How many people believe in it?

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TORONTO - British pop-soul star Dusty Springfield may have been on to something 40 years ago when she cooed in song about "The Look of Love." A new poll suggests more than half of Canadians don't just think falling in love at first glance is the stuff of syrupy romantic ballads or Hollywood fantasy - they believe it's the real deal. The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey released for Valentine's Day found that 55 per cent of respondents believe in love at first sight. Men outnumbered women who were convinced of the phenomenon, with 59 per cent saying they were believers compared to 51 per cent of women. "I don't know whether that really speaks to men being a little bit kind of over-passionate in terms of how they react to the opposite sex, or women being a little bit more cautious in terms of how they respond, but one way or another there's about an eight-point difference between men and women," Harris-Decima president Bruce Anderson said Wednesday. Neal Talbot, founder of All-Star Dating Tips, a dating advice website launching Thursday, said one possible explanation is that men are more visually driven than women. "In that aspect, it's not entirely surprising," he said from Whistler, B.C. "Men, as much as I hate to say it, it's almost in some aspects lust at first sight." Some 38 per cent said they have fallen in love with their Mr. or Ms. Right at first sight. And 17 per cent believe it's possible, but haven't experienced it yet. Of those who've fallen in love at first sight, two out of three said they are still head over heels for the person they originally fell for. Talbot said he believes love at first sight is entirely possible provided that people are confident enough to approach the person who catches their eye. "A lot of people know the type of person that interests them, knows what physical features they're attracted to at first sight, so I don't see any reason that love at first sight isn't possible." Calgary-based dating expert Christine Hart said the people who are experiencing love at first sight are those who leave themselves open to the possibility it will become reality. "People that go around and say there's no such thing as love at first sight, they're just doing a disservice to themselves," she said. "There's no harm in believing in it because it could happen to you." Hart, founder of Your Date Coach, said it's often fear of rejection that keeps individuals from taking risks. She said she teaches in workshops and seminars that "No" is the opportunity for the next "Yes" from a potential paramour. Hart said during her six years at the helm of speed dating company Six Minute Dates, 60 couples who locked eyes for the first time during their mini-dates went on to get married. "Certainly I've had a lot of people tell me through speed dating that it was definitely love at first sight because they sat down and just looked across the table and went, 'Wow,"' she said. "I think that's why speed dating continues to be very popular, because we just kind of clear everything away, and we get right down to what matters - and that's chemistry." Overall, 98 per cent of the people surveyed said they've been in love at least once. The average number of loves a Canadian has in their lifetime is pegged at 2.3. Three per cent counted 10 or more loves. "So often we're fed this information that there's one person out there or 'The One,"' Hart said. "I don't think the love world is designed that way. I think we deserve to fall in love. If we're lucky to fall in love for our whole life then that's what's good for us, but if we're lucky to fall in love two, three, four times, I mean, Wow!" "Isn't that amazing that we can experience that?" she added. More than 1,000 Canadians were interviewed by telephone from Feb. 8 to Feb. 12, and the results are considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

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