TWO years ago 91av reported Swiss research showing that a sniff of the hormone oxytocin caused people to be more trusting (4 June 2005, p 7). It made male Swiss students give money to strangers in the belief they would give it back, even though the strangers had every reason not to.
Unsurprisingly, this provoked shock-horror media speculation that politicians and others might spray people with oxytocin to engender trust for nefarious purposes. So what are we to make of the New York-based firm Vero Labs which is marketing oxytocin as a spray called Liquid Trust? “Just one or two sprays in the morning after showering, or in the evening before going out, is guaranteed to produce a more trusting atmosphere,” the company claims.
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While posts no testimonials from the Democrats who swept to victory at last year’s congressional elections, there are plenty from customers who say they got marriage proposals, jobs and, in the case of a barman, bigger tips. Vero, however, makes it clear that it is “strongly opposed to the use of Liquid Trust for immoral or illegal manipulations of people”.
Some might say Liquid Trust is just snake oil. Even the original Swiss researchers doubt that it could easily be used to influence people because, they say, it takes an hour to have any effect. But we beg to differ. Like many hormones, oxytocin has an array of effects: it encourages animals to interact, cements pair-bonds, figures in orgasm, triggers labour and starts a mother’s milk flowing. The nasal spray the Swiss used for their research has been marketed for years as a nursing aid.
“A shop in Edinburgh promises “free range furniture”. Steuart Campbell observes that all the furniture is in fact kept inside”
According to a colleague of ours who used it for this purpose, it works in seconds. It is given to nursing mothers as a nasal spray precisely because when administered in this way the hormone crosses straight into the brain, triggering the lactation reflex. Our colleague has no doubt that a sniff of the stuff, even when it’s applied externally, as with Liquid Trust, might well have an instant and powerful effect. But what effect, apart from making milk flow?
The Swiss say that oxytocin causes people to be trusting by lowering barriers to social interaction. So perhaps people who have taken it feel more at ease approaching strangers. The hormone gives them a kind of Dutch (or maybe Swiss) courage.
This is rather different from the ability to manipulate people. Even so, we would rather not think what might happen if Liquid Trust were sprayed around at a football game or a political rally.
SEVERAL readers have sent us what appears to be a photograph of a sign outside Northampton General Hospital in the UK that says: “Family planning advice – use rear entrance”. This would count as a great example of a sign that carries a meaning dramatically different from the one intended, were it not for the fact that the internet abounds with claims that the sign has been seen outside hospitals in other English towns as far apart as Barnstaple and Doncaster. This seems improbable – and photos are very easy to fake these days.
On the other hand, none of the urban myth websites has taken up the story and debunked it, so we are appealing to you for help. Is the Northampton photo a computer-manipulated concoction or does the sign really exist? Any hard evidence that can settle the question either way will be gratefully received.
ANOTHER quantum instruction, similar to the one that tells train passengers to “use all possible doors to exit” (16 June). Kevin Siedentopf works for a manufacturing company that uses big, custom-built machinery. A recent notice sent out to all employees advises them on safe behaviour around one particular machine used for transporting what Siedentopf calls “large assemblies”.
“As a pedestrian,” it told them, “please wait for the loader to pass before crossing in front of it.”
INCOMPREHENSIBLE offer of the week. SkyEurope Airlines’ summer promotion is “99.999 flights for £19 including taxes”. Jim Turton wonders what 0.001 flights would cost – “and indeed where it would get you. Presumably they throw you out after taxiing off the apron and giving you the safety brief.”
FINALLY, here is yet another peculiar Amazon recommendation (10 March). The online retailer suggested to Trevor Gout that he might enjoy The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn Iggulden. He was told it was “recommended because you purchased or rated… the Dyson DC08 Telescope Wrap Animal Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner Silver/Lavender”. Gout says that he did indeed purchase the vacuum cleaner and that so far it has been completely safe.