03 12 / 2010
Doe-Eyed Deer
Dear Emily,
What’s the deal with love at first sight? Is it legit?
Sincerely,
Doe-Eyed Deer
Dear Doe-Eyed Deer,
Let’s start with a hypothetical situation that probably exactly describes what you’re asking about because I am an expert at understanding and explaining things even when my cat is smushing is handsome little face into mine while I try to do important work like this. So you’re out at a gallery/bar/coffee shop/yarn barn/self-help workshop and upon locking eyes with a complete stranger, your nether region becomes a heat-seeking missile with one singular target: the nether region of your bonerfide soulmate. You must smush now. And you must smush hard.
Is this love at first sight?
Maybe. Or maybe it’s just cold, hard science. I’m 35% sure that everything I’m about to tell you is true because I read it on the internet once when I was drunk and googling things. We have something in our bodies called an immune system and most of the time, the job of this immune system is to protect us from harm. But other times, and these are very special, very sexy times, our immune system wants us to bang the brains out of people we meet to make babies.
Why?
Because they have an opposite immune system from us, and our clever little anti-illness armory can smell this out like a drug-sniffing puppy cop. Basically your immune system is like, “This mysterious newcomer has the immunity yin to my immunity wang and if we mate, our offspring will be super healthy and smart and stuff.” This is definitely what many scholars would give as a reason for that funny feeling you get from your stomach down.
So you see, it could be love. But it could also not be.
Science!
Emily
