Isn't it strange how people get prettier as the night goes on?

The "Closing Time Effect" is the phenomenon "that when you're drunk and it's late the people around you suddenly seem more attractive." Just to assure you that your tax dollars are going to a good cause, you will be happy to know that researchers have been studying this phenomenon regularly since 1979. The latest study, from Sydney, Australia, has determined that blood alcohol level is only partly to blame for the closing time effect. In the past, studies have claimed that the effect is also caused by the fear of going home alone as closing time approaches. But the Australian study refutes this explanation, saying that the effect is due to two factors (in addition to alcohol):

1. Exposure (looking at the same people for several hours makes them seem more attractive)
2. Scarcity (as people go home and there are fewer in the bar, the ones who are left look better)

Rest assured that the researchers will continue to study this important aspect of psychology. The Australian researchers say, "The phenomenon merits research not only because it is intrinsically interesting but because it is probably occurring nightly in every gin joint in every town in all the world."