Saturday, July 11, 2009

Let Me Whisper in Your (Right) Ear

Now we know.

Thomas Dolby was onto something.

It's not just poetry in motion. There are clear and obvious electrical, chemical, and scientific causes and effects of everything. Even love. (Maybe especially love.)

Now, what Dolby was trying to tell the world in 1982 (with a little help from Andy Partridge, Lene Lovich, and Bruce Wooley) is finally proven: If you want something, ask the right ear. Requests to the right ear are twice as likely to be granted as requests to the left ear.

So the next time you ask for a raise (or a dance, or a phone number, or anything else), blind them with science.

I'm sorry to report that I plan to use this information for evil, not for good. I wonder if it matters if the listener is a lefty... (Link for Gmail subscribers.)


And of course, there's no guarantees in science, so you have to take the risk that things might wind up like this:

2 comments:

Danny said...

The "one over the eight" in the Costello song refers to the drink that puts you over the edge and gets you smashed. I guess in England, men could handle eight pints, but the 9th made all the difference!

Alex said...

Danny,

Either the pints used to be a lot weaker or the Brits used to be a lot manlier!