"Ancestral individuals who made their mate choices this way - women trading off their attractiveness for higher quality men and men looking for any attractive women who will accept them - would have had an evolutionary advantage in greater numbers of successful offspring," said Peter Todd, a cognitive scientist and lead author of the study.
Todd and colleagues used a speed-dating session in Germany to compare what people said they wanted in a mate with whom they actually choose. Not surprisingly, before the dating session, participants said they were looking for someone like themselves. But when actually selecting possible dates, the men tended to focus mostly on the attractive women, while the women were drawn to men with material wealth and security.
Moreover, while the men on average wanted to see every woman they met again, the women were choosier, desiring a second meeting with only a third of the men they met.
MEDTRONICA
Calories per hour
www.caloriesperhour.com
It's not the easiest site to navigate, but there are some cool calculators here for figuring out how long it will take to lose weight based on different variables.
BODY OF KNOWLEDGE
Although calcium is important to bone strength, 99% of the body's calcium is in the teeth.
Obviously, it's got a rooting interest, but the Soap and Detergent Association's annual Clean Hands Report Card is still worth noting.
The association surveyed hundreds of parents, children, teachers, and school-based health professionals about their basic hand hygiene. School nurses came out on top, averaging a B(plus). Teachers notched a B-. Parents earned a C, but moms (B(plus)) were much better than dads (D(plus)). Kids were, well, kids, receiving a grade of D.
The overall report card grade was just average, a C, but better than the overall grade of the 2006 report card, a C-.
OBSERVATION
Hospitals are only an intermediate stage of civilization.
- Florence Nightingale
PHOBIA OF THE WEEK
Consecotaleophobia - a fear of chopsticks
NEVER SAY DIET
The world's speed-eating record for crawfish is 331 in 12 minutes, held by Chris Hendrix.
BEST MEDICINE
Patient: Doc, you have to help me. Some mornings I wake up and I think I'm Mickey Mouse. Other mornings I wake up and I think I'm Donald Duck.
Doctor: How long have you been having these Disney spells?
CURTAIN CALLS
In 1870, the traveling James Robinson & Co. Circus and Animal Show arrived in Middletown, Mo. To spice up interest, show managers wanted the band to perform atop a cage housing several lions. Despite warnings that the cage roof was not strong enough, the band played on.
Halfway through their performance, the cage roof collapsed, tossing the musicians into the cage with the lions. As a horrified crowd watched, the lions ripped and tore musicians apart, devouring some of them.
Of the 10 band members, three were killed outright and four were fatally mutilated.
SOME CAFFEINE, LESS PAIN
The Journal of Pain found that two cups of coffee may cut post-workout muscle soreness. Study subjects who didn't usually drink caffeinated beverages or strength train did 64 leg extensions. They repeated the workout one and two days later, but this time took either a caffeine pill or a placebo. The caffeine folks reported 48% less pain the next day. Caffeine seems to block brain receptors for adenosine, the chemical that causes muscle soreness.
GOOD ATTITUDE REDUCES ILLNESS
It may be true that happy and healthy go hand in hand. A Carnegie Mellon University study interviewed participants to assess their tendencies toward happiness. Then the participants were exposed to a virus, quarantined and monitored for signs of illness. Those who were optimistic and showed positive emotions were less likely to catch a cold and less likely to report symptoms if they were sick.