A writer pal of mine wrote about love archetypes a while back, a concept I’d never thought much about when crafting a love scene, probably because my lovers develop their character traits as I write. Not much of a planner, me. My last post was more of a how-to-get-them-to-fall-in-love deal. In my research I stumbled upon a ton of “love tidbits” and so I thought I’d share more of them with you this week.
Did you know that…
- Men who kiss their wives in the morning live five years longer than those who don’t.
- When it comes to doing the deed early in the relationship, 78 percent of women would decline an intimate rendezvous if they had not shaved their legs or underarms.
- Feminist women are more likely than other females to be in a romantic relationship.
- Two-thirds of people report that they fall in love with someone they’ve known for some time vs. someone that they just met.
- People telling the story of how they fell in love overwhelmingly believe the process is out of their control.
- Falling in love can exert the same stress on your body as deep fear. You see the same physiological responses — pupil dilation, sweaty palms, and increased heart rate.
- Being in love can induce a calming effect on the body and mind and raises levels of nerve growth factor for about a year, which helps to restore the nervous system and improves the lover’s memory.
- Brain scans show that people who view photos of a beloved experience an activation of the caudate — the part of the brain involving cravings.
- Couples’ personalities converge over time to make partners more and more similar.
- The tradition of the diamond engagement ring comes from Archduke Maximillian of Austria who, in the 15th century, gave a diamond ring to his fiancée, Mary of Burgundy.
- Forty-three percent of women prefer their partners never sign “love” to a card unless they are ready for commitment.
- People who are newly in love produce decreased levels of the hormone serotonin — as low as levels seen in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Perhaps that’s why it’s so easy to feel obsessed when you’re smitten.
- Philadelphia International Airport finished as the No. 1 best airport for making a love connection, according to an online survey. (I was stranded there once for several hours and it almost happened.)
- According to mathematical theory, we should date a dozen people before choosing a long-term partner; that provides the best chance that you’ll make a love match. (Okay, I did this one wrong.)
- A man’s beard grows fastest when he anticipates sex.
- When we get dumped, for a period of time we love the person who rejected us even more. The brain regions that lit up when we were in a happy union continue to be active.
- There’s a reason why office romances occur: The single biggest predictor of love is proximity. Familiarity breeds comfort and closeness… and romance. Maybe that’s why so many movie stars fall in love when making a film, it’s tough to avoid that workplace romance, especially when you’re simulating sex!
- A simple peck uses two muscles; a passionate kiss, on the other hand, uses all 34 muscles in your face. Now that’s a rigorous workout!
- Like fingerprints or snowflakes, no two lip impressions are alike.
- Kissing is good for what ails you. Research shows that the act of smooching improves our skin, helps circulation, prevents tooth decay, and can even relieve headaches.
- The average person spends 336 hours of his or her life kissing.
- Ever wonder how an “X” came to represent a kiss? Starting in the Middle Ages, people who could not read used an X as a signature. They would kiss this mark as a sign of sincerity. Eventually, the X came to represent the kiss itself.
- Talk about a rush! Kissing releases the same neurotransmitters in our brains as parachuting, bungee jumping, and running.
- The average woman kisses 29 men before she gets married. (There’s no research on how many frogs.)
- Men who kiss their partners before leaving for work average higher incomes than those who don’t.
- The longest kiss in movie history was between Jane Wyman and Regis Tommey in the 1941 film, You’re in the Army Now. It lasted 3 minutes and 5 seconds..
Excerpted from Laura Schaefer’s Man with Farm Seeks Woman with Tractor and Dr. Helen Fisher’s Why We Love.
Next up: Writing Erotic Romance
