NOT THE SAME AS WHEN PEACOCKS FLASH THEIR FEATHERS

Now I know why my wife married me. I did not own a car when we met.

STUDY FINDS PROSPECTIVE WIFEYS NOT GOLD DIGGERS
By Mandy Oaklander

Houston Press Hair Balls
June 17, 2011

If you're a rich single man who owns a Porsche, chances are the dude in the pickup beside you is going to find a spouse sooner than you do.

Don't blame the car. It's probably just you.

So found a study released today by Rice University, UT-San Antonio and the University of Minnesota. Researchers found that men who spend conspicuously do so mostly to attract short-term sexual mates, similar to the way peacocks flash their feathers for a roll in the grass.

Ladies love it for dating. The study found women would rather date a man with a Porsche than one with a Honda Civic. But when it came to marriage, the car didn't make a difference. In fact, the advantage may go to Mr. Civic, because women inferred the Porsche man was searching for uncommitted sex, the study found.

"People may feel that owning flashy things makes them more attractive as a relationship partner, but in truth, many men might be sending women the wrong message," said co-author Daniel Beal, assistant professor of psychology at Rice, in the press release.

Like their peahen equivalents, women lack the peacock gene. They don't need to (or try to) make it rain to attract men, found the study. Luckily, we gals are so evolved that we can see straight through the peacockery. In other words, we can tell who's got a stick and wants our automatic -- for tonight, or till death do us part.