Remember a few posts ago I was going on about the importance of smell in selecting a mate? Well now you can throw your own “pheromone party” where guests arrive with their own smelly t-shirts ready for sniffing and choosing. See video here.

I asked evolutionary biologist Jan Havlicek of Charles University in Prague what he reckons about these parties since he’s carried out extensive research on the effects of our bodily smells. He says that given the consistent evidence showing that attractiveness of body odour affects our mate choice decisions and perhaps relationship satisfaction then it seems like a clever idea to organize lonely-heart sessions and base one’s choice on sexiness of the body odour, particularly if you are looking for someone who will turn you on.

“But”, he points out, “if one is trying to find an enjoyable mate in other contexts than the bedroom, I am afraid sexiness of their body odour doesn’t say much about their education, job or political attitudes; or whether they fancy listening to Mick Jagger or Stravinski.”

Quite. But still, pheromone parties could be fun…