They say the eyes are the window to the soul, but a sniff test could reveal whether a guy is taken or single, research shows. According to one study, women can actually smell which fellas are available and which are not. And it seems single men are stinkier than those in relationships.
For the experiment, researchers gave 91 men a plain white T-shirt and had them wear it for one day, advising them to do moderate exercise in it to make sure “a significant amount of sweat was absorbed” into the shirt’s armpit area. After collecting the sweaty shirts from the 46 single guys and 45 men with partners, study authors then had 82 heterosexual women each sniff six different garments and look at a photo of the man that belonged to each smell.
While looking at the men’s pictures, the women were asked to rate the men on their attractiveness, sexiness, intelligence, loyalty, kindness, trustworthiness, masculinity and if they looked like a good partner. And it turns out, single men’s body odor smelled stronger to all of the women than the B.O. of the men in relationships. As for the why, researchers say it may help women find suitable partners. They explain that “from an evolutionary perspective, it may be advantageous for women to be able to detect the chemosignals” that reveal someone’s in a relationship, so the women don’t waste time on men who are taken.
Source: Science Alert