In a recent study, sociologists from J. Walter Thompson surprised 531 New Yorkers over 21. They were all asked to imagine that a tidy $1,000 had suddenly appeared in their wallets. Afterward, the “lucky ones” were asked to spend the money, choosing their most desired items from a list. All the pleasures in life were priced the same: $1 per minute. Say you want to listen to music? For every 60 seconds, you'd have to shell out a dollar. If you want a woman, the same applies.
There were no fools. No one wanted to listen to music, but everyone asked for plenty of sex. Men were especially eager for intimate pleasures: they were willing to spend a whopping $82 on it—more than on anything else. Women were also willing to pay for love, though in smaller amounts, an average of $56. They spent much more on interactions with children, family, and friends, which together amounted to $116.
Interestingly, however, New Yorkers are by no means the most sexually obsessed Americans. On the contrary, compared to residents of other cities, they're rather weak. A national survey showed that the average American is willing to spend $117 out of a hypothetical $1,000 on the altar of carnal pleasure. The situation is different with women: New York City, it turns out, is home to some of the most amorous American women, as the national average value of sex for women is only 48.
Admittedly, the researchers were somewhat surprised by the survey results, but they still found a reasonable explanation for the disappointing results for New York men. According to Marian Salzman, an analyst at J. Walter Thompson, the men of the Big Apple rarely think about sex because they simply don't have the time. “A New York man has so much to do in a day that he doesn't have the energy for sex,” Salzman asserts. “He does everything but sleep with women.” It's different with women: they have much more time for pleasure.