The holiday season is filled with so many awkward family moments. Like, “Oh, pajamas. They’re, um… pink!” Or, “It’s a good thing Grandpa switched his prostate meds.” It can be scary stuff people, but I didn’t want to freak you out before you got cornered by a week’s worth of bonding time. Now that we’ve all officially survived the triumvirate of American high holy days, we can finally breathe a sigh of relief and laugh at this vintage mother/daughter moment. It left me with a not so fresh feeling—my lunch making its way back up. Guaranteed, nobody’s vagina stinks as much as this conversation.

Did you know Lysol used to advertise itself as appropriate for feminine hygiene? “A man marries a woman because he loves her,” the copy for this vintage ad reads. “Instead of blaming him if married love begins to cool, she should question herself.” According to this retro-minded public service message, a woman should “safeguard her dainty feminine allure by practicing complete feminine hygiene” with… a household disinfectant. Do not try this at home, people. Your vagina is for lovin’—not Lysol. [mrbill].

Millions of years ago, humans could detect pheromones. We could “smell” each others’ genetic material through particular detectors that have since gone dormant now that we can see in color. It seems that this organ, called the vomeronasal organ, is no longer connected to the brain (does this mean those fragrances with pheromones are pointless?). However, some scientists say that we can pick up on pheromones through our normal sense of smell. But if scientists could find a way to reconnect the VNO, as it’s known, to the brain, you might have what you call a “sex sense” that would allow men to smell when women are ovulating and decide whether or not it’s the right time to have sex. In short, it would change your sex life, and could even be the most effective birth control method ever. [Mental Floss]

Time‘s current special section, “The Science of Romance,” is available online, but if you’re too busy getting busy to read it, here are some highlights:

If someone calls you a flirt as an insult, just tell them humans are programmed to do it—if they’re not a flirt, their programming must be off.

Scent is a big factor when it comes to attraction—and not just Old Spice vs. Envy by Gucci. Being on birth control can throw off our scent-o-meter and mask our ability to detect incompatibility. So, this might mean that you can either prevent pregnancy or find a guy who’s emitting the right chemicals – tough call.

Guys may be able to pass traces of testosterone (nature’s aphrodisiac) through their saliva while kissing, which might be why kissing can lead to, well, getting naked.

A deep voice has seductive powers, though it doesn’t seem to work on its own because I’m not really into Brad Garrett. [Time]