Tears are the anti-celery, apparently. When it comes to male arousal, the sure-fire way to kill all dirty thoughts is to burst into tears. According to research conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, the smell of female tears triggers a chemical response in men’s brains that reduces the level of arousal, turning eyeball saltwater into a surefire mood-killer. Well, that explains why Moaning Myrtle never could get a date while she was alive (or dead, for that matter).
Resarchers, led by biochemist Idan Frumin, were studying the effect of tears to determine if there was some chemical factor that caused the human body to respond to crying with compassion. “We got mainly female donors,” says Dr. Frumin. The tears, which smelled like nothing, were then presented to men, who were then given pictures to look at while filling out a questionnaire. “One of the questions in the questionnaire was: ‘What is the state of sexual arousal of this specific subject in this specific moment?’ And to our amazement, we saw a drop in arousal.”
Of course, just because the tears have an effect doesn’t mean scientists are in agreement on what the effect is. Some say a chemical in the tears dampens testosterone and arousal directly. Others say that the tears increase levels of oxytocin, which promotes social bonding and care-giving.
Tags: weird science, human body, chemical responses, the human brain, tears are a turn-off for men, tears turn men off, women’s tears are a turn-off, crying, tears, sadness, unusual health news, Idan Frumin, Israel, Weizmann Institute of Science, chemical signals from tears turn men off, tears reduce arousal levels
