Flowers really do put women in the mood for love
Filed under: In the news
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A new study has found that a woman is more likely to find a man attractive and accept a date with a stranger if she is near some flowers.
Scientists say that the man doesn’t even need to have bought the flowers himself – as long as there are some nearby, women are more inclined to be receptive to his advances.
The research was conducted by Dr Nicolas Gueguen, a psychologist a the University of South Brittany, who studies the science of attraction.
The Daily Mail reports that he asked 46 female student volunteers to sit a room on their own and watch a video of a man talking about himself.
Half the students watched the video in a room that contained three vases of flowers, a mix of roses, daisies and marigolds. The rest sat in an identical room without flowers.
He found that the women who watched in the room decorated with flowers rated the man as more attractive and were more willing to go on a date with him.
In a second study, the same experiment was repeated with 122 single women aged from 18 to 20.
This time, after watching the video, they were led into a room where the man was waiting. They were old he was a fellow student taking part in the experiment, but he was really an actor, recruited by the scientists.
When they were left alone, the man was instructed to talk for five minutes about the experiment and then ask the woman on a date. Each time he used the same words.
Again, the presence of flowers made the women more receptive. Half of those who watched the video in a the room without flowers accepted the offer of the date, but that rose to 81 per cent for those who had been close to the blooms.
Dr Gueguen said: “These results confirm the popular conception that flowers are able to activate romance and act as a facilitator in dating.”
Do flowers make you feel more romantic? Let us know below…
Click on the image below to see which celeb marriages have lasted a long time…
- Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick: Married 14 years
With three kids and two careers to juggle, SJP is the first to admit her relationship has been through its share of ups and downs, telling the <em>Telegraph </em>that "kids can really distract you from your relationship." Their secret? To keep secrets. SJP told Parade.com: "I like having some mystery in our relationship. I like not knowing everything about my husband. I think people should have things that are theirs, things that are the unknown to someone else. I think it’s good to have some privacy and some secrets in our lives."</div>
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- David Bowie and Iman: Married 19 years
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The rock god and model goddess pairing is a common one, but what’s unusual about these two is that they’ve stuck it out for so long. One reason it works? Only one of them’s a fighter. Iman told <em>Harper’s Bazaar </em>US that: "David doesn’t fight. He is English, so he just stays quiet. I’m the screamer. Then he always makes me laugh. It’s like cabaret. I keep him entertained too. I still fancy him – totally! – after all these years."</p>
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- Elton John and David Furnish: Civil partnership since 2005; together 12 years before that
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Elton and David further cemented their relationship in 2005, when they became fathers via surrogate to baby Zachary. How do they make it work after all of these years? John told <em>Parade </em>magazine in 2010 that they say it in writing. "Every Saturday for 16 years, we’ve sent each other a card, no matter where we are in the world, to say how much we love each other."</p>
- Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas: Married 15 1/2 years
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The two actors have been through thick and thin together (including Griffith’s multiple stints in rehab for prescription pill and alcohol abuse), but look cosier and happier than ever. In fact, as Banderas told <em>Hello</em>! magazine back in 2010, it was their obstacles that strengthened their union: "… there were people who literally didn’t give us more than six months! But we love each other and above all we love our family. We’ve figured out how to get past obstacles – and some of them have been really tough ones – in our relationship; and if you get past those you only get stronger… We keep moving forward, and each day we become even more united."</p>
- Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell: Happily unmarried for 27 years
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Goldie and Kurt still look as happy as they did when they started dating in 1983. Perhaps it’s because they never tied the knot. On US chat show <em>The View</em> in September 2011, Hawn said: "We’re not gonna get married. I mean, we’re happy. I still like the idea that I’m his girlfriend."</p>
- David and Victoria Beckham: Married 12 years
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After over a decade together, four children, three countries and multiple career changes for Victoria, these two seem inseparable. Victoria says they are "soul mates" and David has admitted that what he loves most about his wife is that she’s "an amazing mother." The soccer star told <em>Hello</em>! magazine that they always make time for each other and have a ‘date night’ once a week, while Victoria explained they focus on the kids and the relationship to keep things strong: "You go into a marriage knowing there are going to be ups and downs. We’re in the public eye so we have more to deal with than most. We accepted that years ago. It’s just about us and the family."</p>
- Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson: Married 23 years
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The Hollywood power couple is also one of Tinseltown’s longest-standing relationships, with 23 years and two kids under their belt. Wilson has said that the secret to their wedded bliss is that "we want to be married to each other" and told <em>Success </em>magazine that: "We have a great time together; we have shared values and a desire to be committed to each other."</p>
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- Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick: Married 23 years
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The man who famously said the secret to a happy marriage is to "keep the fights clean and the sex dirty" opened up to Piers Morgan on CNN about his devotion to his wife and why he wouldn’t stray: "I feel like I made a commitment to this person and we enjoy spending time together, and I don’t want to do anything that’s going to threaten that."</p>
- Annette Bening and Warren Beatty: Married 20 years
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Once Hollywood’s most notorious bad-boy, Beatty has been happily married to Bening for two decades and the duo have four children together. The secret to their success? Making time for themselves. "I’ll tell you one secret to keeping the spark there: I think you’ve got to get away, just the two of you, with no kids. And you’ve got to spend time alone; you need to cultivate your own sense of self and nurture that as well," Bening said in the past.</p>
- Sting and Trudie Styler: Married 20 years; together for a decade before
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Sting and Trudie have famously kept the flame of love burning with tantric sex sessions, and even though their all-night long lovemaking may have been exaggerated, the two certainly keep their bedroom antics exciting. "I don’t think pedestrian sex is very interesting," Sting told US <em>Harper’s Bazaar</em> in 2011. "There’s a playfulness we have; I like the theater of sex. I like to look good. I like her to dress up." As for romance, Trudie doesn’t expect flowers or chocolates on special occasions. "Romantic? We like tawdry," he told the mag.</p>
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