Sex and Thanksgiving: Smell the Connection

Until recently the only connection I had between Thanksgiving and sex was a quote usually attributed to comedian Bob Smith about coming out to his family during Thanksgiving:

It wasn't easy telling my parents that I'm gay. I told them at Thanksgiving. I said, "Mom, would you please pass the gravy to a homosexual?" She passed it to my father. A terrible scene followed.

But recently, while trying to investigate just how sketchy the newest scent-based libido booster is (short answer: very sketchy), I came across some research that offers a more direct explanation as to why Thanksgiving is simultaneously such an arousing and anxiety provoking holiday (an explanation that generously avoids any mention of time spent with my family).

The study is one of several fascinating exploratory studies that have been conducted by Dr. Alan Hirsch, the founder and neurological director of The Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation and colleagues, which investigate the relationship between sexual arousal and smell.

The researchers hook subjects up to monitoring equipment (measuring penile blood flow in men and vaginal blood flow in women) and then expose them to a variety of scents and see what grows (or flows, as the case may be). Keeping in mind that there is hardly agreement in the scientific world on the exact meaning of these kinds of measurements they found that there were clear winners and losers in the sexy scent experiments.

So what turns on guys the most? Pumpkin pie and lavender tops the list, increasing penile blood flow by 40%, followed by doughnut and black licorice, lily of the valley, and buttered popcorn.

For women the top producing scent was (I’m not making this up) Good and Plenty candy and cucumber, followed by baby powder, pumpkin pie/lavender, and baby powder/chocolate.

The researchers are not drawing any conclusions from their studies, and acknowledge the dozens of alternative explanations for their findings, the limitations of the research design, and need for further study.

But it’s interesting to note that of the smells the men were exposed to, while pumpkin pie ranked highest, cranberry ranked lowest. It makes you wonder about the sexual conflict every man faces when he sits down to Thanksgiving dinner. It also makes you wonder who finds the combination of baby powder and chocolate arousing.

Read more – Weird Sexual Science: Sex and Thanksgiving

Read more - The Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation: Various Aromas Found to Enhance Male Sexual Response