Are Height Preferences for Mates Hardwired?

  No man wants to wear platform shoes for a date (OK, maybe some do)—a study reveals just how strong our preferences are for the taller-man-shorter-woman duo. Researchers mined Yahoo Personals (while at work!) and found that only 23 percent of men would consider dating a woman taller than they are. Women were even bigger size snobs: Only 4 percent were open to breaking romantic tradition.

 Whether you have a height preference has little to do with being a feminist, at least among the younger generation. In the college students surveyed, there was little correlation between support for traditional gender roles and dream date stature. The weakness of the link "suggests that our preferences are more deeply rooted in our evolutionary history," says study co-author David Frederick of UCLA. Of course this probably doesn't apply if you're Tom Cruise (5'7"). His copious resources dwarfed his Lilliputian frame and helped him snag Nicole Kidman (5'10") and Katie Holmes (5'9").