Does this gun make my butt look big? No, but if you're a guy, it could indeed make you appear larger and meaner. That's according to a UCLA statement about the study, which says …

… participants consistently judged pistol-packers to be taller and stronger than the men holding the other objects.

The UCLA anthropologists asked 628 people to judge the size of four men by showing them only photos of similar sized hand models holding four things, including tools and a gun.

The guy with the gun was the biggest dude almost every time. UCLA:

On average, participants judged pistol packers to be 17 percent taller and stronger than those judged to be the smallest and weakest men — the ones holding caulking guns. Hand models holding the saw and drill followed gun-wielders in size and strength.

The study is being published this week in the journal PLoS ONE.

UCLA anthropologist Daniel Fessler, lead author of the study:

There's nothing about the knowledge that gun powder makes lead bullets fly through the air at damage-causing speeds that should make you think that a gun-bearer is bigger or stronger, yet you do. Danger really does loom large — in our minds.

So there you have it, guys. You're wasting your money on steroids, sports cars and Viagra. All you really need is a gun.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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