Thursday, July 30, 2009

Make Sure You Have a Photo of a Baby In Your Wallet!!


University of Edinburgh psychologists have determined that you stand the best chance of getting back a lost wallet if there's a picture of a baby in it. They "planted" 240 wallets on highly trafficked city streets, and were pleasantly surprised to find that almost half of them were returned. Even more surprising, the rate of return appeared to be connected to the photos the researchers had inserted in the wallets. Eighty-eight percent of those with a photo of a baby were returned. Fifty-three percent of those with a photo of a puppy were returned. Forty-eight percent of those with a photo of a happy family were returned. Twenty-eight percent of those with a photo of an elderly couple were returned. And only 15 percent of the wallets with no photos at all were returned.

The researchers believe the overwhelming response to the photos of the baby reflects a compassionate instinct toward helpless infants that evolved in humans to ensure the survival of future generations.

(Source: Times Online via Early to Rise)

1 comment:

Leslie said...

Wow! now that is some good advise!! and baby valerie is so freaking cute in that pic!