The amount of bizarre research out there about what does or does not make someone an online “match” is enough to make even the most optimistic romantic throw up his or her hands and take a lifetime celibacy oath. If you think I’m engaging in hyperbole to make a point, take a look at two different studies involving the power of color in how we perceive physical attractiveness. The breadth of the study was important because it answered whether the power of red was culturally influenced.

A then-groundbreaking study by the University of Rochester in 2008 showed men pictures of various women and asked the men to numerically rate the physical attractiveness of each woman. In fact, the study found the color red so powerful that men did the exact same thing when only the frame of the picture was changed to red. The breadth of the study was important because it answered whether the power of red was culturally influenced.

And not only did men find the “red” ladies more physically attractive, when asked the question “how much money would you be willing to spend on your date” with the women pictured, the respondents consistently offered a bigger chunk of their wallet. So ladies, the next time some blowhard tells you that men are the more logical sex, change into a red dress and watch him become putty in your hands. The study answered whether the power of red was culturally influenced.

A secondary, but equally interesting, finding in the latter study was that red’s inexplicable-but-clinically-demonstrable power held only for the opposite sex. When asked to rate the power and masculinity of the men pictured, male respondents were color-blind, rating their own sex as no more or less masculine when wearing red than any other color. So boys, that red power tie of yours won’t serve you any better in a business meeting than if it were hot pink.