Here’s a fun fact: EVERYONE sucks at flirting. Really. Both sexes. We’re all pretty damn bad at it and are even WORSE at detecting flirting.

Jeffrey Hall, a Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas and wrote a book on flirting in 2013, conducted a study to see how often a pair of strangers were able to identify when the other was flirting.

According to the study, while the pairs were more than 80 percent accurate in knowing when their counterpart was NOT flirting, they were far less accurate in detecting when they were being flirted with. A whopping 36 percent of men judged correctly; for women, the number was a mere 18 percent.

Professor Hall had this to say: “If you think someone is not interested in you, you are probably right, they are not interested. But if someone is, you probably missed it.”

They also say that there’s only way to pick up dates and meet people: Abandon all subtlety and just be blunt about it. Which is something I’ve believed for years. Just be blunt and go balls to the wall. What have you got to lose, right? You know, other than your dignity and a chance at eternal happiness?

So if you want to date your hot neighbor or are trying to find something clever to say on Tinder, just be blunt. Be explicit with your expectations. Otherwise, you’ll be left out in the cold, kids.

Subtlety is for the weak.

[via Daily Mail]