When Is Your Hotness Expiration Date?

Last night, I watched the season premiere of one of my favorite shows, How I Met Your Mother. An observation was made on the show, which I found interesting. Robin, the headstrong Canadian, is suffering from a recent break-up, and she's really let herself go--she walks into the bar wearing dirty sweats, looking horrible, week-old Cheetos stuck in her ratty, greasy hair. Of course, everyone's favorite misogynist Barney Stinson has something to say. He tells her she's lost "it," that, "Girls are like milk; they have a hotness expiration date, and you've hit yours." Robin disagrees. She says she still has "it" and can get "it" back whenever she wants. She storms out of the bar and comes back a bit later all cleaned up and looking hot in a tight, white dress. She saunters up to the bar and is there just moments before a guy approaches. She glances at her watch, looks at Barney and gloats, "Fourteen seconds! Fourteen seconds and already some ding-dong steps up thinking he can get some of this!"

I hate to say it, but Barney sort of has a point. I do think each a person (men included) has his or her own unique Hotness Expiration Date. For some people it's 25--sad but true!--but a few lucky folks (Catherine Deneuve, Raquel Welch, Sean Connery, and Clint Eastwood come to mind) stay hot forever. For most, however, it's somewhere between 35 and 55. What's scary is that the person whose hotness is most at risk is often the last to know. He or she goes around acting, dressing, and thinking like a rockstar, not realizing it's just not happening anymore.

Maybe each of us should have our own personal Barney Stinson...to make the world a slightly less scary place.