The age-old theory that opposites attract has been debunked. According to analysis of more than 130 traits in a study that included millions of couples over more than a century, the authors found that partners are more likely to be similar than wildly different.

Tanya Horwitz, a doctoral student at the University of Colorado, said 82% to 89% of traits analyzed - ranging from political leanings to substance-use habits - revealed people tend to find partners with similar habits.

"People meet the people they get into relationships with often within social networks," she said. "So, if a person spends a lot of time in bars or taking substances, they are probably also going to meet a lot of other people who have similar substance-use patterns."

Horwitz added the analysis shows individuals tend to partner with those who are different for only three-percent or less of the traits studied. Meanwhile, traits like height and weight, medical conditions and personality showed far lower - but still positive - correlations. The study did not include same-sex couples because their patterns may differ significantly, which the authors are now exploring separately.

While the study showed partner resemblance was far more similar than dissimilar, Horwitz noted sleep patterns were a surprising outlier.

"We're looking at tens of thousands of couples, so it was a large sample," she explained. "But we did find that if you're a morning person, you are slightly more likely, in the sample, to be in a long-term relationship with a night owl - and we kind-of don't know why we found this."

She said the study involved two methods - a meta-analysis looked at 22 traits across 199 studies, including millions of male-female co-parents, and engaged, married or cohabitating pairs. It also includes analysis of 133 traits across almost 80,000 opposite-sex pairs in the United Kingdom.


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Indiana's share of federal money to boost broadband access in underserved areas in the state is almost $870 million. The funding - through the Broadband Equity, Adoption and Deployment (BEAD) program - is expected by mid- to late 2024. Purdue University's Broadband Team is working to make sure the money ends up where it's needed most.

Roberto Gallardo, the university's vice president for engagement and director of its Center for Regional Development, said a Federal Communications Commission map will pinpoint the spots where broadband help is needed - and they aren't just rural areas.

"I've known anecdotally from urban counties that they still have pockets out of their incorporated cities that have issues with connectivity," he said.

To make the map as accurate as possible, he said, university students and alumni team members will assist by letting people know how to report their internet service information. The group will also conduct presentations, talk with community leaders and other stakeholders, and post information on social media about the program.

Gallardo said the Purdue team won't be visiting anyone's home to conduct speed tests or validate their address or service on the FCC map, but they can point them to the resources to do their own test and explain why it's important.

"We also do not control the outcome of what happens to that speed test once it's completed," he said. "We are increasing awareness of existing resources and spreading the word through taking advantage of the trust that we have across the Indiana community."

According to ConnectingIndiana.com, Carroll, Crawford, Dubois, Franklin and Ripley counties have the highest percentage of unserved and underserved broadband locations in the state.

Since February, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch has certified 11 counties as "broadband ready." This tells the telecommunication industry that a community has taken steps to reduce barriers to broadband infrastructure investment.

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