Sushi Could Be the Reason You Got Ghosted

So your date/Tinder Tuesday/totally chill hangout last night went well. They laughed at your story about the office biscuit tin and looked genuinely interested in those photos of your sister's cat.

A week later though, and nothing. No followup message, no link to that YouTube clip they mentioned. Not even a "lol good 1" response to your Bernie Sanders meme. The chances of seeing potential bae again aren't looking good.

While you can spend hours wondering if it was your hair or overly detailed explanation of the Gilmore Girls plot line (they did ask) that got you ghosted, it may actually be down to your choice of restaurant.

According to the annual Singles in America study, released this month by dating website Match.com, the key to getting a second date is sushi.

Surveying 5,500 unattached Americans aged 18 to 70, the site found that going for sushi on the first date increases the odds of getting a second meeting by 170 percent.

Indiana University's Kinsey Institute anthropologist Helen Fisher, who assisted with the study explained: "[Sushi] is adventurous. Any kind of novelty drives up the dopamine system in the brain."

As well as showing how cultured and exotic your tastes are, the fish component of sushi contains omega-3 fatty acids (good for circulation and alertness) and its seaweed is full of iodine, which boosts testosterone. Douse the whole lot with heart rate-raising wasabi and you've got an aphrodisiacal feast.

If mispronouncing "nigirizushi" and dribbling soy sauce doesn't work for you as a seduction method, however, the survey also showed good results for everyone's favourite social lubricant: booze. Going for cocktails upped the odds of getting a second date by 137 percent and after-dinner drinks by 59 percent.

Of course, American singles could always consider making the hop over the pond. In Britain, there's no need to mess about with raw fish or use chopsticks when three mojitos deep. We're pretty happy to entertain potential lovers over mid-price chicken burgers and refillable Pepsi.