Coolidge Effect

Bill Maher has a pretty witty line in his one of his standup specials: "For men there are only two types of women: old and new.(I am paraphrasing him)" I did not know there is a biology term for this -- Coolidge Effect, after a joke about President Coolidge, I came to learn about this while listening to an audible book on my way to work this morning. Here goes the joke:

President Calvin Coolidge and his wife allegedly visited a government farm one day and were taken around on separate tours. Mrs. Coolidge, passing the chicken pens, inquired of a supervisor whether the lone rooster was sufficient, given the many hens in the chicken flock.

"Yes", the man said, "the rooster works very hard."

Mrs. Coolidge then asked, "Really? The rooster works very hard? Every day?"

"Oh, yes," the man said. "Dozens of times a day."

"Interesting!" Mrs. Coolidge replied, "Be sure to tell that to the President!"

Some time later the President, passing the same pens, was told about the roosters - and about his wife's remark. "Same hen every time?", he asked.

"Oh, no, a different one each time," the supervisor replied.

"Tell that," Coolidge said with a sly nod, "to Mrs. Coolidge."

A joke goes a long way to help you drive home a point, I don't think I will ever forget about this term. The uncomfortable truth is that a modern man is stuck between his ancient biological scripting and modern social and cultural norms.