A lot of us students continually struggle with a difficult question: What am I going to do after I graduate?

Well, that search is over for me. I’m going to do a PhD. What changed my mind? This paper.

Ovulatory cycle effects on tip earnings by lapdancers: economic evidence for human estrus?

Abstract

To see whether estrus was really “lost” during human evolution (as researchers often claim), we examined ovulatory cycle effects on tip earnings by professional lap dancers working in gentlemen’s clubs. Eighteen dancers recorded their menstrual periods, work shifts, and tip earnings for 60 days on a study web site. A mixed-model analysis of 296 work shifts (representing about 5300 lap dances) showed an interaction between cycle phase and hormonal contraception use. Normally cycling participants earned about US$335 per 5-h shift during estrus, US$260 per shift during the luteal phase, and US$185 per shift during menstruation. By contrast, participants using contraceptive pills showed no estrous earnings peak. These results constitute the first direct economic evidence for the existence and importance of estrus in contemporary human females, in a real-world work setting. These results have clear implications for human evolution, sexuality, and economics.

Wow. How could we not have seen it before? This truly is a scientific breakthough.

Come on! These guys g(and undoubtedly they were guys) got paid $100K+ to sit in a strip club and count bills. This isn’t the job of a researcher, its the job of a rapper. I’m sure it took them at least 2 years of work too.

Where do I sign up to pursue my PhD; the research ideas are brewing already.

You can find the full version of the text here (requires Science Direct subscription).