They didn't even look at people who were single or unmarried, so for all we know they wouldn't do any better. Please put away the ol' grindin' axe and save it for a more appropriate news item.

While I'm all for the tongue-in-cheek tone of much of Broadsheet's observations, this seems a bit of a low blow. Let's be clear: you're better off alone if you're determined to marry someone with whom you'll be in constant conflict. Some of us, however--who say wholeheartedly that we would have been content enough alone, too, as marriage isn't a _necessity_--have managed to marry people with whom we actually get along pretty well.

Marry someone reasonably civilised, and then be nice to them. Radical, wot?

stress is bad for your health??!! OMG, who knew? This is truly groundbreaking stuff.

" Cecelie Berry draws an unwarranted and suspicious conclusion in her article, in that the "good news" is "Sometimes, you really are better off alone." Not quite. Rather: "it is better to be alone than in a bad relationship!" "

Cecelie's conclusion is better than yours - the study does not (and indeed cannot) demonstrate that you're always better off alone, even compared to a bad relationship.

The point of this study wasn't to discover anything about marriage or couples or anything like that. The point was to discover two things:

1. How many idiots would agree to endure blisters for no good reason;

2. How many silly journalists would write a story about a "scientific" study that proves nothing except there are a certain number of idiots who will willingly endure blisters for no good reason.

Mission accomplished.

Cecelie Berry draws an unwarranted and suspicious conclusion in her article, in that the "good news" is "Sometimes, you really are better off alone." Not quite. Rather: "it is better to be alone than in a bad relationship!" This experiment as described does not indicate the benefits of a good relationship, only the problems in a bad one. Many studies (including mine) have demonstrated that individuals in a happy relationship are healthier and have a more responsive immune system, in part due to a more trusting and optimistic perspective on the world. Let's not write off couplehood just yet!