London: In a bar in trendy east London, dozens of people mill about, sniffing from plastic bags. There are no drugs inside — just slightly smelly T-shirts.
These adventurous singles are at a “pheromone party”, an alternative dating trend based on the idea that smell plays a key role in the choice of a sexual partner.
Each of them has agreed to wear the same cotton T-shirt for three nights in a row, with no deodorant or perfume, and to bring it to the party. The clothes are placed in transparent plastic bags with numbers on coloured labels — pink for women, blue for men.
“Smell as many bags as you like, have fun!” encourages organiser, Judy Nadel.
Those who get a sniff of their partner snap a picture of themselves with the bag. The images are projected onto the wall, and the lucky owners of the T-shirts have the chance to meet their admirers.
The idea is inspired by a 1995 experiment by a Swiss scientist, Claus Wedekind, and the belief that pheromones — chemicals that are fundamental to the sexual behaviour of animals can also be picked up by humans.
