Love: 10 Crazy Facts   1. It’s like looking in a mirror! It turns out we all have a little something in common with Narcissus—the mythical fellow who fell in love with his own reflection. Scientists at the University of Liverpool recently concluded that our brains favour people with familiar faces. The research team asked over 200 participants to view a number of digitally altered human faces. They found that subjects preferred the features they found the most familiar—whether that means his or her own visage or that of a family member. This may explain that common phenomenon of couples looking like they could be siblings.2. Manner, schmanners: Go ahead and stare. Another new study says that when a woman walks into a room, she is considered more attractive if she turns her eyes directly toward a certain man. Men would rate the same woman as less desirable if she doesn’t make strong eye contact. In this study, conducted at Dartmouth University, lead researcher Malia Mason had male participants sit and view a series of faces of fashion models, digitally enhanced to either be gazing toward or away from the participant. The study authors asked the viewer to rate the likeability of each model and found that those who turned away were seen as less agreeable. The study’s researchers went on to suggest that a woman’s gaze can be a powerful arousal cue and that our impressions are largely formed by nonverbal communications such as eye contact. So start locking eyes, ladies!3. You’ll know it when you see it. A recent study at the University of Pennsylvania reveals that regardless of what people say they are looking for in a dating situation, they don’t need a lot of time with or information about a person to tell if they’re interested. Single people’s behaviour suggests that individuals know “it” (a person who appeals to them) when they see it—almost instantly. Lead researcher Robert Kurzban and his colleagues studied data from 10,000+ daters. They found that men and women assessed potential compatibility within moments of meeting, using primarily visual cues such as age, height, and attractiveness. Says Kurzban, “Somewhat surprisingly, factors that you might think would be really important to people — like religion, education, and income — played very little roles in their choices.” 4. Listen up. The next time you call up a potential love match, pay special attention to how they sound. Researchers at the University of Albany had 149 men and women rate the attractiveness of a series of recorded voices on a scale from 1 to 10. The researchers also gathered information about the sexual histories of the people whose voices they recorded. They found that the voices found to be the most appealing belonged to people who had sex at an earlier age, had more sexual partners, and were more prone to infidelity than those rated as having less appealing voices. So know that what maybe a seductive voice to you, maybe linked to a person with a bit of a past…5. I couldn’t help it babe, it’s in my genes. There may be a genetic component to infidelity, says a professor at the Twin Research Unit at St. Thomas’ Hospital, London. This is based on the fact that if one twin exhibits infidelity, the other twin strays 55% of the time. In the general population, the number is 23%. The tendency to remain faithful is a component of personality, the scientist elaborates, which is governed both by a number of genes and societal factors.6. It’s official. Love makes us crazy. For one, it causes serotonin levels in the brain to drop, which may lead people to obsess about their lover. (The levels of serotonin, a chemical produced by the body, are also low in people who have obsessive-compulsive disorder.) Next, it ramps up production of the stress hormone cortisol, leading to slightly higher blood pressure and possible loss of sleep. Finally, a scientist at the University of London has found that when people look at their new loves, the neural circuits that are usually in charge of social judgment are suppressed. All in all, love kind of leaves you obsessive, stressed, and blind. And we love it. 7. Why broken hearts hurt... A recent UCLA study suggests the psychological hurt of a break-up is just as real as a physical injury. Two areas of the brain that respond to physical pain also become activated when a person is dealing with social pain, such as being dumped. The study’s authors used an MRI to monitor brain activity in participants while they played a game simulating social rejection. The researchers believe that the pain of being rejected may have evolved as a motivating force that led humans to seek out social interaction, which is crucial for the survival of most mammals. 8. Blushing is best. If we take our cue from apes, rosy cheeks are crucial in the dating game, says a new study. Scientists at Stirling University in Scotland have found that primates prefer mates with red faces. A rosy glow might also act as a similar cue in humans, say the researchers, sending a message of good health. They speculate that it could explain why women use blusher.9. Kiss this way. Did you know there is a “right” way to kiss? People are more likely to tilt their heads to the right when kissing instead of left, says a report published recently in the journal Nature. A scientist from Ruhr University in Germany analyzed 124 pairs of smoochers and found that 65 percent go toward the right.10. Meet for drinks before dinner. Researchers at NYU and Stanford have discovered that hungry men prefer heavier women. By staking out a dining hall, scientists had hundreds of students fill out questionnaires about their preferences in a mate. Men who filled out the questionnaire just before they entered the hall described their ideal woman as an average of three or four pounds heavier than men interviewed after they had eaten. Incidentally, researchers did not find the same change in women’s preferences, so guys: Go ahead and schedule that date for drinks before or after dinnertime.                                                                                                                                                                                 

Read this myself last night Kwak! I'm making sure he's well and truly P**sed before the date, that way I'll look great!!   Gotta find a date first though!!                                                                                                                                                                              

get better and Ill take you for the best burger in the south east at Rykers cafe lol                                                                                                                                                                             

flame reds stare[an smile] is very atractive,girls who's piccy has them staring directly at you are more attractive rather than say lookin down or to the side,[an not to far away!]                                                                                                                                                                             

6.Its official. Love makes us crazy Well I must be in love 24hrs a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year! LOVE this one Kwak! I love direct eye contact with a fella....you can see the mirror to his soul!                                                                                                                                                                             

trouble is mine are like pissholes in the snow an yu look directly into my inner cess pit of a wrecked abused body!!                                                                                                                                                                              

lol@ you tango!!!!!                                                                                                                                                                             

Too much good living TM60!                                                                                                                                                                             

  Read this myself last night Kwak! I'm making sure he's well and truly P**sed before the date, that way I'll look great!!   Gotta find a date first though!!   =============   I think my date would need to be wearing a wooden overcoat to make a pass at me lol   Looks like you've pulled there Flame, Ray's offering to take ya for a burger. Nice one Ray                                                                                                                                                                                 

Well, Ray's has gotta be the best, who can resist a burger, with loads of onions and sauce?? Just make sure theres no snogging after the onions, and do it all before!! TM60, thank you so much for the really nice compliment                                                                                                                                                                               

had to laugh at the implications of no.1......i certainly wouldnt fancy a 6ft+ woman growing a goatee.....or a family member.....,it says the survey was carried out in Liverpool,is there a Liverpool in the USA.....or do they sit around the banks of the Mersey playing banjo's??ha ha ha.                                                                                                                                                                             

I love direct eye contact with a fella....you can see the mirror to his soul!   BC66, you're wearing shades in your picture. Does that mean that soul-gazing is a one-way street where you're concerned? Same applies to you, TM60!     Actionman, I know a few 6ft women in Liverpool, a few people with goatees, and even some who play banjos. So far I don't know anyone who fits into all three categories, but I'll keep on looking                                                                                                                                                                             

another photy is in the offin as soon as me goatee's back!without sunglasses an a hat!so somethin to look forward to then ladys to brighten your lives!signed copy's will be available,surprised will's hasn't been asked with that calender pose an all that hair!!                                                                                                                                                                              

wills,if you do find one....run!...run like the wind!                                                                                                                                                                                 

had to laugh at the implications of no.1......i certainly wouldnt fancy a 6ft+ woman growing a goatee.....or a family member.....,it says the survey was carried out in Liverpool,is there a Liverpool in the USA.....or do they sit around the banks of the Mersey playing banjo's??ha ha ha.   ROFLMHO (I can see why you and Booby are mates, same daft humour)