Interesting Links for 25-08-2016

[andrewducker]

40% of people find happiness again after major depression (supportive relationships help a lot) (tags: relationships depression happiness ) Google to punish sites that use intrusive pop-over ads (tags: advertising google search ) "Please never pay a farmer to ask me to marry you" (tags: marriage funny advice ) Virgin trains to have more seats

Comments

[kalimac]

Marriage proposals are another thing that ought to be done in private, without associated hoopla. If a man wants a fancy display, save it for the public announcement after she says yes, and plan it with her cooperation and participation. There's a fascinating category of YouTube videos of marriage proposals made in public (sometimes actually on TV, sometimes videotaped by a friend hiding in the bushes) where the woman declines - and then (this is interesting) invariably immediately runs off.

However, my favorite marriage proposal gone wrong doesn't involve a refusal. I can't find it online now, but it starts with the man alone being filmed by his friend who's going to hide in the bushes and film the proposal. He explains that on their first date, he and his girlfriend had visited the park he's now in, and he had bought her a balloon. So now he's bought another balloon, and is tying the engagement ring to the string to surprise her. Cut to her arrival. He hands her the balloon and then drops to his knee. She's so astonished, she claps her hands to her face - and the balloon flies off. He hadn't told her about the ring yet. So he jumps up and runs after the balloon in a panic, while she stands there calling "What are you doing? What's going on?"

[andrewducker]

I wouldn't tend to do a proposal like that. But I was involved in a discussion about exactly this a few days ago, and multiple women chimed in to say they'd love one. At which point I think I'd err towards a private one, but if I knew the woman would like something big an expressive then I could be tempted. Definitely got a larger failure mode though.

(And the balloon one is unfortunate, but hilarious.)

[kalimac]

Result probably depends on the type of woman you were talking with. I'd be nervous of ones who wanted big proposals, as of those who wanted big rings with huge stones: sound high-maintenance to me. B. is not like that; she's even more socially reserved than I am, which takes some doing.

[fiddlingfrog]

Fortunately none of my friends or acquaintances have any horror stories, so the best awful proposal story I have comes from a comedian.

[kalimac]

That is funny, although in fact when B. and I took a cruise, I wasn't expecting our hand luggage to be inspected as we boarded. So I just muttered to the guy that I'd bought some flowers to surprise my wife when we got to our room, so if he'd kindly keep them inconspicuous during the inspection ... He did.

[pennski]

Oh that is brilliant! Thank-you!