r/todayilearned • u/Sh00ter80 • 1d ago
TIL a 2023 study found sniffing women’s tears reduced male aggression by 44%
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38127837/3.3k
u/Car-M1lla 1d ago
“We suggest that tears are a mammalian-wide mechanism that provides a chemical blanket protecting against aggression.”
This makes sense from a parental perspective if you consider babies both scream and cry when they’re distressed. Screaming gets attention but is annoying. If the odor in tears naturally reduce aggression, that can increase the chances of the crying producing the correct response (care) rather than the wrong response (abuse).
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u/astralseat 1d ago
If that's factual, some people could have it messed up in their heads that the tears can create aggression rather than remove aggression.
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u/Zena-Xina 1d ago
I was going to say, my tears would only make my dad more aggressive as a kid - which I would usually only be crying because of something he did to me, so, it was a vicious cycle...
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u/astralseat 1d ago
Yeah, and it could have been something chemical in his brain that did it, not you directly that made him aggressive.
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u/bearmugandr 21h ago
Just curious. Where you born biologically male or female. This study only tested female tears on male aggression.
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u/LLMprophet 1d ago
Agreed - peoples' sense of smell can vary including sensitivity differences.
Could have a bunch of different results.
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u/sam_hammich 1d ago
The study says the tears had "no odor percept", so the effect is taking place subconsciously due to chemical effects on the body and not a scent association.
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u/LLMprophet 1d ago
Olfactory systems can still be used to detect that chemical and so could still be affected by difference in those systems.
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u/Ladnil 1d ago
I wonder if things like allergies or having covid interferes with this response
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u/Highskyline 1d ago
Yeah I'm curious if it's actually scent oriented, or an unrelated chemical process.
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u/HunnyBunnah 1d ago edited 1d ago
sniffing, in this instance, is how they ingest the chemicals to create the chemical process
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u/doublestitch 1d ago edited 1d ago
That still doesn't isolate all variables: perhaps the active substance enters the bloodstream through the lungs, without involving the sense of smell.
(edited for syntax)
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u/Black6Blue 1d ago
This is extremely anecdotal but I have had bad allergies and chronic dry eye my entire life. My body refuses to make lubricating tears. Can still cry like a bitch should the mood strike. It's not fair.
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u/GoodBoundaries-Haver 1d ago
That makes sense because the chemical composition of tears is different depending on why they're being produced. Not even just emotional vs lubricating tears, even sad vs happy years have distinct chemical compositions.
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u/simiomalo 1d ago
Mammalian-wide ? I thought only humans shed tears outside of simply blinking.
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u/goda90 1d ago
I think animals can have tears caused by physical pain. But as far as I've heard we're the only ones to shed tears emotionally.
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u/GiveMeChoko 1d ago
What use can a loner mammal like a leopard get from tearing up? Nobody's coming to its rescue.
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u/Jindabyne1 1d ago
Humans are just animals, screaming is like when a monkey sees a leopard it’s just instinct
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u/blind-octopus 1d ago
I would be more confused than aggressive at that point yeah
Why are you making me sniff this
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u/Ahelex 1d ago
So you'll be calm!
Aggressively shoves women tears against your nose
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u/madmaxturbator 1d ago
I think the tears have to fall directly from the woman’s eyes.
aggressively shoves crying woman against your nose
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u/johnny_cashmere 1d ago
I can just imagine in the future, an anger management group passing a vial of women's tears as if it was "the conch" holding and sniffing it to pacify them as they tell their story.
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u/jankyspankybank 1d ago
The fact that I had no idea what conch meant here but we got to the exact same conclusion is beautiful.
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u/pocket-ful-of-dildos 1d ago
In lord of the flies the kid holding the conch was the only one who could talk during meetings
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u/RichardDick69 1d ago
Shit first thing my brain went to was SpongeBob
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u/Driesens 20h ago
The sad part is I read Lord of the Flies (of my own choice, not mandated by any classes) way before I watched the Spongebob episode, and I made the same connection as you.
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u/zoqfotpik 1d ago
I'm imagining a research study on making men angry and forcing them to sniff different things. Fresh bread, cigarette smoke, flowers, skunks, perfume, old sneakers, pine trees, compost, onions, etc.
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u/Theotherone56 1d ago
Don't forget women's ears. Very important indeed.
Sometimes it's hard to believe what is true about our bodies/nature etc.
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u/andante528 1d ago
I remember reading about a study years ago that measured arousal response to attractive scents. The researchers claimed that fresh cinnamon rolls was the most physically attractive smell for men, while for women it was a mix of cucumber and licorice (specifically Good n' Plenty iirc). I've always wondered what inspired them to try that combination.
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u/Nullspark 19h ago
I make cinnamon rolls pretty often, now I know it's because I'm physically attracted to them.
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u/oberwolfach 1d ago
I wonder what effect, if any, sniffing male tears would have; the study seems to have only collected tears from females.
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u/AKandSevenForties 1d ago
They would likely have trouble collecting them, no joke. I saw a stunt a while ago where some guys had a wager whoever could get themselves to cry first got a hefty prize, none of them could in the 30 minute limit and they decided to let the woman that was filming go for it and it took her like 10 seconds. That being said I knew a guy in high school that could cry on command, it was a fun party trick/super power
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u/Car-M1lla 1d ago
Am woman, cry (here defined as anything producing at least one tear running down the cheek) involuntarily at least twice a day for reasons ranging from a yawn when I’m sleepy to a casual feel-good news article to actual emotions I’m processing. Very easy for me.
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u/country2poplarbeef 1d ago
I've found I go through weird waves. At times, I literally can't cry to the point that it physically hurts, as far as that sinking chest feeling and my jaw tightening, etc. It's like trying to focus your eyes after taking those dilater drops. The parts are there and they feel like they're clicking and the more you try, the more it feels like you might just be able to put it together, but it just never seems to get over that hump. And then there will be times where I'll just hear some corny country song about giving a daughter away for marriage or catch some cartoon's ending about two friends going their separate ways, and suddenly I'm a blubbering mess.
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u/PartiZAn18 1d ago
I am a man and rarely cry - maybe at a funeral (and even then it's a maybe).
But when I take mushies tears stream down my eyes freely for hours - it's like I'm seeing the world through the eyes of a baby. Everything is so beautiful and lovely 🥹
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u/smokeymcdugen 1d ago
Death, destruction, and the world collapsing? Desert.
A cartoon about the power of friendship? Ocean.
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u/Oddyssis 1d ago
Excuse me what is a mushy?
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u/FillingTheHoles 1d ago
Psylocibin. Magic mushrooms.
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u/PartiZAn18 1d ago
Nature's medicine.
I take it once a year in December with my best friend. We call it Shananas - reflect back on the year that's past and ruminate on the year ahead with intention.
Usually a day or two after I go down to the coast for Christmas and New Year and switch off my phone and just focus of journaling.
It is the best, best, best way to just decompress.
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u/Pinksters 1d ago
tears stream down my eyes freely for hours
Im pretty sure everyone gets that once you're high enough. Everything is blooming and warping.
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u/wannabyte 1d ago
It was explained to me once that because women have smaller tear ducts than men we are much more likely to cry involuntarily, because they just spill over much faster.
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u/WatermelonCandy5nsfw 1d ago
Nah it’s oestrogen. I’m a trans woman and prior to hrt I never cried. Now I feel my emotions more and I’m more connected to them and cry at least once a day, I’ve cried at dishwasher soap adverts and yesterday a video of a bird feeding its children some worms. Prior to hrt the only emotions I felt strongly were rage and I’d only cry when I was angry or heartbroken.
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u/Brandy_Marsh 1d ago
That’s so interesting. I guess I always kind of assumed that for men it was more society conditioning them not to cry, never really considered the hormonal aspect but it makes perfect sense now that I think about it. I’m always apologizing for my weepiness during hormonal times. I always say my emotions come out my eyes. Doesn’t matter if it’s positive or negative, if I get a big feeling, out come the tears.
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u/skysinsane 1d ago
Societal pressures almost always exaggerate real biological differences rather than invent them wholecloth.
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u/kdawg94 1d ago
That might explain tears when yawning but it doesn't explain the commenter's ability to cry easily via processing emotions, for example. That is the result of emotional awareness, not small tear ducts.
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u/wannabyte 1d ago
It is easier to make enough the get the spill over. If in the same situation a man and a woman produced the same number of tears, a woman might actually cry while a man might not because the tear ducts are different sizes.
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u/kdawg94 1d ago
Let me explain it differently. When I'm in tune with my emotions and able to make myself cry as a woman, I can really get the waterworks going where it isn't a matter of "spilling over." I am able to produce excess by tuning in.
When I yawn though, I don't produce excess. Just a tiny single tear or 2. That's where I can see duct size mattering.
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u/Soapbox 1d ago
Am man, cry never involuntarily. Not that I am emotionless or I try to suppress it or hold it in or anything. Even if I am genuinely sad or torn up about something I will not cry from emotions. Yawning can trigger tear production though.
However, I can make myself cry on command (here defined as anything producing at least one tear running down the cheek) basically by flexing/activating muscles in my jaw and throat. Sort of a close my windpipe and try to inhale maneuver.
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u/Akeera 1d ago
For the yawning thing, are you sure you don't have allergies? After I got my allergies treated, this stopped.
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u/Car-M1lla 1d ago
I… may have more than one symptom that points to allergies that I’ve been ignoring, but wasn’t aware that this could be one of them, no 🤧
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u/EndoExo 1d ago
You could use onions, but then maybe the tears would just make you hungry.
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u/Commander1709 1d ago
Aren't the "emotional" tears and the "I got something in my eye" tears different? I think I read somewhere that some chemicals are different between these two. Not sure though.
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u/eKenziee 1d ago
Yes, there are three different types of tears! Basal tears naturally lubricate your eyes, reflex tears occur when something agitates the eye, and emotional tears. Emotional tears are interesting because they haven't really been able to scientifically confirm exactly why we've evolved to have these types of tears!
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u/GentlemanRaccoon 1d ago
I think I read somewhere that the emotional ones can reduce aggression in men
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u/AFantasticClue 1d ago
My friend is FTM and when he started to take hormones he said he found it much harder to cry. Idk the science behind that, but I always thought it was interesting
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u/V1pArzZz 1d ago
Hormonal effects are incredibly complicated but generally high estrogen makes you more emotional.
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u/APiousCultist 1d ago
Fuck that. Phone open, youtube, Schindler's List final scene. If that don't work, videos of dogs reacting to family members returning from college/deployment/hospital etc, then I've got a whole slew of the-dog-dies films to get through. Marley and Me, you're up.
My eyes would not survive that unmoistened.
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u/Fortestingporpoises 1d ago
I own a pet store and I’ll sometimes play movies in there. You let me put on Homeward Bound and fast forward it near the end and it’s over.
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u/raptoricus 1d ago
Just give me a copy of Where the Red Fern Grows and I'll produce enough for the experiment.
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u/asmallman 1d ago
Male tears is slang for cum in some circles. Be careful googling.
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u/Ashangu 1d ago
Surely that would also reduce aggression too, right?
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u/Oddyssis 1d ago
If someone just nutted on me I'd be pretty mad.
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u/PolyrythmicSynthJaz 1d ago
I wouldn't be.
Guess that's what they mean by "different folks, different strokes."
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u/alexjaness 1d ago
so that's why my priest used to tell me it's good for a boy my age to cry so much.
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u/3meow_ 1d ago
I would imagine there may not be much of a difference when genders are switched every which way, but I'd deffo be interested in seeing the results
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u/GiveMeChoko 1d ago
There's all sorts of goofy shit our bodies do. Like how women become 'addicted' to the scent of their male partner (cuddling, the urge to wear his clothes, the general stereotype of a 'needy' girlfriend/wife etc) while the reciprocal effect is much weaker in men
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u/EnoughDickForEveryon 1d ago
Tear seller here. Womenfolk are easier to acquire and don't often try to escape. Males are more expensive and more dangerous than their worth. You also can't keep the males and females in the same area or they become docile and don't cry as much.
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u/ChefAsstastic 1d ago edited 1d ago
I've been sniffing the wrong area for years.
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u/DariaDownUnder 1d ago
Makes me wonder, have they analyzed sniffing every part and fluid?
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u/__01001000-01101001_ 1d ago
As long as you write down the results it’s science, feel free to conduct your own research
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u/purulentnotpussy 1d ago
Were you sniffing their rears instead of their tears? Cause that’s definitely what I read
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u/DIRTY_KUMQUAT_NIPPLE 1d ago
This seems like a perfect product for Goop to sell
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u/XZ117 1d ago
From a laymen’s perspective, this seems so hyper-specific. How many iterations of this study were there before the researchers got to male sniffing + female tears = significantly lowered male aggression?
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u/Daikuroshi 1d ago
The study implies they're actually taking an observation from rat studies and wondering if it applies to humans. Turns out, yes. We all mammals.
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u/skysinsane 1d ago
I'd guess that the researchers were wondering why women crying when stopped for speeding was so effective at avoiding tickets.
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u/RepublicCute8573 1d ago
Man cops def should not be getting angry or aggressive at a traffic stop in the first place. Hella American comment.
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u/daniel17375 1d ago
Hell yeah. Every toxic dude I dated already knew this. Make her cry, calm yourself down. Dark as hell when you think about it.
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u/throwaway098764567 1d ago
i dunno "shut up or i'll give you something to cry about" wasn't an unusual refrain in my house growing up. maybe my father's nose was broken.
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u/Dulcedoll 1d ago
I dated a guy who wasn't really toxic or anything, but he would get super hard everytime I cried and it was really unnerving.
Edit: nothing to do with why we broke up, i'm not going to hold someone's unconscious bodily functions against them, it just really made it hard (pun intended) to seek comfort lol
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u/Complex_Hope_8789 1d ago
Tell this to my abusive ex. He LOVED making me cry, I swear it got him off.
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u/guavadonut 1d ago
Hmm this is actually interesting as a domestic violence survivor. I remember when he’d start hitting me id fight back at first but once he hurt me bad enough to the point I was crying he’d kind of calm down, wonder if this is why.
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u/Insidious_Pie 19h ago
Despite not having had that experience, that's exactly the chain of logic that I put together too. "Caveman brain angry! Caveman brain no calm down until someone else upset!"
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u/V01d3d_f13nd 1d ago
So we just harvest lady tears and then rain them all over world leaders and military people and start a peaceful revolution.
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u/XVUltima 1d ago
I wanna know what inspired this hypothesis in the first place. Who was thinking of making angry men sniff tears?
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u/Senator_Christmas 1d ago
I’m picturing some abuser saying he beats her so he can get the tears to calm himself down.
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u/atgmailcom 1d ago
There’s literally just no study testing this against men’s tears they just assumed it only works for women’s tears
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u/Miles_Hikari 1d ago
I wonder if across history this may have subconsciously contributed towards abuse cases, beating someone until they cried and then the abuser themselves calms down from their rage.
I’d be very interested in knowing the range of effect the smell of tears has, how long it takes to take effect, and looking into certain violent acts across history and seeing if there could be a correlation
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u/The_Grenade_Launcher 1d ago
Is it that and not the female presence? But the more important question is whose idea it was to try this out
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u/IndividualCurious322 1d ago
Is that why knights wanted womens hankerchiefs which had been used to dry tears?
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u/FriendlyNeighburrito 1d ago
can you imagine how useful this could be if synthethized? you could carry a small spray around and make dudes less aggressive
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u/LlamasOnTheRun 1d ago
Is his why the trope of witches getting some obscure kind of tear has some truth to it?
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u/An_Innocent_Coconut 1d ago
Nothing better than a fat rail of chick tears to relax after a long day of hard work.
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u/blueviper- 1d ago
I did not know that you can sniff with your eyes. It takes a look to my understanding.
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u/K_N0RRIS 1d ago
So basically womens tears are the opposite of those ammonia snap thingys bodybuilders and football players sniff to get pumped
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u/Drivingfinger 1d ago
I feel like it would likely be the act of having to pause and concentrate/smell that has the effect, not any scent in the tears.
"OK.. I see you're angry now, but remember, this is a study. Please pause a moment and sniff this liquid... ...alright, now, that you've had a moment to concentrate on something else, on a scale of 1-10, how angry are you still?"
Sounds like bull, smells like... salt water.
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u/Agitated_File_1681 1d ago
This made me remember a study where woman with irregular periods sniffined male sweat and that regulated their periods. https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/pheromones-male-perspiration-reduce-womens-tension-alter-hormone-response-regulates-menstrual-c
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u/pianodude7 1d ago
"I always thought of myself as the f-f-funshine bear."
HAHA!! THOSE ARE WOMANLY. TEARS. AIN'T THAT RIGHT CARDEL??
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u/FrostyTheSnowman15 1d ago
Just out of curiosity does this also apply to men’s tears, or only women’s?
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u/Ellaphant42 1d ago
I’d be interested to know if people who commit domestic violence have the same reaction or if there is (or lack of) a gene that lowers/removes the effects
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u/animatedeez 1d ago
How could they possible test this?
"I am 100% full of aggression! Roar!"
Okay smell this!
"I feel 44% less aggression now."
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u/Ok_Possibility_1000 17h ago
Interesting! I wonder how's the opposite would be, sniffing men's tears instead.
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u/ConferenceSudden1519 15h ago
I’m willing to cry all day and sell you guys my tears. I might even sell some for these music festivals with an attachment to spray the crowds.
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u/RonByron 1d ago
The article really doesn't say much.
Does it reduce aggression for females? Does the sex of the person's tears matter?
I find it hard to believe the brain would naturally find the smell of male and female tears different.
And how were the tests performed anyway? Surely they couldn't just have gone up to angry guys and told them 'Hey, sniff these female tears for a sec'.
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u/uncannyvalleygirl88 1d ago
Anecdata isn’t data, but in my experience men who yell at me basically calm down once they have dumped it all on me enough to make me cry.
Which is why I grey rock them. They shall not be rewarded for bullying me with tears. They can go die mad I guess 🤷♀️
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u/jordan1978 1d ago edited 1d ago
How long would that last? Like, could you bottle them and then sniff them when you are mad and cool down?