WEBVTT - Dope Labs Archives: Cuffing Season 0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:02.880 It's a bye week this week, which means there isn't 0:00:02.880 --> 0:00:05.360 a new episode of Dope Labs, but we are really 0:00:05.360 --> 0:00:09.560 excited to reshare one of our very favorite episodes. 0:00:09.880 --> 0:00:14.440 Yes, it's three years later, but not too much has changed. 0:00:14.840 --> 0:00:19.000 Our Cuffing season schedule is the same, so we're right 0:00:19.079 --> 0:00:21.000 in the draft of Cuffing season. 0:00:21.079 --> 0:00:21.720 And if you're. 0:00:21.600 --> 0:00:24.720 Wondering what we're talking about when we say cuffing season. 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:26.000 This lab is for you. 0:00:26.440 --> 0:00:28.080 If you're on the market for a new boot, get 0:00:28.120 --> 0:00:29.080 out your pen and paper. 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:31.880 I'm TT and I'm Zukiah. 0:00:31.400 --> 0:01:00.320 And from Spotify Studios. This is Dope Labs. Can and 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:02.400 I met in grad school where we were both getting 0:01:02.440 --> 0:01:06.399 our pahds. Mine is in engineering and hers symbology. It 0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:09.840 was a tough time, to say the least, and in 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:11.959 our pursuit to get the hell out of there, we 0:01:12.080 --> 0:01:14.800 became cousin. You know how black folks do. She my 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:15.440 play cousin. 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:18.520 TT and I would set up our experiments to run overnight. 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:21.880 Then we'd go to the bar calculing those people's faces 0:01:22.080 --> 0:01:24.880 until about two am, go home, change our lipstick to 0:01:24.920 --> 0:01:27.640 a daytime color, and head back to the lab. So 0:01:27.880 --> 0:01:30.320 we've basically been doing this podcast since twenty eleven. 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:31.600 We're just now hitting record. 0:01:31.920 --> 0:01:34.920 This podcast ain't for your mama, it ain't for your kids. 0:01:35.280 --> 0:01:40.360 We're talking about things from TMZ, shade Room, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, 0:01:40.440 --> 0:01:43.959 the barbershop, the hair salon. We are the people's scientists, 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:46.240 so we're talking about things that you and your crew 0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:47.840 are going to be talking about in your group chats 0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:48.480 and at brunch. 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:49.160 That's right. 0:01:49.320 --> 0:01:51.600 If grad school taught us anything is how to ask 0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:53.960 a good question. So what we're gonna do is take 0:01:54.040 --> 0:01:56.280 all the t and shade from the internet and use 0:01:56.320 --> 0:01:57.320 the scientific approach. 0:01:57.520 --> 0:02:00.560 Oh, like, how did Safari get that new airlines? 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:00.760 Yes? 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:02.600 Was that inpatient or outpatient? 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:02.840 Sir? 0:02:03.040 --> 0:02:03.720 I don't know. 0:02:04.160 --> 0:02:06.920 And then everybody talking about mercury being in retrograde? What 0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:09.040 does that have to do with your bad attitude? How 0:02:09.120 --> 0:02:11.120 you can't keep using that excuse? 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:14.120 And like, what is the sunken place? Is that a 0:02:14.160 --> 0:02:16.160 real thing? Is that like a real disorder? 0:02:16.280 --> 0:02:17.760 No, that's a real place. It has to be. 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:20.200 I think the guy that's at the front door at 0:02:20.200 --> 0:02:23.120 my apartment building is in the sunken place. Every morning 0:02:23.120 --> 0:02:25.680 when he sees me, he says, good morning, madam. 0:02:25.840 --> 0:02:27.239 Nobody talks like that, he's. 0:02:27.080 --> 0:02:29.120 A black man. No, nobody's talking like that. 0:02:29.320 --> 0:02:31.360 When it comes down to it, we just want to 0:02:31.360 --> 0:02:33.960 help you appreciate the science in your day to day. 0:02:34.280 --> 0:02:37.400 Trust us, we're doctors. Welcome to the lab. 0:02:37.639 --> 0:02:39.920 Go to TG go to key t. 0:02:43.919 --> 0:02:44.040 Up. 0:02:49.280 --> 0:02:51.600 Before we dive into our first subject, we really want 0:02:51.639 --> 0:02:53.680 to just lay out how this podcast works. 0:02:54.200 --> 0:02:57.359 Dope Labs is based on our actual experiences in the lab, because, 0:02:57.400 --> 0:02:59.919 like we said earlier, we're actually scientists. 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:03.200 The first step in any lab is a recitation. 0:03:02.960 --> 0:03:05.200 And a recitation is like a summary. 0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:07.920 In the recitation, we bring everyone up to speed and 0:03:08.000 --> 0:03:09.519 lay out the basics. 0:03:09.080 --> 0:03:10.880 What do we already know and what do we need 0:03:10.960 --> 0:03:11.160 to know. 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:13.800 Then it's time for the deep dive. We call that 0:03:13.880 --> 0:03:16.200 part of the podcast the dissection. 0:03:16.000 --> 0:03:18.000 And that's when we bring in the experts and ask 0:03:18.080 --> 0:03:21.920 them all the questions. Finally, you draw your conclusion and 0:03:22.000 --> 0:03:23.760 at that point you're basically a scientist. 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:26.959 So that's twenty years or so. But at Constant School. 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:28.600 Yeah, but I think we're in the position to really 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:32.400 grant people like PhD I dub the a doctor. 0:03:32.560 --> 0:03:34.240 You sir, are a biologists. 0:03:34.440 --> 0:03:34.760 Why not? 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:36.680 So let's get to the recitation. 0:03:37.120 --> 0:03:40.520 Today, we're talking about cuffing season, and so let's figure 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:43.280 out what we already know about it and what we 0:03:43.520 --> 0:03:45.720 want to know more about And who knows better than 0:03:45.800 --> 0:03:48.560 y'all the people on the front lines of cuffing season. 0:03:48.880 --> 0:03:50.000 Let's hear what you have to say. 0:03:51.040 --> 0:03:53.000 Do either of you know what cuffing season is? I 0:03:53.000 --> 0:03:54.000 don't no idea? 0:03:54.800 --> 0:03:57.480 Is that? Where do you start cuffing your paths around 0:03:57.600 --> 0:03:58.200 fall time? 0:03:58.800 --> 0:03:59.840 What's cuffing season? 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:00.480 Yeah? 0:04:00.760 --> 0:04:01.200 I don't know. 0:04:01.280 --> 0:04:03.280 It's hard to explain. It's like when you got a 0:04:03.360 --> 0:04:06.440 mutual thing with somebody and you're ready to stop seeing 0:04:06.480 --> 0:04:09.240 other people, then you take that leap. 0:04:09.480 --> 0:04:13.160 Well, you know, I think it's the phenomenon that the 0:04:13.560 --> 0:04:16.320 colder months are coming. You don't want to endure those 0:04:16.360 --> 0:04:20.440 by yourself. Something from my very distant past before I 0:04:20.480 --> 0:04:22.799 met my current wife, winter hibernation. 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:25.920 You date people over the winter. Yes, that's exactly it. 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:29.919 So you guys are locked in, Yeah, and we have handcuffs? 0:04:30.240 --> 0:04:30.520 Whoah? 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:34.040 Are you all ready for cuffing season? 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:41.520 Ah? I am not ready for cuffing season. I'm taking applications. 0:04:41.760 --> 0:04:42.760 My dms are open. 0:04:42.920 --> 0:04:45.000 Are you trying to be a kuffer or a cuffee, 0:04:45.040 --> 0:04:46.840 you want somebody to come get you. You're trying to 0:04:46.880 --> 0:04:47.479 be out here. 0:04:47.680 --> 0:04:50.240 So like, I'm a strong, independent black woman. 0:04:50.440 --> 0:04:52.200 All right, everybody, all. 0:04:52.080 --> 0:04:58.320 These men, everybody around what happened, But like I would 0:04:58.400 --> 0:05:01.160 want the cuffin to be mutual, Like we both come 0:05:01.200 --> 0:05:03.560 to a place like damn, I really violece with you heavy, 0:05:03.640 --> 0:05:06.040 Like Damn, I think I might love you now we're cuffed. 0:05:07.040 --> 0:05:09.200 Okay, so that was my first time talking to strangers 0:05:09.480 --> 0:05:10.120 not mine. 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:13.320 We know cuffing season has become pretty mainstream since it 0:05:13.360 --> 0:05:15.360 started trending on Twitter about a decade ago. 0:05:15.640 --> 0:05:18.200 Yeah, some mainstream. Now even white folks know about it. 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:18.719 That's right. 0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:21.240 But for those of you who are still living under 0:05:21.279 --> 0:05:24.000 a rock and you're still unclear about what we're talking about, 0:05:24.279 --> 0:05:27.080 here's the breakdown. It's the time of year when single 0:05:27.080 --> 0:05:29.479 people start to look for a partner to be their 0:05:29.520 --> 0:05:33.760 boo until the weather gets warm, my boo hoo. That 0:05:33.880 --> 0:05:37.680 falsetto This is definitely not a long term thing. It 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:41.159 is a short term situation for people who don't like 0:05:41.200 --> 0:05:43.400 to go out and be social during the wintertime, and 0:05:43.440 --> 0:05:45.760 when it warms up, you release that cuff back into 0:05:45.800 --> 0:05:49.599 the wild. And people take this seriously. Google cuffing season 0:05:49.680 --> 0:05:53.200 right now, you're gonna come across contracts calendars with all 0:05:53.200 --> 0:05:54.120 these deadlines. 0:05:54.279 --> 0:05:56.320 I'm looking at one of these calendars right now, and 0:05:56.400 --> 0:06:00.520 it's like a day to day breakdown of what you're 0:06:00.560 --> 0:06:03.800 supposed to be doing. It is crazy. Flirt Week starts 0:06:03.800 --> 0:06:07.000 in September, the first week of September, and then you 0:06:07.080 --> 0:06:10.200 have to start sending good morning texts at the end 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:15.520 of September. Then the good morning texts continue through October. 0:06:15.560 --> 0:06:18.000 The first week of October, and then the last three 0:06:18.040 --> 0:06:20.120 weeks of October, you're supposed to be sealing the deal. 0:06:20.640 --> 0:06:24.520 So after that you're with that person throughout the winner 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:29.800 and you stay cuffed with that person until today Valentine's Day. 0:06:31.000 --> 0:06:34.559 So there's a science to cuffing season, but there's also 0:06:34.760 --> 0:06:36.120 actual science behind it. 0:06:36.279 --> 0:06:42.200 Cuffing season draws elements of so many different sciences psychology, biology, chemistry. 0:06:41.800 --> 0:06:44.680 Genetics, and if we can understand some of the science 0:06:44.680 --> 0:06:47.400 behind cuffing season, maybe it'll help us strategize. 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:51.640 Write Zakiah, that's right, full disclaimer. Okay, I see where 0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:52.159 you're going. 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:55.360 So this past cuff and season, I was all in. 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:56.080 I was gung ho. 0:06:56.200 --> 0:06:58.960 I said, yes, I'm going to fully participate. I'm out here, 0:06:59.040 --> 0:07:01.000 you know. I was like, all right, I'm I'm looking 0:07:01.000 --> 0:07:04.599 for a cuff, but nothing too too serious. I know 0:07:04.640 --> 0:07:06.440 you think I have a commitment problem, but I. 0:07:06.400 --> 0:07:07.839 Mean she has a commitment problem. 0:07:07.839 --> 0:07:09.920 I could go with a six month contract, you know, 0:07:10.000 --> 0:07:11.840 and based on performance and option to renew. 0:07:12.080 --> 0:07:13.400 That's like a cell phone plan. 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:14.240 That's right. 0:07:14.560 --> 0:07:18.680 I have a lot of questions about what's actually going on, Like, 0:07:18.800 --> 0:07:21.400 is this something that is innate within all of us? 0:07:21.400 --> 0:07:24.280 Have we always been cuffing like we're Adam and Eve cuffing? 0:07:24.360 --> 0:07:27.200 Hey, apples are a fall fruit? Do animals have a 0:07:27.240 --> 0:07:30.000 cuffing season? Does it fit the same schedule or calendar 0:07:30.080 --> 0:07:30.760 year like we have. 0:07:31.120 --> 0:07:33.480 I don't know. So I think we should call in 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:34.520 some reinforcements. 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:35.880 It's time for the dissection. 0:07:36.160 --> 0:07:38.600 We evenen listed our good friend, doctor Alex Tria t 0:07:38.600 --> 0:07:40.680 helps Akia figure out what she's been doing wrong. 0:07:40.720 --> 0:07:42.160 I haven't been doing anything wrong. 0:07:42.240 --> 0:07:46.080 Okay, okay, that's that was unfair, But there's always room 0:07:46.520 --> 0:07:47.120 for growth. 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:48.280 I'll take it. 0:07:48.440 --> 0:07:50.840 Hi, my name is Alex Trio and I'm a behavioral 0:07:50.880 --> 0:07:51.400 a cologist. 0:07:51.440 --> 0:07:54.080 I'd get it for College, Alex studies a sexual selection 0:07:54.200 --> 0:07:56.640 and mating behaviors of beetles and other species. 0:07:57.000 --> 0:07:59.400 I'm thinking more along the lines of Prince Charming, not 0:07:59.480 --> 0:08:02.760 beetled you. But I guess if you think about it, humans, 0:08:02.800 --> 0:08:06.000 we're just animals, these bingernails, soft claws. 0:08:06.120 --> 0:08:10.080 That being said, things have changed a lot since Kman days, right. 0:08:09.960 --> 0:08:12.200 Girl, Things have changed since the sixties. 0:08:12.040 --> 0:08:14.560 Really, if we're being honest, since the nineties. 0:08:14.200 --> 0:08:16.520 Except turtlenecks. Turtlenecks are still in. 0:08:16.760 --> 0:08:19.679 That is very true. Turtlenecks are evergreen. But the point 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:22.880 is we're not out here trying to cuff two half babies. 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:23.400 That's right. 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:26.600 But for animals, they only care about one thing when 0:08:26.600 --> 0:08:30.920 it comes to mating, and that's offspring. Reproducing means surviving. 0:08:31.120 --> 0:08:33.199 It's all about them babies. 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:34.880 And the partner and animal chooses to couple up and 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:37.840 have offspring with is crucial. So Alex is going to 0:08:37.840 --> 0:08:39.880 talk to us about how animals make that choice. 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:40.800 What are they looking for? 0:08:41.040 --> 0:08:43.920 She says, it starts with environmental cues. A change in 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:46.640 the temperature is usually the first signal to an animal 0:08:46.679 --> 0:08:48.200 that is time to start looking for a partner. 0:08:48.480 --> 0:08:51.360 Ai Monogami is going to be somewhat ceasonal right, because 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:54.280 they're going to be looking for the time. What they're 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:57.520 looking for is the time where gestation's over and then 0:08:57.960 --> 0:08:59.080 the best season. 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:00.920 At which there are spring is going to be able 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:01.560 to survive. 0:09:01.840 --> 0:09:03.400 Colder weather means less food. 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:06.080 So the idea there is mate in the winter and 0:09:06.120 --> 0:09:08.000 then when you have your babies in the spring, there's 0:09:08.080 --> 0:09:09.000 more resources. 0:09:09.120 --> 0:09:11.280 How do they start looking for the right partner to 0:09:11.960 --> 0:09:13.920 you know, copulate with. 0:09:14.480 --> 0:09:16.680 It really depends on the species, and it depends on 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:18.760 the ecology of the species. What are the strategies that 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:19.400 they're gonna have. 0:09:19.760 --> 0:09:23.440 Ecology that means the animal's environment, and more specifically is 0:09:23.440 --> 0:09:26.880 the amount of resources like food that's available in that environment. 0:09:27.040 --> 0:09:29.880 In general, animals are looking for food, right, So females 0:09:29.880 --> 0:09:33.280 are looking for food. If those resources are clumped, there's 0:09:33.400 --> 0:09:35.679 lots of food in one single place, in one single patch, 0:09:35.880 --> 0:09:37.240 lots of females are gonna come to it. 0:09:37.320 --> 0:09:40.400 And as Alex says, it also refers to where those 0:09:40.440 --> 0:09:41.280 resources are. 0:09:41.559 --> 0:09:45.960 Those resources can be uniformly distributed in a space or 0:09:45.960 --> 0:09:46.800 they can be clumped. 0:09:47.080 --> 0:09:47.280 Right. 0:09:47.559 --> 0:09:51.200 If resources are clumped, then it's more probable for a 0:09:51.240 --> 0:09:53.720 female or several females to be in one single place. 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:56.600 That means before it gets cold, an animal wants to 0:09:56.640 --> 0:09:59.040 go somewhere with a lot of resources because that's where 0:09:59.040 --> 0:10:00.920 they're going to find the white selection. 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:01.720 Of potential partners. 0:10:02.080 --> 0:10:02.320 Right. 0:10:02.520 --> 0:10:05.400 So basically this kind of translates to like the free 0:10:05.480 --> 0:10:07.400 drinks or early drinks for women at the bar. 0:10:07.840 --> 0:10:10.559 Right, And so then when there's free drinks at the bar, 0:10:10.640 --> 0:10:12.679 then all women run to the bar to go get 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:13.240 those drinks. 0:10:13.240 --> 0:10:15.120 Then the men pay so they can come and have 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:16.360 access to those women. 0:10:17.240 --> 0:10:20.640 But the bar culture, like it can get really weird. 0:10:20.720 --> 0:10:22.280 Yeah, you never know what you're gonna get. 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:24.320 Do you remember that time we went to a bar 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:27.520 and a guy sent me a drink and then never 0:10:27.640 --> 0:10:30.240 came over to say hi, never said a word. I 0:10:30.320 --> 0:10:33.120 was really confused, like thank you? 0:10:33.480 --> 0:10:37.560 I guess hey, So you never a durable strategy for him, 0:10:37.559 --> 0:10:38.600 but free drinks for us. 0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:38.960 Right. 0:10:40.160 --> 0:10:42.319 Let's get back to the animals for a second. Are 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:44.800 there any other species that replicate cuffing season? 0:10:44.920 --> 0:10:47.520 Yeah? Like, are there animals out there that are keeping 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:50.360 a mate for the fall and winter season and then 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:53.480 just leaving them? That's cold hearted? Yeah. 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:57.320 So one really cool example is red foxes. So red 0:10:57.320 --> 0:11:03.200 fox are, for example, a species that starts their pairing 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:07.760 during the fall, and once they pair up around the 0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:11.680 end of the fall December, the beginning of winter, they 0:11:11.679 --> 0:11:13.680 pair up with a male and then they stay with 0:11:13.840 --> 0:11:16.080 that male through how the winter season. 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:19.400 Yeah, and in general, a female will date several males 0:11:19.440 --> 0:11:21.320 until she finds her wintertime companion. 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:24.200 The female tends to go into a den and the 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:27.080 male stays outside of the den and feeds her. 0:11:27.520 --> 0:11:29.120 That's pretty much how Jimmy cuffed me. 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:30.760 He still bring in us treats. 0:11:31.040 --> 0:11:33.160 Yeah, he got me some slim gems this morning. 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:35.480 Then when the winter's over, the two foxes go their 0:11:35.520 --> 0:11:38.680 separate ways and the female goes through the same process again. 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:40.960 So the male red fox next winter might be the 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:41.520 step dad. 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:45.560 That sounds like a Moury episode waiting to happen. You 0:11:45.720 --> 0:11:48.400 are not the father, but you still need to feed 0:11:48.400 --> 0:11:49.000 these babies. 0:11:50.400 --> 0:11:53.120 The resources are clumped, all your potential partners are here. 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:55.240 Do the animals just pick one mate? 0:11:55.720 --> 0:11:58.520 I think that's a good question. Some animals are monogamous 0:11:58.520 --> 0:12:01.040 and they're just looking for lifelong partner. 0:12:01.440 --> 0:12:04.840 There are lifelong monogamous species, right, so and those there's 0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:09.360 a very cool examples. Right, So there's beavers and they yeah, 0:12:09.360 --> 0:12:11.040 when they made they made for life. 0:12:11.440 --> 0:12:12.920 Right, there is. 0:12:14.559 --> 0:12:18.840 Eagles then tend to make for life. Swans tend to 0:12:18.880 --> 0:12:19.600 make for life. 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:23.199 Different species have all kinds of reasons for being monogamous. 0:12:23.200 --> 0:12:25.160 For birds is just because it makes it easier to 0:12:25.200 --> 0:12:27.360 raise the babies and teach them to fly. For other 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:28.640 species is genetic. 0:12:29.040 --> 0:12:31.640 So for example, in the case of prairie bowls, it was. 0:12:31.640 --> 0:12:35.960 A prairie bowl like those field rodents, seventy five percent 0:12:36.000 --> 0:12:40.360 of them are monogamous, and that really depends on their 0:12:40.440 --> 0:12:41.840 basuppressing receptors. 0:12:41.880 --> 0:12:45.840 Basically their vessel what vasa pressing. It's a hormone that 0:12:45.880 --> 0:12:49.320 the brain releases and it promotes this like sensation. 0:12:49.120 --> 0:12:53.400 Of a reward. Gotcha, Like an anniversary. Good yeah, y'all 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:56.200 still together, same partner, another year reward. 0:12:56.400 --> 0:13:00.120 When they copulate with the same female several times, it's 0:13:00.160 --> 0:13:03.960 a positive feedback and therefore they will continue to be monogamous. 0:13:04.160 --> 0:13:06.600 But if a male is in an environment where all 0:13:06.640 --> 0:13:09.200 the resources are clumped, like all those girls at the bar, 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:11.040 he might be polygamous. 0:13:11.080 --> 0:13:13.720 And get this, there are two types of polygamy. One 0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:15.280 for males and one for females. 0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:16.800 Polygamy is the umbrella. 0:13:17.000 --> 0:13:20.320 And within polygamy, you have one male with lots of 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:23.720 females that's a polygynous male, and then you have one 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:26.840 female with lots of males that's a polyandric female. 0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:29.200 So polygyny is a man with a lot of women, 0:13:29.640 --> 0:13:32.520 and polyandry is a woman with a lot of men. 0:13:32.800 --> 0:13:33.160 That's you. 0:13:33.960 --> 0:13:36.960 That's you, not me. I'm married girl. Hmmm. 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:38.600 Okay, that was you. 0:13:39.920 --> 0:13:40.600 Yeah, that was me. 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:48.840 So you can be monogamous or polygynists or polyandrous. It 0:13:48.880 --> 0:13:52.480 all depends on what increases your chances of reproductive success. 0:13:53.080 --> 0:13:55.719 All right, Okay, I'm starting to see the connections. Now, 0:13:55.720 --> 0:13:58.480 this is really interesting. When we get back, we're gonna 0:13:58.520 --> 0:14:01.559 talk more about strategy. What can we learn from our 0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:04.679 animal friends to help us the next time coming season 0:14:04.720 --> 0:14:05.479 comes around. 0:14:22.440 --> 0:14:24.880 And we're back and it's time to talk strategy. 0:14:25.000 --> 0:14:26.920 We love talking to the people about some of their 0:14:27.000 --> 0:14:29.560 cuffing seasons does and don'ts, So let's hear what they 0:14:29.560 --> 0:14:29.920 have to say. 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:33.240 First, what's your advice for somebody that's trying to cuff 0:14:33.280 --> 0:14:35.120 someone this cuffing season? 0:14:36.000 --> 0:14:38.840 Get rid of social media. That's a distraction. 0:14:39.400 --> 0:14:41.720 Just focus and just make sure yourself is right first 0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:44.560 before you offer yourself to somebody else. 0:14:45.280 --> 0:14:47.800 It's all about communication, you know what I'm saying. It's 0:14:47.840 --> 0:14:51.400 all about communication. So if somebody feel in a certain 0:14:51.440 --> 0:14:53.600 type of way, they need to say that, so it 0:14:53.640 --> 0:14:56.520 can be either embraced or it can be shut down, 0:14:56.600 --> 0:14:57.840 and then it's all good, you know. 0:14:59.120 --> 0:15:02.440 Can we just make a cuff rule? Yeah, no ghosting, 0:15:02.880 --> 0:15:03.880 no sting. 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:07.640 Let's leave ghosting in twenty seventeen, in twenty eighteen too. 0:15:07.720 --> 0:15:09.560 It's totally gone. 0:15:09.800 --> 0:15:12.440 Okay, Alex, give it to me straight. Once these animals 0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:14.040 pick the one they want to cuff, how do they 0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:16.040 seal the deal? What's their strategy? 0:15:16.240 --> 0:15:18.200 So you can either fight for a female or you 0:15:18.200 --> 0:15:19.760 can directly attract her. 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:22.680 To do both of those things, fight or a tract, 0:15:22.760 --> 0:15:26.000 you need strong secondary sexual characters. So those are the 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:28.600 features that help attract a partner, but that you don't 0:15:28.640 --> 0:15:31.760 actually need to reproduce, because, like we said before, a 0:15:31.800 --> 0:15:33.160 lot of us are just looking for. 0:15:33.120 --> 0:15:34.480 A friend, not a baby. 0:15:34.880 --> 0:15:38.440 So are some examples of secondary characters like feathers on 0:15:38.480 --> 0:15:40.360 a peacock or antlers on a. 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:44.880 Deer exactly, and secondary characters for humans could be something 0:15:45.040 --> 0:15:47.720 like nice shoes or a nice car. 0:15:48.200 --> 0:15:51.560 A fresh lineup, a deep voice. Ooh, that's like a 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:52.200 mating call. 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:57.400 Yeah, so I work with a species of frog that 0:15:57.840 --> 0:16:03.440 has a very very clear, strong distinctive call to attract females. 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:05.520 Can we hear that? Can you play something for us? 0:16:08.760 --> 0:16:17.040 It basically translates to what a party? Yet that's not 0:16:17.120 --> 0:16:19.080 kinda sound like ring my bell to you? You know 0:16:19.160 --> 0:16:19.480 that part? 0:16:19.520 --> 0:16:24.920 They're like boom boom, and that's my hey, come on 0:16:25.760 --> 0:16:29.360 sing a girl and full of possibility. 0:16:32.280 --> 0:16:34.520 It's co fi season. 0:16:45.160 --> 0:16:48.880 Secondary sexual characters, the feathers, the big fluffy tail, the 0:16:48.920 --> 0:16:52.880 mating call are key to attracting your mate, but they 0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:54.240 can also create a problem. 0:16:54.720 --> 0:16:55.760 Oh, plot twist. 0:16:56.200 --> 0:16:58.640 The problem is that attraction to females come up with 0:16:58.680 --> 0:17:03.000 a cost. The cat also attracting predators and parasites. 0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:05.920 So while you might be attracting the right potential mates, 0:17:06.000 --> 0:17:11.160 you're also attracting a lot of trash, including the type 0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:12.800 of trash you don't want to see. 0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:16.960 Like ever again, this is something I feel like we 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:20.560 as humans can really relate to. Have you ever attracted 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:21.720 an unwanted parasite? 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:25.320 I want on a date with a man that ordered 0:17:25.359 --> 0:17:27.800 dessert for himself. 0:17:28.200 --> 0:17:29.240 Oh I remember this. 0:17:29.680 --> 0:17:33.000 He ate it all then proceeded to lick the plate. 0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:42.920 I almost screamed out loud. I was mortified, and I 0:17:42.960 --> 0:17:44.920 was like, there is no way I can go on 0:17:44.960 --> 0:17:47.440 another day with this man. And he was like, I 0:17:47.480 --> 0:17:48.960 hope you had a good time. You know, I was 0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:50.600 being nice. Yeah I did. He was like, ye'all, I'll 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:52.719 text you and we can go out again. And in 0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:57.000 my mind I just keep seeing him licking this plate, 0:17:57.080 --> 0:18:00.440 trying to get all of the caramel and chocolates off 0:18:00.480 --> 0:18:03.960 of it, and I almost vomited. Do you remember when 0:18:03.960 --> 0:18:04.480 I called you? 0:18:04.600 --> 0:18:08.239 Yes, you were like, oh my gosh, I'm just I 0:18:08.280 --> 0:18:10.160 was just trying to go home and he's eating this 0:18:10.240 --> 0:18:10.800 whole day. 0:18:11.080 --> 0:18:14.520 And then you said he was looking at you over his. 0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:16.920 Eyes were over the little dessert plate and he looked 0:18:16.920 --> 0:18:18.399 at you as he licked the plate. 0:18:18.520 --> 0:18:19.520 That's a lot of confidence. 0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:21.520 I can't you're looking the glaze off the plate. I 0:18:21.520 --> 0:18:23.480 don't want anything to do with you. I was like, 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:27.440 get me out of here. Yeah, you really got to 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:29.960 weed out the plate liquors. But what if you change 0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:30.520 your mind? 0:18:30.840 --> 0:18:33.119 Like what if you do all that work only to 0:18:33.200 --> 0:18:35.680