Tears, Idle Tears, I Know Not How They Smell

    In a fascinatingly bizarre (or, if you prefer, bizarrely fascinating) article, the New York Times reports that a team of scientists at the Weizmann Institute in Israel has discovered that the aroma of female tears is a major cause of Erectile Dysfunction in the male population.
    According to team leader and professor of neurobiology Noam Sobel (at least I assume he was the team leader since he’s the only member that reporter Pam Belluck quotes), "Chemical signaling is a form of language. Basically what we’ve found is the chemo-signaling word for ‘no’ — or at least ‘not now.’"
    I don’t pretend to have conducted an exhaustive or even an inexhaustive field study on the matter, but on the rare occasions when I have been rejected by a female, she didn’t discourage me by bursting into a flood of pheromone-flavored tears, but, rather, by flourishing a canister of pepper spray or by snarling "Put your pants on and stop waving that disgusting thing at me" or "You’ve got to be kidding" or "Get the hell out of my apartment before I call the police."
    Now I’m certainly not going to question the learnéd Dr. Sobel’s insights or his carefully controlled double-blind (double nose-stopped?) studies, but I, like most men, have learned to steer clear of weeping females, especially during those monthly events known in the trade as PMS, lest I get my face shredded or a steak knife inserted in my ribs. My point is that an alert, reasonably hip male will not get near enough to a weepy female to inhale her tears.
    According to reporter Belluck, the next project in line for Dr. Sobel’s team of researchers is to look into the scentual implications of male tears although, apparently, they are finding it difficult to locate men with the ability to weep on command ─ unlike the many female volunteers they recruited whose tear ducts were ready to spring into action at the mere whisper of such upsetting terms as "boyfriend," "father," "husband," "chauvinist pig," and "lousy bastard." (I should mention, in this regard, that Ms. Belluck couldn’t resist a clever little Timesian dig at Republican House Speaker John Boehner as a possible donor of masculine eye moisture.)
    Dr. Sobel’s research has come under peer-review criticism stemming from the fact that all of the tear donors were Jewish females and all of the tear snorters were Jewish males. A cursory examination of the literature ─ especially the shticks of Jewish comedians ─ testifies to a distinct fear, even awe and terror, of the Jewish male vis-à-vis the Jewish female. As British Nasalologist John Cleese hazarded, "Might the results have been compromised by the pollution of the sample tears with eau de yenta?" (Prof. Cleese’s critique was rebutted by Dr. Sobel who pointed out that the great Sigmund Freud’s entire psychoanalytical edifice was based on a several couch sessions with a few neurotic Viennese Jewesses.)
    Other experts have noted Dr. Sobel’s failure to provide detailed information on the ages and experiential backgrounds of the male sniffers. Were they beardless youths, unfamiliar with the multitude of odors and perfumes either intentionally applied by members of the opposite sex or manufactured willy-nilly by one or another of their specialized body parts? Or were they experienced roues, well-versed with the array of scents emanating from the nubile female and, hence, alert to subtle olfactory warnings of coming castration?
    Be that as it may, Dr. Sobel’s research does provide invaluable behavioral information for men, youths, boys, dotards, and bull dykes hoping to get into the pants of one or more of their significant (or insignificant) others:

1. Do not, under any circumstances, permit target to watch a chick flick before you hop into the sack with her.
2. Carefully monitor target’s alcohol and recreational drug intake in order to prevent her from crossing that fine line between the relaxation of inhibitions and dissolution into a tear-soaked homicidal rage.
3. If target starts weeping when you cuddle up to her in bed, immediately cease breathing, pinch your nostrils closed and, whatever you do, do not sniff, snort, or attempt to taste any of her tear drops.
4. Should target erupt into tears for no reason at all, do not try to comfort her or discuss the situation rationally. Instead, avoid inhaling any of the negative pheromones trickling down her cheeks by withdrawing quickly to a distance of at least 10 yards or, better yet, leaving the house.
5. If there are signs that target is on the verge of a good cry (snot bubbles, reddening of eyes and nostrils) strike a preemptive blow by starting to cry yourself. This will bring out the mothering instinct in her which, if not quite as fun as getting her into heat, is still a hell-or-a-lot better than being smashed on the head with a cast-iron frying pan.

Norm Mack, Peterborough, dog@myfairpoint.net

 

What did you think of this article?




Trackbacks
  • No trackbacks exist for this post.
Comments
  • No comments exist for this post.
Leave a comment

Submitted comments are subject to moderation before being displayed.

 Name

 Email (will not be published)

 Website

Your comment is 0 characters limited to 3000 characters.