discovery channel: the science of sex appeal

i stumbled upon this documentary programme on the discovery channel last night, it was already mid-way through when i first tuned in but the subject of discussion was so interesting, i just had to sit down and watch through the rest of it.

the science of sex appeal.

this 1.5-hour documentary attempts to explain - through its various tests and experiments conducted on both genders - the science behind sexual attraction, what instinctually appeals to us, how and why.

"The Science of Sex Appeal isolates every detail of human sex appeal and explores it in terms of its evolution and function. It shows us what is genetic, what is hormonal, and what neurological. Sex appeal can be based on sight, smell and subtle cues like voice and movement.

Ultimately, The Science of Sex Appeal takes one of our deepest subconscious processes and lays it out to us in shocking and specific detail. You’ll never look at a stranger, your loved one, or yourself, in quite the same way again." (abstract from discovery channel store)

this is quite an informative discovery journey. the documentary covered a wide range of physical factors such as facial features, symmetries, the feminity and masculinity of one's features, skin; to differences in voice/pitch, smell, body shapes, movements, perception, hormones, neural patterns, to a woman's ovulation cycle etc. and each of their correlation to sexual appeal.

many of the findings are very interesting and insightful - things you'd never known or thought had any relation to sexual appeal at all, some of which so subtle, acted upon in such subconsciousness, you'd be surprised by it. i found myself drawn into, amazed and impressed by each and every one of the experiments and their results.

if you didn't get to catch the show last night, you'd still be able to watch the individual sections (short clips) on the discovery channel website, or go rent or buy the DVD for this weekend :)