CollegeCandy » econ

Econ 101: The Dating Game

Kim- Syracuse University — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 22:00:12 +0000

Here’s a lesson they probably won’t teach you in college: The Economics of Dating.

What’s the fundamental lesson they teach you in Econ? Why, supply and demand of course. More of a product, means less of a demand, while less of that exact same product causes people to want it like whoa. Now apply that to dating. It’s pure genius: limit your supply, and the guys will be sure to demand. These guys seem to think this is the perfect formula for them in achieving absolute success in the dating world. But hello, not to be obvious but I think Beyoncé said it best: Who runs the world? GIRLS!

So ladies, this is for you, your Intro to Supply & Demand.

Lesson 1: Sex

For the new guy in your life, here’s a way to keep things exciting. When it comes to sex, play hard to get (not too hard though. Guys like a chase, but they don’t want to feel like it’s never going to happen between the two of you.) When you finally do give up the goods, switch it up each time. Showers, couches, parks and movie theaters make for great spur-of-the-moment sex. Each time you make him wait, he’ll come begging even harder. Remember, spontaneity is sexy!

For the longtime love: uh, if you suddenly begin to deny him the goods, he might suspect something’s wrong. Or worse, he might ditch you for that new spontaneous girl (see above).

Lesson 2: Availability

For the new guy in your life: Don’t make yourself too available. You’re a busy girl with a life of your own, now’s not the time to begin clearing your schedule for a guy you just met. You know how guys love leaving us girls waiting by the phone? It’s time for you to play that role. If you seem like your time is high in demand, he’ll be eager to get his share of your time.

For the longtime lover: You’ve been available enough to maintain this relationship for this long, don’t mess that up now by making yourself less available. Spending time together is key to maintaining a successful relationship, so keep it up.

Lesson 3: Social Life

For the new guy in your life: Here’s another “limit your supply and the guys will come demanding” guideline. You have your own friends and you have your own social life. The new guy needs to know that. Just like he’s not expecting you to tag along with him and his friends, you’re also anticipating that he’ll be understanding when you just want to have some girl time. When you do finally decide to hang around each other’s friends, it’ll be refreshing. And when you finally come back together after having been apart for some time, it’ll be all the more worthwhile.

For the longtime lover: Same rules apply. Bringing your signif other to hang out with your friends every now and again is totally fine, but you don’t want to end up being that girl that doesn’t get invited anywhere because your friends know your boyfriend will be attached at your hip.

Here’s a quick review:

You (minus) your supply (plus) some sex appeal = an increase in guy’s demand.

Easy huh? Limit your supply and the guy’s demand will increase. It’s almost like tricking him into thinking you’re some sort of hot commodity, LOL!

This is probably the simplest sort of economics, ever. I wish they would’ve taught us this back in…I don’t know, high school?

We’ve All Been There: The Power Hour

Lauren - University of Michigan — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:39:37 +0000

[It doesn’t matter what school you go to, what state it is in, how big it is, whether it is public or private, all girls or coed…there are experiences that all college students share.No matter how crazy you think your personal situation is, it is not just you. So, let’s bring it all out in the open. Right here. Because you are not alone - we’ve all been there before.]

It’s your roommate’s birthday. Or the end of a brutal exam week. Or maybe it’s just Thursday. Whatever the reason, you are in line at the neighborhood liquor store, 30 pack of some cheap beer in hand, ready to start the power hour.

While you pick up the goods, your friend is at home building the perfect Power Hour CD: 60 songs, each cut down to the best 60 seconds. It’s the raddest blend of top 40 hits, 80s classics, and your favorite songs (Bootylicious?) to sing along to.

When you get home, you find your Power Hour crew sitting on the couch and floor around the coffee table ready and waiting for you. Each has her own special shot glass in front of her. There is an open seat at the end of the table with a penis shot glass in front of it. Your favorite shot glass. That seat is for you.

You divvy up the beers – 5 to each girl – before you sit down, crack your first brew, and settle in for the hour of fun.

The first ten minutes of the power hour pass by like any other time. Sure, you fill your shot glass each time the song changes, but between shots of beer you catch up with your friends on their day, their drama and that bitch of an exam you all had in Econ.

After a few more minutes (and the move onto beer #2), you begin laughing a bit more and singing along with the music. You reminisce about the time you hooked up to “The Gambler,” or that hilarious party when your stereo kept playing “4 Minutes” on repeat.

And then the 30 minute mark hits and it is as if someone turned up the drunk on the group.

Suddenly everyone is standing up, dancing, and screaming along to the music. Each new song brings a series of shouts from Power Hour-ers: “DRINK!!!” Then, “OMG I LOVE THIS SONGGGG!” And finally, “OMFG WHY DID THAT SONG END SO QUICKLY?! DRINKKKK.”

As the 45 minute mark comes and goes, girls are dancing on chairs, someone is wearing the cardboard beer case as a hat, and a few girls go missing.

“Where is Amy?!”

“She had to pee!”

“She’s gonna miss the next shot!”

“Don’t worry!” Amy calls from upstairs. “I brought my beer with me!”

When minute 55 rolls around, you notice girls rolling around. On the floor. Laughing. Holding their full and achy stomachs. Telling the other girls how much they love them and how they want to be BFF forever.

One girl is upstairs puking. “I’m not that drunk,” she says. “Too much liquid!”

Finally, once the floor is covered in empty cans and you can’t feel your tongue anymore, minute 59 rolls around. As always, your friend chooses a sappy friendship song (O.A.R. “I Feel Home,” or something like it) to end the party. Everyone grabs their shot glasses, puts their arms around one another and hugs it out for the final minute.

Then you all stumble out of the house in search of the next party/to go to the bar, leaving your mess (and the girl who is still upstairs puking) for later.

Ah. The Power Hour.

We’ve all been there.

[Photo courtesy of www.powerhourgame.com]

The World Gets Just a Little Bit Dirtier: Mr. Clean Dies at 92

CC Staff — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:40:47 +0000


No, not the actual cartoon (cartoons don't die.  Unless they're those cartoon rabbits from Watership Down), but actor House Peters Jr., the man who became the model for Proctor & Gamble's original Mr. Clean in their 1950's advertising campaign.
Because a lot of college kids may not know who House Peters, or even the cartoon Mr. Clean, is (these days we wipe up beer with more beer, right kids?), we've dug up a vintage Mr. Clean commercial from the '50's.  It's so happy and peppy and long (how the hell did anyone have the attention span for a 60 second commercial?), it's sure to keep you humming all the way to Econ 105.
RIP Mr. House Peters.  You had the coolest bald head in the business.



Don’t Let Slacker Guilt Bring You Down
ccandyblairh — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:10:52 +0000
As a creative writing major, I’m extremely lucky to have parents who didn’t scoff at getting the arty side of a liberal arts education.  My parents are voracious readers who have a high level of respect for the arts, and as a result they can be happy for me, even when my class schedule looks distinctly impractical.
Love in the Novel
Nabokov
Intro to Buddhist Thought
These are the kind of classes my parents put up with throughout my college career, with nary an Econ class to be found among the lot.
Many students feel a lot of pressure, however, to take classes that will turn around into the best profit.  They know their parents are dropping some major Benjamins to keep them in a good school, and they want to return the favor by, at the very least, not making their parents go gray worrying that their children will be living in a box on the street.  So they take Econ and finance classes.  They try to become good little doctors and lawyers and I-bankers.
But most of the people I know taking that path aren’t particularly happy doing it.
Sometimes I begin to feel that creeping Slacker Guilt.  You know, the worry that I’m only taking lightweight courses that won’t lead to a career.  That I’m squandering my parents’ money, happily off dancing through English and artsy-fartsy classes.  I begin to feel like maybe I should just put my head down and grind through a few teeth-gritting courses like Decision-Making in Finance, just so I won’t feel like I’ve got my head in the clouds all the time.  I see other english majors being struck with Slacker guilt, too. Creative writers taking on extra-burdensome course loads and classes that have bad professors and uninspired reading lists, just because they think they should.
It just doesn’t….fit.
I know that it makes sense to take these “practical” courses, but that doesn’t mean it’s right. College is about exploring new things and learning the things you want to learn. Sure, it is also about working towards a career, but if you don’t like what you are studing in Econ 101, you are not going to like working for a large finance firm for the next 60 years (or until it goes under). Especially if you only did it to appease the parentals.
I’m proposing a bold new interpretation of the keep-the-parents-happy rule.  Above all, your parents want you to be happy.  Honestly, it seems to me that life’s too short to waste twenty or more years of it on a career path that makes you groan inside.  There is a better life out there, doing something you feel passionate and excited about. Even if it means making a few less bucks, I say go for it.
At the very least, spend your college years being excited by your classes. You can do the more practical stuff later.  Med schools like admitting English majors, honestly, because they’re well-versed in the world and they know how to write, which is an invaluable skill in just about any profession.  So take a little joy in your education, and worry about paying the bills just a little bit later.