PLAYBOY PLAYMATES THE 'TOPS' AT GAUGING ECONOMY
By BILL HOFFMANN
June 26, 2003 -- When the economy goes bust, so does Playboy magazine.
Researchers have found the famous men's magazine rolls out larger, curvier, chestier gals when times are tough.
Researchers studied the faces and figures of Playmates of the Year from 1960 to 2000 and found that guys like larger, stronger-looking women in hard times, and softer, girl-next-door types during bull markets.
For example, Amazon-like Anna Nicole Smith was the biggest Playmate of the Year ever to grace the men's mag in 1993, one of the worst years on record in terms of economic and social factors.
On the other hand, the boom years of the early '60s claim the youngest-ever Playmate, kittenish 18-year-old Donna Michelle in 1964, and the lightest, 102-pound June Cochran in 1963.
"In short, we want someone to have fun with when times are good, and we want someone to take care of us . . . when times are bad," said psychologist Terry Pettijohn, who led the study. Pettijohn and his team tracked changes in U.S. statistics on unemployment, marriage, homicide and other factors for the 40-year period - and compared them with key face and body dimensions of Playmates for those years.
One potential problem with the study is that publisher Hugh Hefner chooses the Playmate of the Year himself.
By BILL HOFFMANN
June 26, 2003 -- When the economy goes bust, so does Playboy magazine.
Researchers have found the famous men's magazine rolls out larger, curvier, chestier gals when times are tough.
Researchers studied the faces and figures of Playmates of the Year from 1960 to 2000 and found that guys like larger, stronger-looking women in hard times, and softer, girl-next-door types during bull markets.
For example, Amazon-like Anna Nicole Smith was the biggest Playmate of the Year ever to grace the men's mag in 1993, one of the worst years on record in terms of economic and social factors.
On the other hand, the boom years of the early '60s claim the youngest-ever Playmate, kittenish 18-year-old Donna Michelle in 1964, and the lightest, 102-pound June Cochran in 1963.
"In short, we want someone to have fun with when times are good, and we want someone to take care of us . . . when times are bad," said psychologist Terry Pettijohn, who led the study. Pettijohn and his team tracked changes in U.S. statistics on unemployment, marriage, homicide and other factors for the 40-year period - and compared them with key face and body dimensions of Playmates for those years.
One potential problem with the study is that publisher Hugh Hefner chooses the Playmate of the Year himself.
