newjerseynewsroom.com

BY KIMBERLY ESKIN

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Dating is certainly not what is used to be. A traditional exchange of numbers at the local bar or meeting someone through a friend has evolved into scanning online profiles with dating sites such as eHarmony and Match.com.

However, dating has now become even more radical. Computers aren’t necessary. Just an old t-shirt and your nose! That’s right. You’re smelling out your partner’s pheromones, a little like a dog. But, hey, don’t knock it till you try it.

Pheromone dating was founded by Judith Prays, a web developer. Frustrated with unsuccessful online dating, Prays developed the idea for Pheromone Parties when she entered into a long-term relationship with a man who, on paper, didn’t appear a good match, but caught Prays’ attention with his unique smell. According to the Huffington Post, Prays came to the realization that "Even when he smelled objectively bad, I thought he smelled really good. And so I thought, OK, maybe I should be dating based on smell?"

Of course, something as unconventional and seemingly ridiculous as dating by smell has generated doubters. Stephen Colbert joked on an episode of The Colbert Report that aired on April 23, “It’s doubly convenient because should you suddenly have the agonizing realization that you’ve been reduced to smelling old t-shirts to find a date, your head is already in a plastic bag. Just…just zip it shut.”

However, Pheromone Parties aren’t as outrageous as they may appear. They are actually grounded in science. As reported by Time.com, pheromones are chemicals that are widely known to spark sexual attraction in mammals. Charles Wysocki, a behavioral neuroscientist at Philadelphia’s Monell Chemical Senses Center told The Daily, “Attraction to pheromones seems to be how many animals do it. Either way, it’s a good indication that you’re off to a good start.”

Moreover, CBS News reports that studies show that our sense of smell is used to avoid those whose genetics could yield feeble children. In fact, in a t-shirt experiment similar to Prays’ parties, Martha McClintock, founder of the University of Chicago’s Institute for Mind and Biology, found that participants were drawn to the scent of those whose genetics were different, but not drastically so, from their own. Such findings are the result of a set of human genes involved in the immune response that are intended to prevent inbreeding and maintain positive genetic adaptations.

The first Pheromone Party occurred in New York City in 2010 and was met with encouraging success. Of the 40 guests, 12 reportedly “hooked up” while 6 of these hookups evolved into long-term relationships. Guest Scott Thrift was happy with the unconventional dating experience: “I thought it was a wonderful way to meet people. It cuts through all of the fluff and gets straight to the point” (The Daily). Parties have also been held in Los Angeles (The Huffington Post).

For those curious about how the parties work, Pheromoneparties.com spells it out for interested participants quite clearly:

1. Guests sleep in a clean, white, cotton t-shirt for three nights in a row to capture their odor print and bring this in a ziplock bag to the party.
2. Bags are labeled pink for girl, blue for boy. Each bag is assigned a number. Only the guest knows what their shirt’s number is.
3. Bags are placed on a table. Guests smell the bags at their leisure throughout the party.
4. If a guest finds the smell attractive, they take a picture with the bag at a photographer station. These pictures are projected as a slide show on the wall at the party.
5. If you see a picture of a guest you find attractive holding your number, this is the greenlight to talk to them. Haaaay.
6. At the end of the party, a facebook album is created and all of the pictures are tagged - so if you missed your match at the party, you can still contact them.

To see a Pheromone Party in action, watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3stH3BgKGss.

If you’re having trouble finding that special someone, don’t despair. It could be as simple as smelling a shirt.