I’ve been writing about dating for a few years now so I decided it was probably about time to brush up on my research. I mean, proper research with books ‘n stuff not going on lots of dates. Methinks my partner would not approve of the latter.
It seems the ‘game’ has changed considerably over the last couple of years and not just because of the impact of apps and technology.
So today I’d like to give you a little insight into the odder things I uncovered about sex and dating.
1) Men fall in love faster
Apparently, men know they are falling in love with someone just three dates in. Three! I’m lucky if I can remember someone’s name. I’m assuming this is with the same person of course.
And women? Apparently the more intelligent gender is a little more circumspect taking around 14 dates to develop a similar level of feeling. No rush then.
2) Sex right… NOW!
While we take a while to decide whether we’re ready to enter the ‘relationship’ zone, sex is a lot easier. Forget the 3 date rule. Both men and women take just 3 seconds to decide if they would sleep with someone. That said, I wouldn’t suggest going up to someone, saying ‘Hi’, waiting for three seconds and then asking them if they’d like to have sex.
3) It’s not you it’s me. I just need more space…
…said far more women than men. 93% of women rated personal space as a very high priority compared to 81% of men. But then again it could just be that men notice what’s going on around them less so are unlikely to notice invasions of privacy. Give me an x-box and a beer and I’m in my happy place.
4) Blue is the colour…
It turns out that on a first date, most women are attracted to men who wear blue. I tried it dressed as a Smurf once. I think I missed something.
Strangely, no one was able to tell me what colour men preferred. Perhaps we’re just grateful someone turned up.
5) Feel the fear and… Aaaaargh!
40% of men reported feeling ‘fearful’ when meeting someone for a first date. I wonder if that fear lasted longer than 3 seconds.
And in a sort of related factoid, women are as likely to fear meeting a serial killer while online dating as men are to fear meeting someone ‘fat’.
6) What happens online, stays online
Almost 50% of breakups between people who met online were via email.
7) Tell me why I don’t like Mondays
Monday isn’t the best day of the week for anyone. But perhaps The Boomtown Rats were early pioneers of dating data and knew something the rest of us are only just discovering. The most popular day for breaking up is… Monday.
Because anything beats going to work.
8) My Achy Breaky Heart
Next time someone tells you no-one died of a broken heart, give them a metaphorical slap. You can. It’s called stress cardiomyopathy and results in a weakening of the heart muscles.
And love really does hurt, at least after a break up. When the body experiences an emotional shock, various chemicals are released that cause the heart and muscles to tense. This in turn releases other chemicals that travel up the spinal cord and into the brain triggering a sensation of pain!
9) Going Dutch on copulatory gifting
Paying for dinner is thought to be a social development of ‘copulatory gifting’. Copulatory gifting is the giving of something perceived as demonstrating fertility and virility and is universal across all species that breed sexually.
10) You can leave your hat on
Condoms are thought to have been invented in around 3000BC in Egypt. It’s probable they were made of animal hide. This cannot be used as an excuse when accused of bestiality.
So there you have it, ten odd little factoids I recently discovered during a research spree. Whether this will improve the level of advice I write in coming weeks is anyone’s guess.
In the meantime, feel free to put your new found knowledge to the test at one of our dating events. We’ve got loads coming up so check them out here.
Until next time…
WORDS BY JOHN DAVIS