Sticking with the Valentine Romance Theme…
Sweet Minnesota girl, Laurel, sends us a piece from the New York Times. It claims people can fall in love with anyone after answering 36 questions and staring into a guy’s eyes for four minutes. According to the study, virtual strangers come into a lab, reveal the answers to the questions, stare at each other and walk out in love.
It’s based on psychiatrist Arthur Aron’s study first conducted in 1997. Aron wanted to see if closeness could be created in an experimental environment. Turns out, it seems so. He brought in two heterosexual strangers and they married six months later. And many more. What brings it to light today is NYT columnist Mandy Lee Catron. She tries it a couple months ago and ends up in a relationship with a stranger. Whaaa?
Color this girl skeptical. I take a closer look. There are 36 questions in all, three sets, each progressing to the more intimate. I’m stuck on the four solid minutes staring into a stranger’s eyes. Unless the eyes are that bluish green and they find me kinda cute. But where the hell are you gonna find that?
So, what the dolls want to know is: What are the questions? Here’s a sampling.
Round One.
When you make a phone call, do you ever rehearse what you will say? Why?
Well, duh, yes. Because phone calls serve a purpose and you better be prepared. Doesn’t everyone pace across the room sounding all cheery, remembering to smile while chatting? Do you want to close the deal or not? Pfft.
When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?
Are you kidding? To myself: An hour ago. To someone else: The last time I danced at the dive country bar. Same goes for dancing. Again pfft.
Take four minutes and tell your partner your life story in as much detail as possible.
No. Thank you very much. That is all.
Round Two.
If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, your future or anything else—what would you want to know?
Where the hell is my bestseller, Asshat?
What is the greatest accomplishment of your life?
Pfft. Chickens.
Is there something you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you?
Doing it. Call me Badass.
Round Three.
Share with your partner an embarrassing moment in your life.
Pick one. Are we talking physical, I Love Lucy kind of stuff, or everyday, ordinary hit things with your car and squee at a moment of silence?
Complete this sentence: “I wish I had someone with whom I could share…”
Wine? Wait. I have all my dolls for that. Perhaps that other thing that people do, although I am pretty picky. Let’s go back to the wine.
What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about?
Nada, nada, nada. I make a living finding funny in the underbrush. Nothing is off limits. I laugh about a dead husband—it’s twisted in here. Don’t know there’s a guy who can take that in stride. Yikes.
Wanna see the whole list of questions or just want to grab a stranger and fall in love?
Follow this link.
The Duchess Diaries 