The celebrated New York Times Magazine recently conducted a poll entitled, "The Way We Live Now." Designed to "shed light on the inner lives of Americans," the poll, which was conducted by Blum & Weprin Associates Inc., asked a random sample of 1,003 adults from all 50 states about their beliefs, fears, anxieties, fantasies and opinions. So we conducted our own poll to further illuminate the inner lives of Americans, at least those who live in Hudson County and are between the ages of 18 and 40.The celebrated New York Times Magazine recently conducted a poll entitled, "The Way We Live Now." Designed to "shed light on the inner lives of Americans," the poll, which was conducted by Blum & Weprin Associates Inc., asked a random sample of 1,003 adults from all 50 states about their beliefs, fears, anxieties, fantasies and opinions. Needless to say, interesting tidbits were uncovered. For instance, the poll concluded that "Fifty five percent of people under 30 and 27 percent of those over 70 think it's O.K. to fantasize about having sex with someone other than your partner" and "Forty percent of those who are divorced or separated, and 23 percent of those who are widowed, say they know someone personally who is going to hell." Unfortunately, Blum & Weprin Associates Inc., neglected to ask the important questions like, "Have you ever refrained from wearing underwear on a date?" and "When buying underwear, are you more concerned with appearance or support?" So we conducted our own poll to further illuminate the inner lives of Americans, at least those who live in Hudson County and are between the ages of 18 and 40. Men 1. Do you make a point of wearing clean underwear on a first date? Yes: 96% No: 2% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 2% 2. Do you prefer boxers, briefs or the boxer/brief hybrid made famous by Marky Mark? Boxers: 36% Briefs: 22% Boxer/brief hybrid: 60% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 2% 3. If you wear boxers, do you prefer satin, cotton or silk? Satin: 2% Cotton: 88% Silk: 12% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 8% 4. Have you ever refrained from wearing underwear on a date? Yes: 34% No: 60% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 4% 5. Would you date a woman who refrained from wearing underwear? (Note: Panty-free under tights doesn't count.) Yes: 72% No: 22% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 6% 6. Have you ever ended a relationship because you found your mate's intimate apparel revolting? Yes: 10% No: 86% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 4% 7. On women, do you prefer regular underwear, thongs or nothing? Regular: 22% Thongs: 52% Nothing: 16% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 10% 8. On women, do you prefer bras that fasten in the front or back? Front: 40% Back: 46% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 14% 9. When buying underwear, are you more concerned with appearance or support? Appearance: 66% Support: 32% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 12% 10. How much money do you typically spend on one under garment? 0 - $10: 48% $10 - $20: 48% $20 - $30: 2% $30 - $40: 0% Over $40: 0% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 2% 11. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Society spends too much time worrying about intimate apparel? Agree: 22% Disagree: 62% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 16% 12. Have you ever bought your mate an undergarment? Yes: 64% No: 34% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 2% 13. On a scale from one to 10, (one being the least), rate the importance of your partner's intimate apparel wardrobe. 0-3: 12% 4-6: 32% 7-10: 66% Not sure/Refused to answer: 0% Women 1. Do you make a point of wearing lingerie on a first date? Yes: 50% No: 48% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 2% 2. Have you ever gone bra free on a date? Yes: 46% No: 54% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 0% 3. Do you prefer satin, cotton, silk or leather underwear? Satin: 38% Cotton: 50% Silk: 10% Leather: 0% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 2% 4. Do you own a thong, and if so how many do you own? 0: 20% 1 - 3: 16% 3 - 7: 14% More than 7: 50% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 0% 5. Do you regularly refrain from wearing panties? (Note: Under tights doesn't count.) Yes: 28% No: 70% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 2% 6. Would you date a man who refrained from wearing underwear? Yes: 60% No: 26% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 14% 7. On men, do you prefer boxers, briefs or the boxer/brief hybrid made famous by Marky Mark? Boxers: 32% Briefs: 14% Boxer/brief hybrid: 52% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 2% 8. Have you ever ended a relationship because you found your mate's intimate apparel revolting? Yes: 6% No: 90% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 4% 9. When you buy a bra, are you more concerned with appearance or support? Appearance: 56% Support: 40% Not sure/Refused to answer: 4% 10. How much money do you typically spend on one under garment? 0 - $10: 6% $10 - $20: 24% $20 - $30: 46% $30 - $40: 16% Over $40: 6% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 0% 11. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Society spends too much time worrying about intimate apparel? Agree: 20% Disagree: 70% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 10% 12. Have you ever bought your mate an undergarment? Yes: 76% No: 24% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 0% 13. On a scale from one to 10, (one being the least) rate the importance of your partner's intimate apparel wardrobe. 0-3: 48% 4-6: 34% 7-10: 18% Not sure/ Refused to answer: 0% Brief insights When I set out to illuminate the inner lives of Americans by uncovering their underwear preferences, my modus operandi was to approach unsuspecting strangers on the street and say something innocuous like, "I'm doing an anonymous poll for the local paper. Would you be interested in filling one out?" Hudson County men on the street loved me. As they penciled in their preferences, things like, "You made my day," "When will this come out?" and "You've got to be kidding?" were said with a smile. Their X-chromosome counterparts, however, were less enthusiastic. "I don't think so," "I'm not interested," and "You've got to be kidding?" were said with a smirk. Before I even tallied the votes, I gleaned an important insight into human nature: men are more willing to fill out an underwear survey. Men are also more willing to date a woman who refrains from wearing underwear. Seventy two percent of the men polled said they would gladly date a panty free female while only 60 percent of the woman admitted that they would consider coalescing with a clad-free chap. This didn't surprise me: I assumed women would be pickier about their partner's underwear. The 22 percent of men who said they wouldn't date a woman who refrained from wearing underwear, however, left me wondering if 22 percent of the men out there don't know what refrain means. According to Webster, the verb refrain means "to hold oneself back; forbear: [like] refrain from singing." Therefore, a woman who refrains from wearing underwear is a woman who does not wear underwear. What self-respecting man would not like that?