News headline of the day: “Dog owner’s dispute research women more attracted to men with guitars” despite that neither the research nor the news article involved dogs whatsoever

The Gold Star for the news headline of the day goes to my local tabloid daily, the Washington Express: “Dog owner’s dispute research showing women more attracted to men with guitars”

However, neither the research study nor, in fact, the accompanying news story ever mentioned the subject of, or indeed the word dog,

Someone in the newsroom just had either a good sense of humour, a dog, a slow day or, arguably, better taste.

My pal, Lamont, chick magnet

                                      My Pal, Lamont, Chick Magnet in Training 

My Pal, Lamont, insisted I immediately get on the case and both compliment the headline writer and dispute what Lamont is convinced is egregiously flawed scientific methodology most likely financed from slush funds of the guitar lobby.

A recent research study conducted by a psychologist showed men holding a guitar case increased the odds women would give him give their phone number. Researchers had a previously-determined “attractive” man approach with a smile 300 young women in the shopping district of a medium-size city, stating “Hello. My name’s Antoine. I just want to say that I think you’re really pretty. I have to go to work this afternoon, and I was wondering if you would give me your phone number. I’ll phone you later and we can have a drink together someplace.”

When the man was carrying a guitar case, 31 percent of women provided him with their phone number. When the man had no bag at all, only 14 percent of women gave him their phone number. When holding a sports bag, only 9 percent of women gave their phone number to him.

An earlier 2012 study conducted in Israel published in Letters on Evolutionary Behavioral Science showed female students at Tel Aviv University and Ben Gurion University were more likely to accept a man’s Facebook friend request when his profile picture showed him playing a guitar.

A later Israeli study had women requesting male students as Facebook friends found that a woman holding a guitar in her profile picture made no difference to whether men would accept her friend request.

No study is known to have been conducted on the subject substituting a dog for a guitar, so the newspaper headline writer appeared to just kinda make that part up.

Lamont making his case