Winning, Losing Hardest On Males
There’s a scientific reason why male sports fans feel so pumped after their team has won — they’re getting a testosterone rush.
Studies have consistently shown that testosterone levels rise not only for the winning players, but also for the winning fans.
Researcher James Dabbs first identified this phenomenon in a study of fans at the 1994 World Cup soccer finals. Dabbs has also tested male fans of the University of Georgia basketball team after games.
“It’s a striking notion of how much men are affected by fantasies of winning and losing,” Dabbs says. (From August GQ)
* Faux experiences: “What most people lack today, perhaps, even more than money, is time,” says Marjorie Garber, author of “Sex and Real Estate: Why We Love Houses.”
“The quest for the perfect dream house allows us to substitute space for time,” she says. “We build exercise rooms instead of exercising, furnish libraries instead of reading, install professional kitchens instead of cooking.” (From summer Hope magazine)
* Mark your calendar: The annual local celebration of Women’s Equality Day begins at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Comstock Park. The event, sponsored by the Spokane Women’s Coalition, includes discussions of women’s issues and entertainment. The group says “bring your own picnic, family and friends and feminist views.”
* Just common sense, really: Gentleman’s Quarterly offered 95 ways to be a gentleman so we’re passing along a smattering of their tips:
Open her car door.
Always have a good toast on hand.
No baseball caps (unless you’re on the field).
No cowboy hats (unless you’re driving steers).
No hats inside (period).
Facial-hair options don’t include nostrils.
Learn how to make a good cocktail.
Buying her lingerie is sexy.
Buying her appliances is not. (From July GQ)
* Esquire’s rules for proper living, No. 87: “Laundry activities shall be outsourced whenever possible.”
We think this is a good rule regardless of gender or marital status. (From August Esquire)
* Fast fact: 60 percent of working scientists developed an interest in their field by the age of 11. (From September Wired)
* Simple for whom? The new magazine named Simplicity promises ideas, style euphoria, home and frivolities, but delivers mostly frivolities.
The second issue came out this summer. Judging from the number of photos of young women wearing bikinis, or less, we’re guessing the editors are reaching out not to women, but rather to men who want to look at women who appear simple. Or perhaps the editors think that by wearing hardly any clothing, life for women becomes simple.