Too shy to ask for sex? Press a $57 button to tell your partner you want some action

Technology has come far enough — or gone backward, some would say — to trigger action in the bedroom with a tap of a button.

LoveSync, which consists of two USB-powered buttons, claims to be “the only set of buttons designed to get you laid.” One set goes for $57 (roughly P1,100).

It aims to solve a lack of sex between couples without a word, or the fear of rejection: the idea is the button can be pressed “discreetly” to quietly tell your partner you are horny. If both buttons are tapped within a 15-minute “consensus window,” the buttons will light up, giving both parties a literal go-signal.


The project launched on Kickstarter last Tuesday, Feb. 12. In two days, it has reached its full funding — $8,944 of its $7,000 goal — with 196 backers.

The “consensus window” can be increased up to 24 hours depending on the number of taps. One tap gives one 15 minutes to wait for some consensual action, while five gives you and your partner a full 24 hours to decide if you want to get it on.

The concept came from American couple Ryan and Jenn Cmich who have been married for 15 years. They shared that their dwindling sex life amid their busy schedules led to this idea from Ryan, a consumer robotics engineer. Jenn, who manages a marriage therapy practice, agreed that using the buttons has helped bring sparks back between them.

The Kickstarter page states that they decided to make it thanks to 65 people surveyed: 130 were consulted about the buttons and half reportedly said they would use it to spice up their sex lives.

Despite what may be good intentions, the product faced its share of mockery on Twitter.

“Lol just tell your partner you’re horny, and if they’re also horny, like go to town, my dudes,” said The Verge reporter Julia Alexander (@loudmouthjulia) on Twitter. “My favorite part is that your partner ‘anonymously pushes the button.’ There are only two of you, how is it anonymous?!”

Writer EJ Dickson (@ejdickson) said, “If my husband spent $50 on a button to summon me to have sex with him, he wouldn’t be having sex with anyone for a while, I’ll tell ya that much for free.”

Others found more practical uses for the button, particularly for decisions that could end in a messy discussion. “Just gonna buy this to use to figure out if one of us is gonna make dinner or if we’re gonna order in,” said Eric Mersmann (@presenteric).

Parker Higgins (@xor) proposed “bail buttons”: “The other thing this would be great for is ‘do you secretly want to skip this event we have had in our calendar for weeks now that it’s actually tonight.’” JB

source: technology.inquirer.net

Lover’s quarrel linked to hunger – study

MANILA, Philippines—Irritated with your lover? Grab a sandwich first.

In a study that the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, hungry people are more likely to unleash a maelstrom to their partners due to low glucose levels in the bloodstream.

Scientists found out that glucose levels in the blood could directly influence the anger levels of someone towards his or her spouse and stick pins to a voodoo doll.

Hungry people are also more likely to lambast their partners with loud noises after defeating them in a game.

“People can relate to this that when they get hungry, they get cranky,” Professor Brad Bushman of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio told The Independent. “We found that being ‘hangry’—hungry and angry—can affect our behavior in a bad way, even in our most intimate relationships.”



According to the report, the study encompassed three years and had 107 married couples who were assessed for their general relationship satisfaction to determine their happiness levels.

Over a 21-day period, each couple monitored their blood glucose levels in the morning and was given a voodoo doll and 51 pins that they could stick to the plushy depending on how angry they were.

“When they had lower blood glucose, they felt angrier and took it out on the dolls representing their spouse,” Bushman said.

He said that even those couples who enjoy a satisfactory relationship let out their inner Hulk whenever they were hungry.

After the 21-day period, the couples participated in a laboratory test where they were asked to play a computer game against their partners where the victor could do any conceivable and possible noise to the loser through headphones.

Unknown to the respondents, the couples played against the computer and not against each other so that they would lose half of the matches and win the other half.

“Within the ethical limits of the lab, we gave these participants a weapon that they could use to blast their spouse with unpleasant noise,” Bushman said.

Again lower glucose levels, and intensified hunger, resulted in louder noises.

Bushman deduced that food is required to maintain self-control as lower glucose levels do not produce much energy for the brain to keep a person sane.

“It’s simple advice but it works; before you have a difficult conversation with your spouse, make sure you’re not hungry,” Bushman said.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

1st same-sex couples wed at Empire State Building

NEW YORK (AP) — Two women who met as college students and two men who met at a nightclub 18 years ago became the first same-sex couples Tuesday to be married at the Empire State Building after winning a contest for Valentine's Day weddings at the New York City landmark.

"I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you," Stephanie Figarelle told Lela McArthur as they exchanged rings in a ceremony at the iconic skyscraper.

"I will always love you forever, with every beat of my heart," said McArthur, who is taking her partner's name.

Figarelle and McArthur, of Alaska, were among four couples who won an online contest for a Valentine's Day wedding at the Empire State Building designed by event planner Colin Cowie.

After the ceremonies in a 61st-floor area that is rented out for parties, the couples posed for photos on the 86th-floor observation deck.

Figarelle, 29, and McArthur, 24, met in an anatomy class at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Celia Milton, the interfaith minister who married them, said that Figarelle invited McArthur out to see a drag show and McArthur thought she meant a drag race.

"Needless to say she was quite surprised," Milton said.

The two work as personal trainers in Anchorage and are finishing their degrees.

Figarelle was married in a black tuxedo while McArthur wore a strapless white gown with a train.

Figarelle said she hopes the couple's home state of Alaska will legalize same-sex marriage, which became legal in New York last year.

"Equality's a beautiful thing," she said. "Love is a beautiful thing. We don't have enough of it in this world."

New Yorkers Phil Fung and Shawn Klein walked up the aisle to the strains of the Michael Bolton song "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You." The men wore matching brown suits and checkered ties.

They met 18 years ago at the Roxy, a popular Manhattan nightclub that has since closed.

"You can find true love on the dance floor. It can happen," said Klein, 51, who works in procurement at New York Presbyterian Hospital while Fung, 49, works in the technology department of a financial firm.

The decor for the women's nuptials was "winter wonderland," said Cowie, the host of a wedding planning show on Lifetime TV. The flowers were white, and crystals dripped from a white tree.

The men were married under a jungle-inspired arbor draped with banana leaves and tangerine-colored flowers.

The other two couples were heterosexual: Angela Vega and Lubin Masibay of San Francisco and Paula Cubero and Enrique Catter of Greenwich, Connecticut.

source: philstar.com