THE OLIVE theory was brought to the mainstream media by the TV sitcom How I Met Your Mother.
On the show, the protagonist, Ted, believes that in every successful relationship, one person will always hate olives while the other loves them.
What is the 'olive theory'?
The olive theory is the same concept as the idea that opposites attract.
In How I Met Your Mother's first-ever episode, Ted explains why his friends, Lily and Marshall, make such a great couple.
It all comes down to whether or not they like olives.
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Lily loves olives, while Marshall has declared his hatred of them.
Ted calls this "perfect balance."
Is the olive theory true?
The olive theory can test your compatibility when ordering pizza, salads, or dirty martinis.
However, it's no less different than any other minor preference you might disagree on.
In fact, in the show, Marshall later admits that he loves olives, like Lily, and only said he didn't like them when they first met to be unique, which means that Ted's theory is shot anyway.
What are other relationship theories in How I Met Your Mother?
The sitcom is filled with relationship theories, many of which are hilarious and some of which are at least partially true.
One example of such is the Dobler/Dahmer theory.
This theory states that when grand gestures are made in the early stages of a romantic relationship, the person enacting the gestures may come across in one of two ways.
The ideal situation occurs when both parties are equally into each other.
This would provide the Dobler effect, named after Lloyd Dobler’s boombox move in the movie Say Anything.
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The situation to avoid is the Dahmer situation, in which the receiving party does not have romantic feelings nearly as strong as the other.
Therefore, the gesture comes off as creepy, like Jeffrey Dahmer.