Forget the Bar Scene! How About a Bakery-Date?

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Forget the Bar Scene!  How About a Bakery-Date?
By Heath Shive

Hate the bar scene?  Who doesn't?

In movies, books, and TV, bars look so sophisticated.  But honestly, I have never been in a bar for more than 10 minutes without feeling bored - unless I am with friends, in which case, it is the amity and not the bar creating joy.  

But if you're single, where do you go to meet people?  Is it school, work, church, coffee shops, etc.?

Have you thought of a bakery as a dating spot?

To the science!

The Way to a Woman's Heart Is...Through Her Nose?

In 2012, psychologist Nicolas Gueguen performed an experiment.  He sent attractive male 20-somethings into a shopping mall to get the phone numbers of women estimated to be between the ages of 18 and 25. 

This is science?  It's a just a pick-up scene!  But wait, there's more.  

The men were told to approach women in places that had pleasant smells - such as near bakeries and pastry shops - but also to approach women in places with neutral odors. 

More women gave their phone numbers in  areas with pleasant smells!

There has always been an obvious connection between scent and romance - which is why there has been evidence of colognes and perfumes going back thousands of years. 
 
But the study didn't take place next to a perfume counter.  This was fresh-baked goodies!

Pleasant smells can set the mood in courtship, just like lighting, clothing, and deportment.

Don't Bear the Burden of Sexy

So much of what constitutes romance is high-maintenance, neurotic, and superficial. 

We don't have to force ourselves to be sexy all the time.  

Courtship can be simple and pleasant.  We want pleasant experiences - and what is more pleasant than fresh-baked bread, pies, and cakes!    

And according to an article on Pregel magazine online, bakeries had a growth rate of over 7% between 2009 and 2014.  Bakeries are pleasant and hip right now!  

What's wrong with a bakery-date?

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Sources:
Gueguen, Nicolas (2012). The sweet smell of...courtship: Effects of pleasant ambient fragrance on women's receptivity to a man's courtship request. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 32 (2), 123-5

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