THE DAILY BLADE: So Happy Together?
Two hearts really do beat as one “when two people are close, their hearts’ magnetic fields intermingle, and can alter the way both hearts beat,” reports The Daily:
"When people are in love, their heartbeats can actually synchronize,” says Ramesh Rao, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, San Diego. Rao is America's leading pioneer of heart-synching. …
[H]eart-synching, also known as “entanglement,” is a surprisingly accurate measure of how much two people are connecting - both physically and emotionally.
“If your date is stressed or uncomfortable, her heart rate will go up,” Rao explained. “But if she is relaxed and into you, her heart rate will calm down and get flatter.” …
Rao plans to launch an online service that will allow anyone to upload files from a pair of heart monitors. He sees a future when swapping heartbeat information is common.
But hearts - and minds - can quickly fall out of sync when it comes to babies and commitment, according to a survey of 5,200 single adults by NY’s Binghamton University for dating Website Match.com, reports LiveScience:
The results reveal the effects of massive social changes on gender relations, said Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist at Rutgers University and a chief scientific adviser at Match.com. …
"We're starting to see much more of how men are interested in attachment and commitment and how interested women are in preserving some of their independence." …
The findings busted a number of gender stereotypes, Fisher said. Among single people who don't currently have a child under 18, 24 percent of men say they want kids, compared with 15 percent of women. Men were also more likely to report falling hard and fast: 54 percent said they'd experienced love at first sight. Only 41 percent of women said the same. …
The survey also found that being single isn't what it used to be. Among single people between the ages of 21 and 34, 62 percent of both men and women want to get married, while 9 percent don't want to marry and 29 percent aren't sure. The findings echo earlier national surveys that reveal ambivalence toward marriage.
However money brings couples into sync again: Rich men and women tend to marry within their socioeconomic strata, as do men and women of modest means, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. So it may be just as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor man, but good luck getting Mr. Moneybags to the altar.
Complicating matters, those under age 30 - Gen Y – have a lot more hang-ups about money than Baby boomers do, reports MarketingDaily:
Data from Americanexpress.com and MoneyBundle.com, organized by Deals.com, suggests that 41% of Gen Y consumers - those born between 1981 and 1991 - hide purchases, versus 31% of boomers; 45% of Gen Y represent what they paid, versus 24% of boomers; and 59% of Gen Y consumers buy something their partners don't agree with, versus 45% of boomers. In addition, 17% of younger consumers are not forthcoming about their credit score versus 7% of boomers. …
The study found that 72% of people under 30 with a household income $50,000 or more have arguments about money versus 44% of people with household incomes over $100,000.
Perhaps it’s because resentment over the soaring cost of pitching woo and plighting troth is still raw. Rutgers anthropology professor Lionel Tiger notes that, “The current norm is that the male must convert two months of after-tax income into this special property for his fiancée. (As Jay Leno once observed, “Today is Valentine's Day. Or, as men like to call it, extortion day.”)
But some gifts you can’t put a price tag on. Like what 33-year-old Amy Anderson is giving fiancé Ron Spanier, 43: her kidney. The St. Cloud (MN) Times reports:
Spanier has been on dialysis since last summer due to polycystic kidney disease, a genetic disorder that causes cysts in the kidneys. The disease causes the kidneys to fail. Spanier’s mother, sister and brother have had transplants because of the disease.
Anderson and Spanier have three children. Anderson’s daughter, Sydney, 10, and son, Max, 8, are from her first marriage. Together, they have a 3-month-old son, Luke. The couple became engaged during the holidays.
“I figured if she gave me my first-born and a kidney, I figured I’d marry her,” Spanier said with a smile.
Synchronized heart beats are one thing, but true compatibility is being an organ donor match.
Editorial Note: How compatible are you and your sweetheart or spouse? “Pick Your Cupid” – and his or hers – to find out.
A Fine Romance With No Kisses
Bad enough that Islamofascist
Activist group Green America is urging consumers to send a "valentine" to U.S.-based Hershey, or e-mails directly to its executives, urging the use of cocoa that has "been certified to be free from the worst forms of abusive child labor."
As of Monday, Green America said over 10,000 e-mails had been sent to Hershey executives.
"We are trying to get people from around the country to tell Hershey that there shouldn't be child labor or forced labor in their chocolate," said Todd Larsen with Green America.
If that’s not enough to give you hives, it appears that food allergies can be transmitted from one person to another by the act of osculating, reports Opposing Views.com:
According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, it is possible that if you have an allergy to a certain food and you kiss someone who has eaten that food, you could suffer an allergic reaction.
In a report released by ACAAI, a man with a peanut allergy developed a swollen lip and itching in his mouth after his girlfriend kissed him. She had eaten peanuts two hours earlier. However, she brushed her teeth, rinsed her mouth and even chewed gum before seeing him. Yet she was still able to pass it to him.
It’s not just those who have food allergies who need to beware of deadly kisses, according to British novelist and actress Lana Citron, who authored "A Compendium of Kisses," reports Reuters:
Citron does acknowledge being fascinated about the use of kisses in politics and history, from its involvement in accusations about witchcraft down to the present day.
"Superficially, you have sex scandals, kiss and tell scandals, which many politicians fall prey to," she said.
According to Citron, being a good kisser is less about technique than with “basic hygiene.”
Editorial Note: Speaking of political kisses, The Christian Science Monitor offers this article about the romantic side of several of our presidents.
The Stiletto’s Advice On Avoiding Toxic Relationships
† If you have a choice between love and money, always choose love.
† If you have a choice between love and honor, always choose honor.
Editorial Note: The Washington Post’s Lisa Bonos has this advice for the lovelorn: “[P]ick up the phone and dial - and dance - like it's 1999.”
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