The Oatmeal's Valentine's Day Comic - click above to read the whole thing.

I don’t know what to get my boyfriend/girlfriend for Valentine’s Day. Help!

It’s perfectly okay to stick to the classics – if you’re shopping for a girl, flowers, chocolates, or jewelry are all highly acceptable. Just about anything from Lush works. And remember: you live so close to Burdick, it would be a crime to buy her Godiva. Don’t be afraid to be a little spicy, either (for instance: I’m getting my girlfriend a Snuggie and a copy of the book The Snuggie Sutra). Just a Hallmark card is a cop-out; but just a nice handwritten card is lovely. A nice dinner out works perfectly for both sexes (if you go to Upstairs on the Square on Valentine’s Day you might see me there), but reserve ASAP since it’s a popular night to eat out. Gifts for guys are trickier, because guys typically don’t get into Valentine’s Day as much; when in doubt, just a card is fine. Something token but masculine would work well: for instance, if he’s a snappy dresser and has shirts with French cuffs, get him a pair of cufflinks. Guys often like practical gifts, but a pantygram is cute, too.

Keep in mind that the point isn’t to lavish, the point is only to say “I’m thinking of you,” so don’t go overboard. Be careful about expectations — this isn’t a birthday or Christmas, so the giving of gifts isn’t necessarily a foregone conclusion. A lot of people don’t think of Valentine’s Day as a gift-giving occasion. Don’t let that discourage you from giving a gift, but don’t expect one will be given to you. In giving, also beware of setting an expensive precedent that you’re not going to be comfortable sustaining. If your relationship is less than a year old, particularly, keep it simple.

I don’t have a valentine this year. Help!

I usually hear this from women and not men — not because there are necessarily more single women than single men on Valentine’s Day, but because women are much more likely to find it worrying. Single guys looking for love: I can’t tell you what a big opportunity this is — there are women fretting about this holiday whom you could make very happy!

Single ladies: if you’re fretting, you’re probably making too big a deal out of this. There is no shame in not having a date on Valentine’s Day. Go out with a bunch of your friends and have a great night. Guys won’t just fall from the sky into your lap, so don’t build your plans around that happening spontaneously. Because of the high expectations surrounding this holiday, it’s rare for guys to want to start relationships immediately prior to Valentine’s Day, but there are great things you can do to set yourself up for success every day of the year. I’ve written about how to meet new people and how to plan a first date; give those posts a read if you haven’t yet, as well as those three posts about attraction.

Hope you all have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

Special thanks to everyone comping the Voice; all the cool kids are doing it. Email Some Dude at somedude.harvardfml@gmail.com.

Introducing LE WHIF, the product of the tireless of work of Harvard Professor David Edwards and his team of students. Edwards writes: “Over the centuries we’ve been eating smaller and smaller quantities at shorter and shorter intervals. It seemed to us that eating was tending toward breathing, so, with a mix of culinary art and aerosol science, we’ve helped move eating habits to their logical conclusion. We call it whiffing.” All sounds very odd to us, but here goes!

The small lipstick sized plastic container fits comfortably in the hand and is very light. Pull it out, raise it to the lips and inhale! Suddenly a rush of the most delicious chocolate flavor as thousands of aerosol chocolate particles burst onto the tongue. LE WHIF comes in three awesome flavors (Noice loves them all very, very much): Dark (rich, creamy tasting) Chocolate, Mint Chocolate, and Raspberry Chocolate. Each LE WHIF is worth three or four shots (or whiffs?!) of chocolate heavenly-ness and, whilst you’re not enjoying the instant chocolate satisfaction, you can simply click it shut and pop it back into your manbag, purse, or pocket.

LE WHIF is doing the rounds in many of the upperclassmen houses so keep a look out and tell your friends. However, more importantly, come along to the Grand Opening of The Laboratory this Sunday 8th in the late afternoon and witness an incredible (and sometimes chocolaty) collision of art and science. Buy those tickets!

(If you’re interested in learning more about LE WHIF and the other amazing products by this group just go to www.lewhif.com and www.thelaboratory.harvard.edu)

Photos courtesy of www.lewhif.com