Many modern women will object to having their mate choices reduced to the pea-brained level of a bird, but have a look at the data. The researchers devised a list of 101 pairs of behaviors in a mock dating service in which each question paired a higher-risk option with a lower-risk choice. For example: Do you prefer a person who enjoys canoeing vs. white water kayaking? The choices included many more subtle risks, such as whether one prefers hot or mild hot sauce. The questionnaire was given to both men and women, and what the results showed is that women greatly preferred guys who engaged in the higher risk behaviors. Guys, in contrast, did not show any preference for women based on their risk-taking profile.

But here’s the really cleaver part. Half of the paired questions dealt with the sort of risks that human beings would have faced thousands of years ago, and the other half dealt with modern risks, such as driving while talking on a cell phone. Neither guys nor gals cared a whit about modern risks in selecting first dates; in fact, these modern risks were likely to be viewed as unattractive and foolish.

Females could care less about a guy who enjoys sticking forks in toasters. There was no electricity in the Stone Age. The risk-taking behaviors women prefer are the ones that deal with overcoming gravity, dealing with wild beasts, crossing water, being indifferent to nasty or dangerous foods, and engaging in human conflict. These are what the research team calls “hunter/gatherer risks,” the kind of risks our cave-man ancestors would have had to deal with. Modern risks, like playing with electricity, fooling with deadly chemicals, taking risks of identity theft, or driving without a seatbelt, did not impress the ladies one bit.