Smart women sexy - from a distance
Scientists at the University of Buffalo have found that men find smart women "sexy", but only in theory. A study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin found that "psychological distance" makes an intelligent woman more attractive. It found that for all the claims by some heterosexual men that they would like a woman who is more intelligent, when confronted with one, men tend to be less attracted to a woman who outsmarted them. Associate Professor Lora Park suggested that men, when interacting with a woman who is smarter than them, can feel a "momentary shift in their self-evaluation" (such as feeling emasculated), which leads them to feel less attracted to smarter woman. The disconnect could be between how they feel when there is "psychological distance" and how they feel in situations where "social comparison" takes place.
Another discovery that changed the world for the better
Released to rave reviews in 1998, Viagra is still a huge moneymaker for drugmaker Pfizer, which reported more than US$2 billion in sales in 2012 alone. But incredibly, Pfizer never set out to cure erectile dysfunction (ED). The invention of Viagra was a miraculous accident. Pfizer researchers were testing batches of a new angina (chest pain) medicine, sildenafil, when subjects began reporting some unusual, er, stiffness. Further testing revealed that an ingredient in the medication inhibited the production of an enzyme that undermined erections. Renamed Viagra, the revolutionary ED pill became the fastest-selling drug of all time.
