Strange Surveys

Messy love boiled eggs
Boiled egg lovers are more disorganised and more likely to get divorced, shows a study published by Mindlab International. Fried egg fans have the highest sex drive. Poached-egg eaters are outgoing and happy, scrambled aficionados are guarded, and omelet lovers are self-disciplined, the study says.

Love self? sign larger
Large signatures are common among narcissists, finds new research from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and the University of Maryland. The study examined the signatures of more than 600 CEOs and found that the most outsized signers were among the highest paid, but were also more likely to run their companies into the ground. Those factors indicate an inflated sense of self, a disregard for people’s input, and other narcissistic tendencies.

Red means reckless
People who drive red cars are more aggressive and reckless, shows a study from CW Marketing Research. It also found people with green cars have the most positive outlook on life, dark blue or silver-car owners are upbeat, and black car owners lack self-confidence.

Why? A growing body of research shows certain visual cues — such as colours — are tied to emotional and behavioral cues in your brain. These cues can influence the colours you find appealing depending on your personality type.

Workstation defines you
An empty or unpersonalised desk indicates a lack of dedication or job dissatisfaction, according to a University of Texas study. Excessive post-it notes mean you’re overwhelmed, while a plant proves you have no plans to leave your gig. People who have candy bowls or lots of office supplies are more likely to be outgoing and social, and motivational items often reveal a worker who pushes himself, the study adds.

Like Metallica? You’re lazy
Classical, jazz, and heavy metal music lovers are all generally creative and at ease, but metal-heads are more likely to also be lazy and introverted, finds a study from Scottish researchers. Blues fans tend to have high self-esteem, rap fans are pretty outgoing, and country lovers are generally hardworking. Indie rock snobs tend to be harsh and lack self-esteem.

No Pain No gain
Pain isn’t always a pain. Sometimes it can actually feel good. People experience pleasure during a painful stimulus if the stimulus turns out to be less bad than they were expecting, new research suggests. “It is not hard to understand that pain can be interpreted as less severe when an individual is aware that it could have been much more painful,” said a study statement.

Men are from Earth, women are from Earth!
Men are from Mars and women are from Venus? Think again. New research suggests that black-and-white thinking about what makes a man and what makes a woman is off-base. In fact, while real gender differences (whether biologically based or cultural) do exist, men and women overlap psychologically more than they differ, according to a new study. In other words, cute book titles aside, both genders are from Earth.

Miserable for money
For hourly employees, the calculations come almost instantly. How much did that 20-minute traffic jam cost me? What about the 15-minute wait at the coffee shop? When you’re used to being paid by the hour, it’s all too easy to equate these time expenditures into rupees lost. However, new research out of the University of Toronto has shown that such attitudes are detrimental to a person’s happiness. Making a direct correlation between time and money can make people impatient and hurt one’s ability to find joy in leisure activities.

3-D movies leave many feeling sick
If you found yourself feeling a little woozy while watching 3-D films like Avatar or Tron, you won’t be surprised to hear this. More than half the people who put on the special glasses and caught a showing of a 3-D flick reported the movie made them feel sick to some degree, a new study suggests. Roughly 55% of viewers had at least one physical complaint after the experience, according to research recently published in the journal PLoS ONE.

Not used to less work!
Why does a shorter workweek after a day off often end up feeling longer than a normal week? While no psychology research has directly examined the phenomenon, some evidence suggests that it’s because we humans are easily thrown by disruptions in our routines.