Please don't try what you're about to see at home.
[ Straining ] we're what you call experts.
Yeah!
[ Elevator dings ]
Good morning.
Morning.
Here we go again.
You ready?
Hold on. Just a sec.
Okay. Now i'm ready.
Okay.
[ Elevator dings ]
There they are!
[ Women screaming ]
It's weird, isn't it?
[ Chuckles ] yeah.
Adam, i love you!
I'm trying to figure out how we can get
An episode out of this.
You mean like the laws of attraction.
Exactly.
Let's get out of here.
Narrator: take a deep breath and strap in...
chest bump? It's not happening.
...for some sexy science...
how you doing?
...to find out what turns us on...
good and sweaty!
Narrator: ...sweat, blondes, money, and more.
Whoa! Hey, eyes up here, huh?
Narrator: the team is turning up the heat.
I can't stop looking at them.
Narrator: welcome to the "mythbusters"...
hello, angels.
...laws of attraction special.
All: hi, jamie.
[ Adam laughs ]
Who are the mythbusters?
Adam savage...
yee-Haw! I don't know anything about no pig.
Narrator: ...and jamie hyneman.
What could go wrong?
Between them, more than 30 years of special effects experience.
Together with tory belleci...
let's chop this car up!
Narrator: ...grant imahara...
something just touched me!
Narrator: ...and kari byron.
Put your pants back on. We've got work to do.
They don't just tell the myths.
They put them to the test.
-- captions by vitac -- www.Vitac.Com
Captions paid for by discovery communications
What is the science of attraction...
is this as disturbing as i think it is?
...the chemistry of sexual chemistry?
[ Grunts ] feel kind of sexy.
What tickles our fancy, and what fancies make us tick?
They were definitely firmer at 8,000 feet,
But not by much.
And, when it comes to desire,
Do we really conform to clichãƒâ©?
James, i'm frightened.
These age-Old questions are about to be asked and answered,
But what's first?
This is a good one.
Apparently, people get dumber
In the presence of the opposite sex.
Really? Yeah.
I mean, come on, haven't you ever been tongue-Tied
In the presence of a lovely lass?
No.
It might be a good idea for you two to take --
Blah. [ Beep ]
I think it might be a good idea for you two
To actually take the test before you --
[ Sighs ] [ beeping ]
How are we gonna test somebody getting dumber?
Yeah, right, that is
The trickiest part of this to me,
Because we need a test that measures cognitive ability,
But it also needs to be able to measure
The deterioration of cognitive ability,
And i'm not even sure how that would work.
Okay, well, why don't you deal with the test design,
And since we're gonna need to bring a bunch of people in,
I'll design the test space.
Sounds perfect. Let's go.
So, to find out if this well-Worn clichãƒâ©
Is, in fact, fact or fiction...
[ wolf-Whistle ]
...adam has researched a method
To measure the effect attraction has on our gray matter.
It is a brain game,
And you're gonna help me play it.
You ready?
Here's what's gonna happen --
I'm gonna flash a word up on the screen,
And you're gonna tell me what color that word is,
Not what color it says.
Here we go.
Three, two, one -- What color is that word?
What color?
Call it out!
Louder!
Okay -- Did you feel your brain pause
Each time a card showed up?
That pause that your brain did
Is your brain attempting to task switch
Between the reading of the word
And the parsing of its actual color.
Three, two, one, go.
That pause is also called the stroop effect,
And apparently, it's very, very difficult
To get really good at it...
narrator: yep, repeatedly taking the test...
yellow, brown.
55 seconds.
Narrator: ...results in a constant time.
Adam: re-- Uh, brown.
Narrator: ...a time that accurately reflects speed of cognition.
54ã‚â½ seconds.
Narrator: so, each volunteer will establish a baseline,
And then, in the presence of a member of the opposite sex,
Retake and see if they get dumber.
Adam: 56 seconds.
Narrator: meanwhile, jamie has the perfect location in mind.
Welcome to the inside of my brain.
Actually, it's a lot darker and scarier in the there.
Anyway, what this is is a commercial film stage,
And it's the kind of place that adam and i have spent decades
Filming commercials and movies and things in.
And, as such, it's the ideal space
For us to build our set for laws of attraction in.
Ow! [Bleep]
Narrator: the experimental space itself...
oops. Whoops.
...is purposefully sparse...
[ sighs ] all the comforts of home
If home is an interrogation room.
...a room with a computer station
Rigged for some secret-Squirrel observation.
Awesome.
Now, what about the delectable distractions?
Meet cute couple allie and sean.
Remember, this whole story hinges
On a person's cognitive ability
When they are around the opposite gender
Versus around the same gender.
So we've hired a pair of actors to be present in this room
While the tests are being taken.
Cool. Sounds good.
Let's do it.
Narrator: so, first up, the baselines.
Hey. How you doing?
Following three minutes of small talk...
are you originally from san jose?
...10 volunteers will take the test twice...
okay, we are ready to start the test.
...with an actor of the same sex in the room.
Sean: let's go.
Brown. Green. Yellow. Pink.
Jamie: it should be hysterical to see that same kid
With allie in there.
And he's like, "uh."
[ Both laugh ]
I'm fascinated.
And so, adam and jamie settle in...
green. Yellow. Pink.
...noting numbers and adding averages for the guys...
brown.
Yellow.
Green.
That is a big, red beard.
Mm-Hmm. You could hide a pistol in there.
[ Both laugh ]
...and then the girls.
Allie: hi. Hi!
How are you? Good.
You can just grab a seat right there.
Yellow. Blue. Brown.
Blue.
Green.
I would like to take
A little break in the testing right now
To call out a phenomenon.
This happens when one of our test subjects
Get thrown by one, and they do this --
They go, "br-- Oh, blue!"
Black.
Literally -- They blink their eyes,
Shake their head, and open their eyes again.
P-- Br-Brown [ laughs ]
Green -- Aah, red.
Pink -- Oh, yellow!
I dub this "reset face." Blue.
Brown. Yellow.
Narrator: with that... [ yawns ]
...the control is complete.
And here are the numbers to beat.
So, will our attractive actors distract,
And thus subtract, from our testees' times?
All right, let's bring in
The first test subject for sean.
Narrator: yep, it's time to heat up the action.
Sean: hi! Hi.
How are you? Good, how are you?
Good, good. I'm sean.
Amy -- Nice to meet you. Hi, amy.
Narrator: with sean weaving his magic...
actually -- Doing it. Yeah
[ Laughs ]
...will the women waver?
He's got a little bit of italian stallion going on now.
[ Laughs ] yeah.
But, despite sean's obvious allure,
Our first female is, well, not fazed at all.
She averaged 54 seconds the first time.
If anything, she was a little faster.
Almost 10 seconds faster.
Where are you from?
And it seems, contrary to the clichãƒâ©...
yellow.
...as each new time is logged and noted,
Overall, a member of the opposite sex...
hey. How are you? Good. Hi.
...does not affect women's cognitive ability.
Pink. Green.
They respond to sean, they're just not distracted...
[ sean laughs ]
...a result that's borne out in the numbers.
As far as women are concerned, this clichãƒâ© is clearly busted.
But the guys are still to come.
He's looking at his shoes.
[ Both laugh ]
Will allie's feminine charms cause confusion?
Up next, kari, grant, and tory put the bust into "mythbusters."
All right, so, laws of attraction -- What have we got?
Now, this myth comes from the service industry.
They say that if a woman can augment her female profile,
She can significantly increase
The amount of gratuity she receives.
You mean bigger breasts equals bigger tips.
Yes.
I can't wait to see that...
[ chuckles ]
...for science.
Narrator: yep, it's an age-Old service-Industry adage.
[ Flaps lips ]
Narrator: when it comes to top tips,
Are big breasts really best
Or is this simply a misogynistic misnomer?
All right, i think it's clear for this plan,
I'll be the augmented,
Since you two would make some pretty scary chicks.
Did you see me as sandra bullock in the "speed" episode?
[ Ting! ]
[ Smooches ]
Yes, i did.
Grant: all right, fair enough.
We're gonna need a place where you can get
A lot of tips on a daily basis,
Like a coffee shop.
And we're gonna have to cover a variety of different sizes.
Let's do small, medium, and huge.
And we're gonna have to give you some kind of a disguise
So people don't know what we're doing.
All right, so i'll work the same shift
At the cafe every single day,
Each day with a different breast size,
And we'll see how the tips average out.
I like it -- Very "mission: impossible."
Is this the place?
Yeah.
Tory: to test the myth, we're here at caffe roma.
Now it's not just a regular cafe,
It's an actual roasting house,
And it's in the middle of san francisco,
Which is perfect, because we're gonna have
A great sample size for this experiment.
Now, while kari is working the counter,
Grant and i will be watching the whole thing play out
Through these elaborate surveillance systems.
I got cameras all over the place.
I got one there.
I got one above kari.
I got one here.
Kari: tip cam!
I even have one over here.
All these cameras will lead back here to these monitors,
So grant and i can watch the whole thing in action.
It's like a police stakeout.
Hey, there's kari.
So i don't get recognized,
I'm gonna change my appearance slightly.
Now, i'll be working the same shift every day,
I'll be wearing the same clothes every day,
I'll be wearing the same wig and contacts every day.
The only thing that's gonna change is my breast size.
Narrator: she's simply irre-Barista-Ble.
[ Laughs ] what the...?
Wow! You look great.
Unchanged in the bust department,
Kari's ready for her first shift.
But, how are they gonna keep score?
So, this is our super-Secret stealth tip jar.
All right, kari is in place.
Grant: here's how it works --
When we see that a man has put a tip in the jar,
We move the lever one way, drops into one compartment.
When a woman puts a tip in,
We drop it the other way so that they're held separate.
We're gonna count out the first 80 men.
$15.70. Thank you.
[ Coins jingle ]
Tip number one is in the jar.
At the end of that period,
We'll take the money from the men only,
Count it up, and that will be our average tip.
Narrator: an average to compare with kari's earnings
When she has an altered cup size.
25ã‚â¢ your change.
I'll give her one thing --
She is amazing at customer service.
Thank you. Thank you.
Kari's clearly nailing her role, but...
psst! Kari byron!
...the bottom line is a boob baseline.
Tory: this is a good day.
And with the male tips separated, totaled, and tallied,
What have we got?
All right, you made $72.
Whoo-Hoo! 80 customers,
That's 90ã‚â¢ per customer.
Good job.
Now that we have a good baseline,
It's time to manipulate the size of her breasts.
My feeling is, i think bigger we go,
The bigger the tips are gonna be.
Now, i understand that this is science.
This is an anthropological survey on human behavior,
This is psychology,
But all i can think as we're doing this
Is how weird it is
That tory and grant are talking about my boobs.
It's like your brother seeing you naked or something.
Ugh! Bleh!
Narrator: next...
do men really get stupid in the presence of cupid?
I'm fascinated.
[ Wolf-Whistles ]
Narrator: adam and jamie are pulling strings...
blue. Yellow.
Red.
I love watching this remotely.
It feels like we're actual scientists.
[ Laughs ]
Narrator: ...and delving deep into human behavior.
[ Laughs ]
And they have one final law of attraction question --
When there's a woman around, do men really get dumber?
Hi. Hi.
How's it going? Good.
Good. Just grab a seat right there, please.
After allie's attentions...
have you ever done any experiments
Like this before?
Uh, sort of,
When i was in elementary school.
...will his mind wander?
Go ahead and conduct the test.
Blue.
Pink.
Narrator: his first-Round average was 58 seconds,
And when the times are tallied...
test number one, 1:08.
...an average of 65 seconds means he was slower by 12%,
Meaning the first result is very promising...
hi. How are you?
Good. How are you?
...and one supported in theory
By evolutionary psychologists.
Are you from san francisco?
No, sacramento.
Oh, okay.
Men, in a state of reproductive focus,
Are supposedly cognitively impaired.
Two, one.
Pink. Yellow. Brown. Blue.
Quite literally, their brains are on other things.
Blue. Brown.
But for test taker two, when the timer starts,
His discomfort evaporates,
And he beats his first-Round average by 20%.
And as the remaining volunteers are wheeled through...
he was faster. Yeah.
That's far out.
...the first, slower test seems to be the exception...
maybe allie actually is exciting people
Rather than, you know, distracting them.
...and not the rule.
Green.
Well, the results are in.
Now, let me remind you that, if the myth was true,
We would see a decrease in performance in our test subjects
When they took the test in the presence
Of a proctor of the opposite gender.
Now, get this --
Not only did we not see a decrease in performance,
We actually saw a mild improvement.
Jamie, why don't you tell these people our conclusion?
Well, i wasn't expecting to see much from the women,
And we didn't.
But, i was all prepared
For the men to become blithering idiots.
After all, there were studies done
That indicate that that is the case.
However, based on the test
Constructed here with our methodology,
Which i feel pretty good about...
we didn't see anything. Nope!
The myth is busted.
I still think we should've put her in a bikini.
[ Sighs ] there you go, thinking out loud again.
I'm back to work my shift at the coffee shop.
Now, we're testing the myth that you get more tips
When you have bigger breasts.
You made $72.
So, i'm going with the smaller version today
To see if maybe i get tipped less.
Grant: now, bear in mind that kari looks exactly the same
Except that her bust is taped down
So that she's two cup sizes smaller.
A large coffee.
Busy morning today.
Narrator: with kari once again a whirlwind at the coffee counter...
thank you!
...she turns on the charm
And gives it everything she's got
Until she meets the 80-Guy quota.
She looks like she needs a break.
Grant: [ laughs ] yeah, actually.
Question is,
Does what's up top affect the bottom line?
Nice work, kari. You did great out there.
...71, 72.
We got the exact same amount of tips.
What?!
I did all of that,
And we got the same result?
She made exactly the same amount of money
As when she had her regular chest size.
I mean, within a dollar,
Which is statistically identical.
This myth is on the road to being busted.
Narrator: on the road, but not over the line,
Because there's one last breast test to go.
[ Wolf-Whistle ]
Today is triple-D day.
Tory: today, kari is sporting a triple-D bra size.
Is she gonna get bigger tips? We're about to find out.
[ Rumbling ] whoa.
Did you feel that? I think she's coming!
Kari: i'm very curious to see if my current ginormous breast size
Is gonna have any impact on my tips.
If the walk over here is any indication,
Gentlemen are noticing.
That much is clear.
Whether that makes them less stingy with the tip jar,
We'll see.
Whoa! What's up?
Wow! [ Laughs ]
Narrator: after an eye full...
hey, eyes up here, huh?
...grant, for one, is optimistic.
[ Laughs ]
I think that she'll have an easier time
Connecting with people,
And they'll be more interested in talking to her,
And i think that this just might make the difference.
[ Laughs ]
He's just staring at the boobs.
[ Laughs ]
He's -- He's -- He's thinking really hard about something.
And...tipped!
I guess her milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.
Grant: all right, i know what you're thinking.
You're thinking, "why are you guys doing this?
This is absolutely ridiculous."
Look, he keeps looking down!
[ Laughs ]
Biologically speaking,
The instinct is to associate larger breast size
With nurturing and fertility,
Which will allow people
To possibly connect with her more...
tory: and...we got a tip out of it.
Grant: wait! Ooh!
He put in $2! $2!
What?! $2, people!
Thank you.
...which could lead to bigger tips.
Here's a dollar for both of you!
Thank you! Thanks.
Narrator: in its broadest, most reductive form...
tory: oh, my god. Look at them.
They're like trying not to look,
But they can't help it.
It's like their monkey brain's taking over.
...evolutionary theory suggests that a full cleavage
Is a visual indication of reproductive potential.
Kari: thanks.
Tory: he's still checking her out!
Grant: it's instinct.
And, in a positive-Feedback loop,
Men who find that trait attractive
Are more likely to be reproductively successful.
I think he forgot his drink.
...three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
That's $98. That's way more than yesterday!
A statistically significant 30% more,
Meaning this myth is controversially,
But firmly, concluded.
So, it turns out the size of your breasts
Does have an effect on the size of your tips.
Now, kari's male customers were tipping about 90ã‚â¢ per customer,
But when kari put on her big boobs,
The average tip increased to $1.23.
That's significant.
Whoo!
These things are earners!
[ Laughter ]
Cool.
I can't stop looking at them.
Narrator: the boobs may have bamboozled belleci,
But he and his fellow males were not the only ones.
The results from this experiment were really interesting.
Now, men gave 30% more in tips with the big boob size,
But more interesting to me is that women gave 40% more.
I think this must be primal.
Bigger boobs just yield more satisfaction.
Narrator: coming up, which aroma is irresistible...
sweaty! ...eau de savage
Or hot-To-Trot hoosier?
Woman: it's strong and awkward.
I've always been dubious
About the claims of these pheromone sprays
That are supposed to make one irresistible
To members of the opposite sex.
Why do you need a spray for that?
Well, look, not everyone expresses all their emotions
Through their scent like you do, jamie.
There are some people that want some extra help,
And these products apparently fill that void.
Sounds like something we should test.
That's exactly what i thought.
Narrator: pheromones are airborne molecules
That elicit a reaction in members of the same species.
The most potent known to science
Are aphrodisiacs found in the saliva of male boars.
[ Pig squealing ]
But although a human sex pheromone
Has yet to be definitively discovered,
The internet offers a plethora of canned chemistry
That will make you irresistible.
Or will it?
To find out...
awesome!
...adam had built a carousel of smell.
And here's how it'll make sense of supposedly sexy scents.
I present to the world
My 10-Chamber, double-Blind, t-Shirt smelling device.
10 chambers, each sealed and isolated
Against the smells of the outside world.
Each one will contain a t-Shirt.
Some we've worked out in, some from the store,
Some with pheromones sprayed on them.
Each one will also be bathed in a bath of food-Grade nitrogen
To keep the smell fresh
And to keep our sweat from going rancid.
The contestant will simply push a yellow button,
Smells the scent that comes out the tube...
[sniffs]
...pick their favorite of the 10,
Put a poker chip in that box, and go on their merry way.
At the end of the test, we count up the votes
And declare a winner.
Narrator: and, so, it's on to location,
Where adam and jamie...
oh, look at that!
...load up the love truck with their whiff wheel,
And will ask 50 ladies
To pick their favorite fragranced t-Shirt.
All right, i'm ready!
These pheromones may work on their own
Or they may only work in concert with human sweat.
Hopefully this experience on the treadmill
Will be better than my last experience on the treadmill.
[ Grunts ]
Jamie and i are gonna walk on the treadmill
Long enough to generate a bunch of sweat onto a t-Shirt...
[ groans ]
Get this shirt good and sweaty.
...and put it into our machine.
Then we're gonna do it again,
Get a t-Shirt good and sweaty,
And spray pheromones on it...
this is the leading brand of male pheromone spray.
...to see if that makes a difference.
All of that is going to be smelled by our volunteers.
Narrator: with the eau de savage
And pheromone combo locked and loaded...
...a hot hyneman...
get some good hoosier sweat on there.
...does exactly the same.
That's four filled and sealed.
What about the remaining six?
A t-Shirt straight out of the package.
Narrator: and finally...
now it's time for our real controls --
T-Shirts fresh out of the bag with nothing on them,
No sweat, no pheromones, no nothing.
Go down the path and hang a right.
Adam: with our vessels pressurized, the shirts loaded,
And our volunteers standing by,
It's time to start conducting this test.
I'm gonna ask you to smell 10 t-Shirts for me.
My prediction is that we're not gonna find anything.
You're gonna reach down and pull this up to your nose,
And push the button, and smell what comes out.
I think that the whole pheromone thing,
The whole industry, is snake oil and malarkey.
Sounds good?
Sounds good. All right.
But i think we're gonna see
A relatively random distribution around this ring,
Except for people who specifically don't like
The smell of me or jamie sweaty.
Narrator: adam is clearly not convinced
The controversial canned chemistry
Has any scientific merit...
that's 10.
Which one do you think you prefer the most?
...so he's not surprised by the early spread of reactions.
I think i like number one the best.
That's some data for us.
Thank you so much for helping us out.
Well, we're about a dozen people in so far.
I like number 10.
Number 10. Excellent.
I have to say, i'm not noticing any pattern
To what they're preferring.
Probably number one.
Number one. Okay.
It's all over the map.
But, we'll wait till we count the data
When we're all done. [ Sniffs ]
Narrator: but as the test progresses...
next!
...an interesting choice...
uh, number eight.
...for interesting reasons...
eight. What was it about it?
I don't know. It just smelled soothing.
...very interesting reasons...
i picked number eight basically because it smelled a lot sugary.
Narrator: ...significantly recurs.
Eight because it smelled like my boyfriend.
Adam's sweat, combined with the pheromone,
Is apparently an okay bouquet.
Next!
However, for some...
i picked four 'cause it didn't really smell like anything.
They were kind of, like, strong and awkward.
Narrator: ...the pheromone-Sprayed samples...
that one i can taste. [ Laughs ]
...are the most repulsive.
I picked 6. It was the least unpleasant smell.
[ Laughs ]
Narrator: yep, with all 50 smellers having sniffed the whiffs,
Here's how it breaks down.
And there's one figure that reeks off the page.
So, you crunched the numbers. What do they say?
Yes, the results are in,
And i have to say, they're kind of weird.
Don't get overly technical on me.
Weird how?
The test subjects shared
No particular preference for the pheromones,
Except for in the case of one shirt.
Which shirt?
That would be your sweaty, pheromone-Laced shirt.
38%.
[ Laughs ] wow!
[ Sniffs ] nice!
Yeah, well, don't let it go to your head,
Because a larger number of people were strongly repelled
By that very same shirt.
And then on top of that, many chose the control shirts
Just because they were the least offensive.
I guess that what we can say is that
There is some effect for some people,
But as far as the manufacturer's claims
That these sprays will make you irresistible to women,
It's totally busted.
Especially when you factor in my irresistibility.
Yeah, it's busted.
Wait, what's busted --
My irresistibility or the pheromones?
I don't know. Take your pick.
[ Barks ]
Please, don't try what you're about to see at home.
We're what you call experts.
Narrator: up next, lovenomics --
Does wealth really woo women?
All right, how are we gonna test this?
All right, so let's get a group of women
And ask them to rate a man's attractiveness,
But the only identifiers we give them
Are name and occupation.
That's great -- And then we'll show
The exact same pictures to another group of women,
But this time, changing the men's occupations
With higher salaries and see if that increases their allure.
I like it.
[ Chuckles ]
Narrator: on the surface, the myth sounds offensive,
But the stereotype and science suggests that on some level
Women look for a mate who's successful.
What's your name?
Question is, in a modern, enlightened society,
Do women really still judge potential partners as providers?
Consciously or otherwise, does money matter?
Well, the team is all spruced up to find out.
So, to test our laws of attraction myth
That women are more attracted to wealthy men,
We've come to the roxie theater in san francisco, california.
Welcome to the "mythbusters" laws of attraction experiment.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Grant: we're gonna show two sets of 50 women
12 pictures of various men
And ask them to rate the men on their attractiveness
On a scale of one to ten.
Ten being the highest score for superduper hot.
Tory: now, each of these photos will have a name, an occupation,
And where the person lives.
And this is all we're gonna give the women
In order for them to judge their attractiveness.
And remember -- it's for science.
[ Laughter ]
Both sets of slides will be exactly the same,
But for the second group of women,
We're going to take half the men and change their identifiers.
We're gonna give them more lucrative careers.
Let's begin our experiment!
Now, for this myth to be confirmed,
Their scores should go up.
All right, let's see the first slide!
This is matt.
He's a barista from san francisco, california.
[ Cheering ]
Let's bring on the next slide!
Michael, a dental assistant from san francisco, california.
These reactions are killing me!
Narrator: and with the brutal beauty contest concluded,
And before the scores are tallied...
just so you know what a 10 looks like,
I've got two examples right here.
Tory: oh, get out of here!
Narrator: ...kari's curious to find out
Who found who attractive, and why.
I gave him a seven. he's very, very attractive.
What's clear is that many factors go into each score.
He seems pretty grounded.
He doesn't seem too into himself,
But he doesn't seem careless, as well.
How can you get that from this picture?
I'm just curious. [ laughter ]
But the key question in round one is...
what was the score you gave him?
I gave him a four.
...did a perceived lack of affluence
Influence the scoring?
It'll be interesting to see how this pans out.
Narrator: yep, when all the numbers are in,
Will this anecdotal commentary be statistically quantifiable...
well, thank you guys for participating
In our laws of attraction "mythbusters" experiment.
...or is it just part of the mix,
And, as a clichãƒâ©, over-Exaggerated?
In round one, these women gave this group of men
An average score of 56 out of a possible 120.
But now, in round two,
We're gonna increase the salaries of some of the men.
Now, if there's some truth to this myth,
We should see an increase in the average score.
I know --
How about women prefer guys with big mustaches?
I haven't heard that one.
I'm pretty sure it's a thing.
I don't think so, man.
Oh.
How about gentlemen prefer blondes?
That is a good one. Let's totally test that.
Oh, wait...
but wait, how do we test that?
What do you mean? Well, i mean,
If we take a blonde and a brunette
And we ask some random people who they like better,
How do we accommodate for the fact
That they have totally different personalities?
Wigs.
Yeah.
Narrator: ever since the eponymous monroe movie,
The concept that blondes get the boys
Has been a cultural clichãƒâ©.
I'll tell you more about it in the morning.
Question is, is this follicular fable
Fact or fiction?
So, how do you want to get wiggy with this one?
Well, i think it's pretty simple.
We set up something like a speed-Dating scenario
So the men can express their preference,
But we'll have wigs of different colors,
Which we'll swap out systematically
Throughout the test,
Thus eliminating any bias for personality.
That sounds perfect.
Let's do it.
[ Wolf-Whistle ]
So, to find out if fair hair is favored...
nice.
...adam and jamie hit the bar.
So how is this speed-Dating thing supposed to work?
Well, we'll have nine women...
hello, angels!
...three blondes, three brunettes,
And three redheads.
All: hi, jamie! [ Laughs ]
Jamie: they'll be meeting nine men round-Robin style.
And the men will be rating them
Based on their attractiveness and likability.
And just like in real speed dating,
Their conversations with the women
Will last a limited amount of time.
In our case, three minutes.
[ Bell rings ] go!
Nice to meet you. Matthew.
Awesome! [ Laughs ]
When the time is up,
The bell will ring... [ bell rings ]
...and the men will get up and score their date.
[ Bell rings ]
Adam: after all nine of our male test subjects
Have talked to all of the girls,
We're gonna send the guys home,
Bring in a new set of nine guys...
howdy, guys!
...and conduct the test all over again.
Jamie: in the interim,
We will have changed the hair color of all the girls.
We're using really expensive natural hair wigs,
And we've hired... willette and k.K.,
Industry professionals specializing in wigs and makeup.
With their new wigs on,
They will talk to our second set of male test subjects,
And when they're done with them,
We'll send them away and bring in a third set of men.
Again, changing the hair color of all the girls.
And that way, each of our actresses
Gets to perform this test
As a redhead, a brunette, and a blonde.
How you doing?
[ Clicks tongue ]
[ Bell rings ]
Narrator: how they're doing...
kevin.
Adam: [ laughs ]
Commence the hubbub!
...is just great.
The guys are aware they're being filmed,
But don't know the purpose of the test.
And round one... oh, my gosh!
Isn't that badass? What happened?
He's showing the tattoo again. That's his move.
...is clicking like clockwork.
An assembly line -- A dating assembly line!
[ Bell rings ]
Jamie: as to whether we see any difference in behavior
Relative to hair color,
I don't think we're gonna notice anything
Until we look at the data.
Narrator: yep, and with round one done,
Those numbers do in fact favor the flaxen-Haired females.
Their average attractiveness
And repeat date scores are higher.
But crucially, until the ladies swap shades
And a comparison is made,
This result is up in the hair.
Narrator: just in case you think
All adam and jamie's builds go smoothly...
ow! [Bleep]
...here's what they didn't want you to see.
Looks like a proper room.
How do i get out?
[ Laughs ] how do i get out?
Does someone have a doorknob?
Can you get me out of here?
Uh...
i'm stuck in the interrogation room!
Narrator: no, really, he is!
Hand me the screwdriver -- Toss that over.
Whoa!
You want my knife?
Great. Got it.
This should be fairly straightforward.
There we go.
Oh, don't -- No, don't help. Don't help.
Great!
I'm free!
Let's bring on the next slide!
Narrator: does the mighty dollar
Really make women hot under the collar?
That is the job of a man-Child.
So far, the anecdotal evidence...
i just think he's too old to have a retail job.
...suggests yes.
[ Cheering ]
Tory: we're about to start round 2.
Now, we have changed some of the jobs of some our men.
Do i think this is gonna have an effect? Yes, absolutely.
I think money definitely changes how women are attracted to men.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Hello!
Kari: now, given what we saw in round 1,
Which was some very lively commentary,
And an average score of 56 out of a possible 120...
you guys ready for this?
I feel like we might see a significant increase
When we change the jobs to be more lucrative.
Narrator: kari introduces the same 12 guys
To an all-New female audience.
But this time, six of them...
introducing scott -- he's an investment banker
From el cerrito, california.
Narrator: ...have been given more upscale hometowns...
kari: this is michael -- he's a cardiologist
From mill valley, california.
Narrator: ...and fat-Cat paychecks.
With the slide parade concluded,
And while the scores are tallied,
Kari gathers some opinions.
All right, so with a show of hands,
Who based their opinion
On how attractive these guys are
Solely on looks?
Okay.
Tory: all right, now what about just purely money,
Did that influence any of you?
All: no.
Wait, what did you say?
No, it doesn't matter, 'cause we work.
Narrator: that's not so good for the myth,
But as the crowd warms up...
he's got a great smile, his eyes giving you contact.
He says, "come right here. i'm gonna have fun."
[ Laughter ]
...a few women indicate higher-Paid positions
May make a difference.
You gave him a what? an eight.
An eight -- Why?
'Cause he's a cardiologist!
[ Laughter ]
Enough said!
So, we had 12 guys,
We changed six of them to higher-Paying salaries,
And that resulted in a plus 23% increase
In their attractiveness score.
Kari: confirmed! It's confirmed.
And in particular, martin,
Our retail clerk turned vascular surgeon --
Plus 32%.
And ian, our mortgage broker turned venture capitalist --
Plus 76%.
You know what i really liked about this myth
Is that at first, i was just like,
"Ew, this is such an awful, shallow clichãƒâ©."
But then when you break it down,
Bigger breasts represent fertility --
Men are attracted to that.
Wealth is just an indicator of being a good provider,
Like a lioness will pick the biggest, strongest lion,
The leader of the pride.
There's a reason for the clichãƒâ©.
It's biology.
Confirmed -- Both of them!
The myths.
Whoa!
Narrator: the team is having a freudian field day...
we're hunting for boobs.
Narrator: ...with the science of sexual attraction.
So, how you doing?
...adam and jamie have commenced round 2
Of a speed-Date round robin.
What did you major in? English.
What's your major? Classic.
Will the girls that have now switched to bubbly blonde
Be rated more attractive?
Adam: scientifically, is there a reason
For men to prefer blondes?
Well, during the last ice age,
A blonde-Hair genetic mutation occurred,
And because it's a recessive gene,
Sexual selection must have played a part
In its propagation.
Sweet! Way to go!
The question is, is that selective bias
Still with us today?
Narrator: there's only one way to find out.
Here we go. [ Bell rings ]
It's the third and final round.
They're all talking about working out.
With the final follicular transformation complete...
i love being able to dip
In and out of these conversations.
This is totally addictive.
Woman: butt-Naked and everything!
Narrator: ...a comprehensive numerical comparison...
it's clear i would love working security at a casino.
You took a seven-Hour bus ride to get here?
[ Bell rings ]
...is now etched in excel.
Are the results in?
The results are in. What did we get?
In our gentlemen prefer blondes testing,
This was the result of what we got.
What's that? This is tv. I can't read all that.
That's all right, 'cause i've been able
To boil all this down to a simple phrase.
"It's a tie".
It's a tie -- Across all of our tests,
We could not find a spike of a preference
For any of the specific hair colors.
Which is what we would expect if hair color was not a factor.
Exactly. The myth is busted.
Gentlemen do not prefer blondes.
So, the team put the sex into science...
[ wolf-Whistle ]
...and when it comes to attraction,
There may be biological laws...
it's like their monkey brain's taking over.
...but beauty is most definitely in the eye of the beholder.
How you doing?