Mick should be taking notes here...

Stench warfare in the battle of the sexes

I know that pro-Franco sentiment in the U.S. is probably pretty low
right now, but I may have just stumbled on some fascinating
research that answers an age-old question:

How can French men be so successful at wooing women when
they HARDLY EVER SHOWER?

C'mon, you know what I mean. There's the enviable reputation of
the French for romance — and then their reputation for barely
bathing (at least by American standards). Yet sex
surveys report year in and year out that those rank rakes of France
get lucky more often than men of just about any other civilized
nation.  

So what gives? One would think that only fresh, clean people
would have any sort of chance at getting lucky, no matter what
language they woo each other in. Yet the truth of the matter may
be exactly 180 degrees from what we've come to believe.

According to a Reuter's article, a study conducted by University of
Pennsylvania biologists concluded that male perspiration had a
profoundly positive effect on women's
moods. That's right: Among test subjects, a dose of man-sweat
applied to the upper lip (ugh!) reduced stress, induced relaxation,
and raised hormone levels normally associated with ovulation.

When you really stop to consider it, this makes sense. As much as
we pretend otherwise, we humans are animals — and in the whole
of the animal kingdom, scents and pheromones rule the roost when
it comes to sex. If species washed these musky markers away with
soap and water every day, they probably wouldn't breed as often.

So if you want to make a big impression on that next hot date,
don't shower for a week beforehand.

I'm kidding, of course (unless you're French). Seriously, though —
this research could pave the way for new developments in the
treatments for infertility, PMS, or even menopause if the
mainstream latches onto it and explores the possibilities...

But it'll probably only spur a new generation of "get lucky" after-
shaves and colognes. After all, that's where the money is. If this
happens, I will try them and report back.  


Always willing to do my part, 

William Campbell Douglass II, MD