A new study reports that the smell of male underarm funk makes men dig Men's Health magazine. In experiments run by researchers from the University of Ulster and University of Vienna, male and female subjects wore masks sprayed with either androstenol–a pheromone in men's underarm sweat–or a "control solvent." They were then shown issues of Allure, National Geographic, and Men's Health magazine. From New Scientist:
The male participants exposed to androstenol rated Men's Health as significantly more masculine and more appealing compared with the control group. They also had a higher tendency to report that they might buy the magazine. Women appeared to be completely unaffected by the pheromone…
"This opens up the possibility of using odours to give specific emotional meaning to products – and creates ethical issues about whether this should be done if they are used at imperceptible levels," (says University of Ulster professor Michael Kirk-Smith).
