Histo-compatibility over horoscopes?

Scientists have been sniffing around the issue of scent and compatibility for a while now, so the news last week of a young woman from Bihar intending to divorce her husband because of his poor personal hygiene should corroborate other empirical correlations. After all, just about a year ago, another woman — that time from Madhya Pradesh — had gone to court on similar grounds and a six-month separation had been ordered so that they could come to their (olfactory and sanitary) senses. Clearly for some people, the realisation that their relationship or marriage stinks dawns literally not intuitively. These Indian examples should come as no surprise, however, as lack of personal hygiene ranks high in the worldwide list of reasons cited by couples for separating.

This makes a case for placing histo-compatibility over horoscopes as a matchmaking device; the importance of pheromones — and hence smell — even in human relationships cannot be ignored. In that context, it may be enlightening to examine several research studies — and even the hook-ups of a mail-order dating service launched in the West a few years ago — based on people selecting mates from their used tee-shirts. Meanwhile, the stink about feculent spouses raised by the two grossed-out Indian women indubitably points to the importance of coming clean about personal habits.