Cinnamon. Good For You In More Ways Than One
It was the first class of the semester in the writing course we taught at Shepherd University, and we were doing our “getting to know you” shtick. A cute young lady sat calmly at the far end of the room, bracing herself for what she knew was coming. “My name,” she said when her turn came, “is Cinnamon.”
“And where,” I asked, “did you get a name like Cinnamon?” 
She smiled wanly at a question she’d answered thousands of times. “My mother liked it,” she sighed.
She must have been grateful that her mother didn’t fall in love with cardamom or fennel.
As I told her later, she wasn’t the original spice girl. Bible buffs will recall that one of Job’s daughters was named Shulamin (in some versions Cassia), which in Hebrew means cinnamon. And in those days, there were two kinds of cinnamon—one for spice and one for fragrance. Shulamin was named for the perfume. Figures.
Read on, faithful ones. They were ahead of their time in the land of Uz.
The name of our pretty new student sparked a conversation at home, and I learned something new about my husband. He has, he said, always found the fragrance of cinnamon to be an aphrodisiac.
I thought about all the cinnamon buns I’d brought home from the bakery, all the cinnamon-topped desserts I’d made over the years, all the times I’d simmered cinnamon stick potpourri during the holidays—and I frowned.
“I thought it was me that turned you on,” I pouted. “Now I find out you don’t need me; you just need a well-stocked spice shelf.”
A few nights later we were watching a news show and learned that a famous cosmetic company had done a survey to find out which fragrances turn men and women on to each other.
You’ll never guess the top fragrance for men. That’s right—cinnamon.
Cinnamon buns to be exact. And I’m not touching that one with a 10-foot pole. The next favorite fragrance for men contains cinnamon and also nutmeg and ginger and cloves. I speak here of pumpkin pie.
We have a son whose pie preference all his life has been pumpkin. In fact, he’s preferred it to any kind of cake—to the point that I learned early on how to get birthday candles to stand upright in a pumpkin pie.
When our other kids moved away, they asked for my recipes for pasta sauce and meatloaf. When John moved away from home, the first recipe he requested was for my pumpkin pie—but it wasn’t so he could make it for himself when Mom wasn’t around. No. It was so he could give the recipe to his girlfriends. A relationship had a better chance if she could concoct a decent pumpkin pie.
The shortest relationship he ever had was with a cute Irish gal who could make great soda bread but couldn’t quite get the hang of that special pie. John says there’s no connection. Right.
The survey said that the male aphrodisiac that tied with pumpkin pie was lavender. Hmmm—Yardley’s Lavender was the only perfume my Mom ever used. Long before the survey, Mom knew something good when she smelled it. And so did Dad. Since he also loved her pumpkin pies, I knew I’d discovered the secret to their happy 60-year long romance. Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t think it was communication.
What turns women on? You’re not going to believe this, but here goes. Tied for first place—fresh-cut up cucumbers and Good and Plenty candies. And all this time you guys thought it was a dozen long-stemmed roses and Godiva chocolates. See how easy we make it for you? Not to mention cheap.
Second place went to baby powder. And third place? Pumpkin pie and lavender tied. Maybe men and women are more alike than we thought, eh wot?
What odors turn women off? Now hear this all you backyard chefs. Apparently we don’t like the smell of grilling meat. What did they do—interview only the vegetarians in the crowd?
And the survey also says that cherries turn us off. Just as well. The cucumber season lasts a lot longer than the cherry season, guys.
After hearing all this I checked our bathroom cabinet. I found Yardley’s and baby powder in mine and Old Spice in Bob’s. And the cinnamon buns were in the oven. 
So who needs Viagra?