scents for themselves, and as gifts for friends and family and for offerings at the local temple, church or gurdwara. This is true for all castes, all religions, all ages. But then again, India is the Land of Scents; anywhere and everywhere you go, you will smell Incense, cooking oils and spices, burning cow dung, flowers blooming, diesel fuel, foods, all hours of the day and night. I actually like the smell of most Indians more than most Americans. I like the Indian diet better, too. They do not eat so much of that fast food that makes so many Americans stink like hell. Chinese who eat a more traditional Chinese diet smell better than most Americans, too.
We are actually more affected than we consciously realize most of the time by scents and smells. We, being perfume lovers, probably would notice this more than most, but science has given the sensitivity of the human nose short shrift. Your nose really knows!
Thanks!
I was intrigued for more conclusive info from the article myself. But large manufacturers want to sell product, and it’s hard to find anything unbias when it comes to beauty, as far as advertising and info goes.
I recall buying a bottle of Realm (pheromones were a big bit of hype with both the mens’ and womens’ frags) when it first launched, but I just bought it because my then boyfriend and I liked the perfume. I recall thinking then that Realm for Men was quite nice as well, but my tastes have changed considerably since my teens.
I would have been a good candidate for that experiment given I’m blind, and I can honestly say that a well-groomed person (not necessarily doused in fragrance nor dripping in sweat fresh out of the gym) is what smells best to me. The lovely comingling of shampoo, clean skin, and good oral hygiene are a good start. I have to chuckle at the restaurant that hosts diners in the dark or other such ideas, then kick myself with not coming up with the notion! And it is a great justification for my love of fragrance and music, much to my sweetie’s chagrin.
There have been some people who stop me in my tracks with what they’re wearing. I had a downstairs neighbor who’s fantastic cologne, after showering and getting ready for class, would drift up from his open windows through my open windows every morning while I had my tea and got ready for class. I never got the courage up to ask him what he was wearing because,”Sorry, but I smell you getting ready for class or pass you in the hall and you just smell stunning!” sounded too creepy. But that is a fragrance ghost that still haunts my longing nostrils to this day. Ah, the one that got away.
I would have asked your neighbor what the fragrance was. Had a neighbor knocked on my door and made that kind of compliment I would’ve taken it as a great compliment! :>