IS IT LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT OR LOVE AT FIRST SCENT?

WRITER: FRED HILTON

There’s a great scene in “The Godfather” when Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, is hiding out in Sicily because he whacked a corrupt New York City police captain and a rival gangster. Michael is out walking with his bodyguards one day when they see a dark-haired Sicilian hottie named Apollonia. Michael stares intently at Apollonia. His heart goes pitter-patter and he virtually salivates.

The bodyguards giggle and one of them says that Michael has been struck by “the thunderbolt,” which apparently is Mafia-speak for “love at first sight.”

Apollonia shares the instant attraction with Michael and it’s obvious the two have the hots for one another. Soon afterward, they’re married and they live happily ever after—at least until Apollonia is blown to smithereens by a car bomb meant for Michael.

“The thunderbolt” and “love at first sight” are both delightful ways to refer to instant attraction but many authorities insist the phenomenon is created when we catch a whiff of pheromones. These are chemical triggers that cause natural behavior responses in another member of the same species. According to actforlibraries.org, “if you’re looking for the man or woman of your dreams, the scent of your body’s pheromones may be unsuspectingly playing a large and very clever role in mate attraction.”

Neuroscientist Dr. Trisha Strafford told The Huffington Post that the reason pheromones are so important “is because a woman can smell a man—I think it’s from 10 feet away—and what they are smelling is their immune system. In a partner, you are looking for an immune system that is compatible with yours but also different, so you have healthy offspring.”

The time required for this sniff test of romance is an astonishing 300ths of a second, Dr. Stafford said.

The online dating website eHarmony said that in a 1995 study “several men were asked to wear the same T-shirt for two days in a row, and then those stinky Tees were submitted to unsuspecting females for a sniff test.” The women chose the sweaty aromas of the guys whose DNA was least like theirs.

“Animals have demonstrated this behavior for centuries,” eHarmony said. “Dogs sniff one another’s rear ends not only to say hello, but to gather as much information as they can about a strange, new pooch from the odors it emits. Just by sniffing, they can tell if the fellow canine is happy or unhappy, healthy or unhealthy, friend or foe.”

This type of behavior is not recommended for your next dinner party.

Sources “Is Love at First Sight Real? Turns Out There’s Actual Science Behind This Fairytale Phenomenon,” by Marisa Riley, Bustle, bustle.com, May 12, 2014 https://www.bustle.com/articles/24180-is-love-at-first-sight-real-turns-out-theres-actual-sciencebehind-this-fairytale-phenomenon - “Human Pheromones Genetic Mapping Love at first Sight Physical Attraction Find,” Actforlibraries.org http://www.actforlibraries.org/human-pheromones-genetic-mapping-love-at-first-sight-physical-attraction-find/ - “We Talk To A Neuroscientist About Love At First Sight,” by Emily Blatchford, Associate Lifestyle Editor, HuffPost Australia, The Huffington Post, July 21, 2016 http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/07/20/we-talk-to-a-neuroscientistabout-love-at-first-sight/ - “Scent and Attraction: Love at First Whiff?” by eHarmony Staff, eH Advice, eHarmony http://www.eharmony.com/dating-advice/dating/scent-and-attraction-love-at-first-whiff/#.WAt7gPkrLDd - “The Pheromone Revolution – Sexual Attractants and Their Effects on Sex, Confidence and Health,” by John Morgenthaler, Smart Publications http://www.smart-publications.com/articles/the-pheromone-revolution-sexual-attractants-and-their-effects-on-sex