Today we look through holes into each others’ souls. – Let’s talk about that. (cheerful music) – Good Mythical Morning. – Today, we are digging into the human connection with the help of oxytocin, Rhett, what you know about oxytocin? – I used to put it on my face in high school to get rid of zits. – Nope. – Billy Mays used to put it on our floors to clean ’em. – That’s not it. – My second cousin is hooked on it. – No, oxytocin is known as the cuddle hormone because our pituitary glands release it during moments of affection, like when you’re hugging somebody. And studies have shown that if you have lower levels of oxytocin, you might have a harder time picking up on social cues or reading facial expressions. And that’s why some people refer to it as the natural social lubricant. – Oh, that sounds fun. – It’s also the reason why a bunch of companies around the world have started bottling up and selling it. This one in particular is called OxyLove. Paid 35 bucks for this. – And for this, 35 bucks each. – [Link] It’s just oxytocin. And you spray it in your nose. – We did some boopity boop boop boop research and found a study published by the Society of Biological Psychiatry, our favorite society, other than the Mythical Society, which aimed to find out if a boost of oxytocin would help people sense the feelings of others simply by staring into their eyes. So some participants were given an oxytocin nasal spray like this, and some were given just a placebo. – How much they pay for the placebo? – 35, I don’t know, just sugar. The participants were shown a computer with a whole bunch of pictures of the eye regions of different people along with different words describing what that person might be thinking or feeling at the moment, and when the results were in, the oxytocin did improve two thirds of the participants’ ability to infer the mental state of others just by looking at their eyes. – Do we buy it? – Yes, we already bought it. – But do we believe it? We’re gonna have to conduct our own experiment before we really go in with oxytocin. So we wanna find out if the oxytocin can help us feel the feels that the other guy’s feeling. It’s time for, Can a Hormone Sprayed All Up In Our Nose Make Us Feel Closer to Our Chums and our Bros? We’re gonna be conducting this experiment in two parts, one before the oxytocin spray, and the other after. So first, Rhett and I will see how well we can infer what the other person is feeling just by looking at their eyes, no spray involved. – And how are we gonna do that? Well, we’re gonna take turns behind the Mythical Glor-Eye-Hole, get it? Which exposes only our eyes. Okay, so the person behind the Glor-Eye-Hole is gonna think about a series of specific emotion-filled memories scenarios or ideas, most of which are things that are actually from our own lives. Now, Stevie will give the other person, the eye reader, which is gonna be Link first, three options as to what the memories or scenarios might be, and the eye reader will study the exposed eyes, my eyes, and use whatever natural cues Link picks up on to guess what the answer is. – Can I use unnatural cues? – Yeah, use whatever cues you want to. – I’m just using your eyes, man, ’cause that’s all I have to go on. Okay, I’m ready, get in there. – [Stevie] Okay, Rhett, are you ready to immerse your mental state with our previously agreed upon emotional scenario? – [Rhett] Yes, I am. – [Stevie] Please begin thinking of real life memory number one. Link, is Rhett thinking about A, when he was 12 years old and dropped a tray full of food in the Campbell University cafeteria in front of all of the college students, B, when, on his recent solo camping trip, he realized his campsite was set up near the mouth of a cave full of bats, and he’s scared of bats. – I know he is. – [Stevie] Or C, when he and Jessie brought Barbara home for the first time? – You’re definitely seeming emotional, it could be Barbara or it could be the lunch tray. I think it’s the lunch tray. – [Stevie] Rhett? – [Rhett] I’m thinking about Barbara, man. – Oh, I was close, but… – [Rhett] I’m thinking about my little stinky girl. – Okay. Your eyes are a little moist, man. – [Rhett] Yeah, she makes me cry. – All right, give me another shot. – [Stevie] Okay, Rhett, please put yourself in the mindset of your second emotional scenario. Is Rhett thinking about A, the time he tried to get into a minivan he thought was Link’s but then realized there was a scared family inside? B, every time the McRib comes back, or C, when Shepherd wrote a song for Jessie for Mother’s Day, entitled “Mom”? – I think this is Shepherd, I just feel like this is a sweet song moment. – [Stevie] Rhett? – [Rhett] I’m thinking about the time I tried to get into that minivan, man. – Really? – [Rhett] I’m thinking about that minivan, and how stupid I felt, and how scared the family looked. – Give me another one. – [Stevie] Okay, Rhett, sink into your final feeling. Is Rhett thinking about, A, that feeling when you get your scrote caught in your zipper, B, that feeling when you put on clothes straight from the dryer, or C, that feeling when you get cut off in traffic by a Tesla? – Oh man, this could be the scrote. I think it’s the scrote. The Something About Mary moment. – [Stevie] Rhett, is it the scrote? – [Rhett] Yes, it’s the scrote! – I feel good that I got one right. – [Rhett] One out of three ain’t bad. – [Stevie] All right, Link, it’s your turn in the Glor-Eye-Hole. Link, are you ready to immerse your mental state with your previously agreed upon emotional scenarios? – [Link] Yes I am. – [Stevie] Time for real life memory number one. Is Link thinking about A, when his mom called him to tell him she watched the chocolate fountain video, B, when he got stung by a bee in between the eyes, swelled up, and looked like a different person, or C, yesterday, when he thought he was out of coffee, but then found some coffee? – I don’t think it’s the last one. I think it’s either embarrassment… I think it’s when his mom called and talked about the chocolate episode. The chocolate fountain episode, he seems a little embarrassed. – [Stevie] Link? – [Link] No, it’s when I looked crazy ’cause I got stung by a bee in between the eyes. – Okay, all right, okay. – [Stevie] Put yourself in the mindset of the second emotion. Is Link thinking about A, the time he accidentally touched his bare butt to the bare back of a college professor, B, the first time he held hands with Christy, or C, the time he won the anti-drug poster contest in fourth grade by committing plagiarism? – Well, it seems like a pleasant thing, and I know he was happy about winning that contest, and it was only years later that he admitted to plagiarism. But I’m gonna go with the first time you held hands with your wife. – [Stevie] Link? – [Link] No, it’s the plagiarism. – Oh, really? – Yeah. – Okay, you seemed a little bit proud. – [Link] A little bit proud, yeah, ’cause I did win, and… – Okay, all right, okay, 0 for 2, I mean, I don’t have the spray yet. – [Stevie] Okay, Link, please step into your final feeling. Is Link thinking about A, that feeling when you waited on hold with your cable company for 45 minutes, and you finally get someone on the line, but then you get disconnected, B, that feeling when you can’t remember someone’s name, but you hear yourself beginning to say a name anyways, and boy, you’re hoping it’s the right name, or C, that feeling when you step inside and smell Mom making sloppy Joes? – He doesn’t care about food that much. I think it’s the name situation. You seem a little bit anxious, like “Aw crap, I’m about to say somebody’s name, and I might get it wrong.” That’s what I’m going with. – That’s right. – Hey! – We’re the same, man, one out of three. – Now, we’re going to actually apply the OxyLove spray, now this thing takes about two hours to take effect, so we’re gonna take it now. – You shake it first? – We’re gonna go to lunch, take a two hour break, and then we’re, no, and it’s been primed, Chase said it had been primed for us, so one spray in each nostril. – More than four sprays in each nostril within 24 hours is not recommended. All right, one in each side. Ooh, it burns a little bit. – Whoa. That’s hot! – It’s refreshing. – It got in there. Okay, two hour wait, we come back, we see if we’ve got OxyLove. – Okay, it’s been two hours. Do we look different? – I feel different. – Okay, tell me how you feel. – But I wouldn’t say I feel empathetic, I think physically, the way I would describe it is, I’m a little bit tired, might just be the time of day, but I’m also a little bit like I feel like I took NyQuil. – There’s a little grog happening. But maybe I’m feeling your grog and you’re feeling my grog. – You think that’s what it is? – We’re not feeling our own grogs. – It’s a grog-off. – Okay, so, you’re gonna start thinking first. – And while Link is getting that into position, I wanna remind you, this is the last month to get the last quarterly collectable item of 2020, the Rhett and Link bobble heads right over here, you’ve got to join the Mythical Society 3rd degree to get it. Join 3rd degree quarterly or annual by December 31st to qualify, visit MythicalSociety.com for deets. – [Stevie] Okay, Rhett, are you ready to emotionally engage with your next memory? – My nose still feels a little funny, too, after two years. Two years! – [Stevie] Link, is Rhett thinking about A, when Link told John Mayer that he loved him at a party, B, when GMM won show of the year at the Streamies, C, when he didn’t stop his mom from walking down a treacherous path around a castle in Scotland, and then she broke her ankle. – You’re thinking about your mom and the tragedy, aren’t you? – [Rhett] No, I’m thinking about the Streamies, man! Show of the year! – Okay, I thought… – [Stevie] Well we’re off to a good start. – [Rhett] You need another spray? – [Link] Well I got it wrong. – [Stevie] Let’s try again. Rhett, please put yourself in the mindset of this next real life scenario. Is Rhett thinking about A, the time he had the King Mocha with six shots of espresso in order to pull an all-nighter in college, B, when Link slapped him at the end of that one GMM episode, or C- – You remember that, Stevie. – [Stevie] When he was surfing, and suddenly there was a dolphin riding the wave with him. – Is that a dolphin in your eyes? I think you’re thinking about the slap. – [Rhett] That’s right, I am! – Yep. See, I’m back on track. I’m really tuning in to the sniff. – Okay, all right, science. – [Stevie] Okay, here we go, Rhett, sink into your final feeling. Is Rhett thinking about A, that feeling when someone eats the leftovers you specifically set aside and were looking forward to eating all day, B, that feeling when you fart in an elevator, and everybody knows it’s you, and you’ve still got 13 floors to go- – Ooh, tall building. – [Stevie] Or C, that feeling when you look at yourself in the mirror and think, “Wow, who is that confident, fun, and flirty person?” – You definitely seem fun and flirty. I’m a little uncomfortable. Yeah, it’s C, it’s confident, fun, and flirty. – That’s right, hey! Two out of three for the spray! – A little farty, too, so. Rhett, you there? – Hey, I’m over here. – Now’s your chance to say “Lincoln, Lincoln, I’ve been thinking, what the heck have you been thinking?” – Lincoln, Lincoln, I’ve been thinking, what the heck have you been thinking? – [Stevie] Okay. Link, are you ready to get emotional? – That was good. Yeah. – [Stevie] Get into your first emotion. Is Link thinking about A, locking eyes with Jennifer during nap time in kindergarten, B, admitting to himself that the Hobbit films truly sucked, or C, cutting his fingernail too close to the quick? – You’re thinking about Jennifer. – I am. – I could tell, man, he’s thinking about Jennifer. – Kindergarten, I was also in kindergarten, I just wanna clarify that. We were both in kindergarten, and- – She lived on a farm. – [Stevie] All right, let’s move on to the next memory, please. Is Link thinking about, A, the time his dental hygienist said his gums looked good, B, the time Jade got stung on the face by a bee, and she vomited, and had to get a shot at the vet, or C, the first time he noticed he had underarm hair? – I sense a little bit of excitement, but a little bit of insecurity and embarrassment, so I’m going with underarm hair. – No, it was A! – [Stevie] The dental hygienist. – [Link] You feel good when your dental hygienist says that your gums are good, but then you feel a little embarrassed, kinda like puberty. – Okay, you know, one out of two, let’s see if I can get two out of three. – [Stevie] Link, step into your final feeling. Is Link thinking about A, that feeling when you find out your best friend is lying to you, B, that feeling when you’re gossiping about a coworker, but then you realize that the coworker you’re gossiping about is the coworker you’re talking to, or C, that feeling when you meet Danny DeVito for the first time, and then tandem paraglide over mountainsides covered in wildflowers? – What was the second one? – [Stevie] Gossiping about a coworker. – It’s that one. – It is that one. (Rhett laughs) – Yeah, I could tell, man. – So we both experienced an improvement. – An enhancement! I mean we’re not completely in sync, but we both had a full from getting it right 33% of the time to getting it right 66.6666% of the time! – And I feel like I feel that you feel good. – I’m feeling great now! Like it’s really sinking in. – No, but how do you feel about how I feel? – Yeah, I feel like you feel great, do you feel like I feel great? – I just feel okay, but I feel like you feel great. – I do feel great. I think I was feeling the greatness that you’re feeling from me. – I feel like your greatness feeling was bouncing off of me back to you, and you thought it was me. – But you’re just feeling okay. – I am, but I’m feeling great that you felt feeling great. – But we’re both great. – We’re both great. – All right, we proved science today. It’ll only take you $35 to have science in your life. – I wish I could say I believe it, but I don’t. – Oh, come on! – Thanks for subscribing and clicking that bell. – You know what time it is. – Hi, I’m Stephanie. – Hi, I’m Adam. – And we’re from Moulton, Alabama. And we’re celebrating our 10 year anniversary. And it’s time to spin the Wheel of Mythicality. – 10 years? – Got that 10 years! – Congrats, y’all. – Click the top link to watch us try and link up some misconnections in Good Mythical More. – And to find out where the Wheel of Mythicality is gonna land. Hey, if you want the Rhett and Link bobble heads, it’s the last month to join the Mythical Society 3rd degree quarterly or annual plans by December 31st to be eligible. Visit MythicalSociety.com for details.