LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
What Your Eyes Can Tell You About Love
Here at Primary Eye Care, our doctors strive to learn as much as they can about the human eye. One facet of optometry (the study of the eyeball) they find particularly intriguing is its association with feelings of affection. Take a moment and imagine that you are gazing deep into the eyes of a person you love. As you stare longingly, you take note of the color of their eyes, the overall shape, and even the length of their lashes. You also notice that the longer you affectionately gaze, the wider their pupils become. There is a scientific reason their pupils grow as they stare back at you. — it’s the stuff of heroic epics and fanciful fairy tales. But while old idioms claim that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” evidence has increasingly shown that our brains are hard-wired to both display and notice visual clues when gazing at a potential love interest. Larger pupils are one such clue. When you survey a person or object you are interested in, your brain releases a surge of dopamine (a chemical that helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centers), which causes your pupils to dilate. The connection between eyes and love has been well- documented in poetry and prose since time immemorial
In the last decade, researchers have determined that from a romantic and reproductive standpoint, both men and women are attracted to partners with bigger pupils. Studies demonstrate that when women are at their peak of fertility, they might subconsciously be more inclined to seek out a partner with sizable pupils because that would indicate a partner’s attraction to them. Likewise, researchers have reported that men seek out women with dilated pupils due to the idea that eyes are associated with youth and longevity. While the connection between our eyes and our love lives has inspired some of Shakespeare’s most iconic sonnets, the science behind the human eyeball validates some of the Bard of Avon’s romantic claims. If nothing else, it certainly gives “love at first sight” a whole new meaning.
HAVE A LAUGH
Homemade MARSHMALLOWS
INGREDIENTS • 3 packages unflavored gelatin • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar • 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract • Powdered sugar, to coat
DIRECTIONS 1. In a mixing bowl, combine gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water. Let sit while you make the syrup. 2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water until the sugar dissolves. 3. Raise heat to high and bring syrup up to 240 F, using a candy thermometer to check for temperature. 4. With an electric whisk on low speed, slowly whisk syrup into gelatin mixture. Switch speed to high and whip for 15 minutes, until very thick. Fold in vanilla after whipping. 5. Dust a nonmetal baking dish with powdered sugar and spoon mixture into dish. Smooth mixture, top with more powdered
sugar, and let stand uncovered overnight. 6. Cut into squares, decorate, and serve.
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