In a 2008 experiment, two French social psychologists had a handsome young Frenchman named Antoine approach 240 randomly selected women and ask them for their phone numbers so they could go on a date.

So, because of demographic and lifestyle differences it is certainly possible that vegetarians do tend to be less well off. But there is another factor that might explain the VRG study results even better -- dumb luck.

A recent study published in the journal Anthrozoos suggests there are surprising cultural differences in attitudes towards eating pets, in this case, cats.

The rats/mice/birds exclusion intentionally obfuscates the true numbers of animal used in research. And, it lends credence to the claims of animal rights groups that research institutions have something to hide.

From an evolutionary point of view, however, sexual attraction to pain would seem to be maladaptive. Pain is, by definition, aversive. It evolved as a signal to get our attention and keep us out of trouble.

While neutering reduces suffering in general, it may well put your individual pet at greater risk of a serious disease such as cancer. It's a classic conflict between what is best for the individual versus what is best for society. Is there an alternative to routine de-sexing of pets?