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Why corny pickup lines (surprisingly) work, explained by science

A new study is reporting that women prefer creative, metaphorical compliments over more literal compliments.

Women prefer creative pickup lines

Pull up Reddit and do some research on memes, friends, because a new study is reporting that women prefer creative, metaphorical compliments—like a Ryan Gosling “Hey girl” joke—over more literal compliments.

The study, published in Scientific Reports, investigated the compliment preferences of 124 females using a system that compared appearance-based or possession-based compliments (think: “Nice eyes,” or “Nice jeans”) with more metaphorical compliments (“Hey girl, are you a Samsung Galaxy Note 7, because you’re really blowing up my phone”).

The women’s preference of the more creative language indicated a degree of evolutionary significance to the researchers—basically, that a more creative pick-up line might mean you’re more intelligent, and thus more attractive as a potential partner.

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This study claims to be the first of its kind to find metaphorical compliments more attractive than blunt or straightforward approaches.

“Men’s dating success has been found to be correlated with their creativity,” the researchers write.

“Metaphors involve higher cognitive processes and greater activation in key brain language and cognitive processing areas.”

In simpler terms, when you flex your wit in talking to women, you’re exercising more of your brainpower and showing off a bit more of your potential.

So now that you’re armed with this knowledge, where to begin with pickup lines? Here are some to kick off your brainstorming:

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  • Hey girl, are you a meal at the Golden Corral? Because you always leave me satisfied.
  • Hey girl, are you a Dairy Queen blizzard? Because even though you're cold and probably bad for me I still crave you from time to time.
  • Hey girl, are you Adam Driver? Because I think you’re really underappreciated.
  • Hey girl, are you an extra-long dry cycle? Because you leave my body feeling warm and my zipper feeling hot.
  • Hey girl, are you the Gucci Mane song, “No Sleep (Intro)?” Because you make me really hype.
  • Hey girl, are you a Paul Thomas Anderson movie? Because you're confusing as hell.
  • Hey girl, are you the last rep of my workout? Because even though sometimes you exhaust me, you're always worth the gains.

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