John and Cynthia Jenson of Abner, Georgia sat down to a dinner of fried chicken and mashed potatoes.  Cynthia was well known in the community for her cooking and especially her fried chicken, but as John sank his teeth into a golden-brown drumstick, he noticed something was awry… it didn't taste the same as usual, and the look on his face didn't lie. "What's the matter with the chicken?" Cynthia inquired. "I'm not sure." John replied. "Hmm… seems to be missing an ingredient. It just doesn't taste like it usually does. It's almost like there's no… THAT'S IT!!!" With that, Cynthia broke down crying. "You always like my chicken! What are you trying to say?"

This could have ended any number of ways, but John Jenson isn't just any guy. He is Professor of statistical analysis at the University of Predume, just North of Atlanta, and this was the opportunity John had been waiting for. Upon presenting Cynthia with a survey he had previously prepared, he deduced that she was no longer in love with him, a point which she quickly admitted. You see; John had a long-held theory that the special ingredient in many foods was, in fact love.

Just a year prior, John had applied for a government grant based on his premise and had received it, but was awaiting the right test subjects. Little did he know that he and his wife of 22 years would be the ones. In the coming months, John and Cynthia attended marriage counseling each Tuesday. On Wednesday evenings Cynthia would prepare a pan of her Southern Fried chicken and the couple would invite the neighbors for dinner. The first few weeks were a little rough as the meal was disturbingly bland. The Crumholds, who lived to the right of the Jensons two-story Tudor, threatened not to return after just two weeks of the foul fowl, but using some of the grant money, John offered to pay them for their time.  At the end of each meal, the Crumholds were asked to rate the chicken on such areas as taste, texture and appearance. As the weeks progressed, the Jensons' worked together with the counselor and slowly began to work out their differences. The study showed that after eight weeks of counseling, the chicken improved in appearance and on week twelve the Crumholds noted a marked difference in the taste of the chicken. As you'll see from Illustration 1-A, the study showed that the taste improved in direct proportion to the amount of love Cynthia felt for John when she was cooking the meals. The conclusion… this half-million dollar government grant proved that love, really does make food taste better.
(See Illustration 1-A)

Illustration 1A