Posted on 08/18/2002 7:59:45 AM PDT by Ranger
A new study has established that beauty may be in the eye of the beer holder rather than the beholder.
Scientists in Scotland say they have found proof of the so-called "beer goggles" effect, following a study involving 80 students.
The researchers wanted to measure the phenomenon by which members of the opposite sex become more attractive as one drinks more alcohol.
They discovered that men and women who have drunk a moderate amount of alcohol find the faces of the opposite sex 25% more attractive than their sober counterparts.
Students at Glasgow University were shown colour photographs of 120 male and female St Andrews University students aged 18 to 26.
Participants were asked to rate their aesthetic properties on a scale of between one - highly unattractive - to seven - highly attractive.
Half of the students had drunk up to four units of alcohol, equivalent to a maximum of around two pints of lager or two-and-a-half glasses of wine.
Professor Barry Jones, from Glasgow University's psychology department and his fellow academic, Ben Jones, from St Andrews University, led the study.
Prof Jones said: "Everyone's heard of the beer goggles effect but we wanted to measure once and for all whether a moderate amount of alcohol increases the judgement of facial attractiveness."
The beer goggles phenomenon is caused by alcohol stimulating the part of the human brain which is used to determine facial attractiveness, the nucleus accumbens, he said.
not to mention the ability to overlook extra girth.
Due to increasing products liability litigation, beer manufacturers have accepted the American Medical Association's suggestion that the following warning labels be placed immediately on all beer containers:
WARNING: Consumption of alcohol may make you think you are whispering when you are not.
WARNING: Consumption of alcohol is a major factor in dancing like a wanker.
WARNING: Consumption of alcohol may cause you to tell the same boring story over and over again until your friends want to smash your head in.
WARNING: Consumption of alcohol may cause you to thay shings like thish.
WARNING: Consumption of alcohol may lead you to believe that ex-lovers are really dying for you to telephone them at 4 in the morning.
WARNING: Consumption of alcohol may leave you wondering what the hell happened to your trousers.
WARNING: Consumption of alcohol may make you think you can logically converse with other members of the opposite sex without spitting.
WARNING: Consumption of alcohol may make you think you have mystical Kung Fu powers.
WARNING: Consumption of alcohol may cause you to roll over in the morning and see something really scary (whose name and/or species you can't remember).
WARNING: Consumption of alcohol is the leading cause of inexplicable rug burns on the forehead.
WARNING: Consumption of alcohol may create the illusion that you are tougher, more attractive, and smarter than some really, really big guy named Franz.
WARNING: Consumption of alcohol may lead you to believe you are invisible.
WARNING: Consumption of alcohol may lead you to think people are laughing with you.
WARNING: Consumption of alcohol may cause a flux in the time-space continuum, whereby small (and sometimes large) gaps of time may seem to literally disappear.
WARNING: Consumption of alcohol may actually cause pregnancy.
Now go back to the spa! :-)
signed,
CULINARY ENTHUSIAST ; )
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