No, I don’t mean seasonal dating. I mean that term used in the polite circles of the June Cleaver era: a “May-December couple” —you know, where one person is at an early stage of life and the other is at a… later stage.

Have you heard about that genius little math formula that men can use to determine the lowest aged woman they can date? No? Ask a single man in his 40s and he will be falling all over himself with excitement to tell you about it. According to the theory, men should halve their age and add 7 in order to find the minimal (ideal?) age in a woman.

(Do I sound bitter? Well, too bad!)

Basically, it’s designed to keep everyone legal. A 22 or 23 year old man should not date below 18. We can all agree that that’s reasonable. But the beauty of the formula is that while the man ages, the women age……much, much less. So by the time a man reaches age 45, his ideal mate could be 29. Sounds perfect, no?

Ostensibly, it’s a sound theory. One supported by nature, biology, and fertility. Assuming of course that you believe women are seeking money/security and men are seeking a baby making vessel. But how about another reason? A recent Q + A over at GuySpeak highlighted the reasons why older men are also better in bed, “Practice makes perfect. The more lovers we have, the more we learn what women want in bed.” Honestly, what more could a girl ask for?

The recent cougar trend seems to be turning this neat practice on its head. Perhaps its merely the advent of botox but I’ve watched enough Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore, Courtney Cox and all the seasons of Desperate Housewives to know that things ain’t what they used to be.

What’s remarkable about the cougar trend is the recognition of an often overlooked fact. Women enter their sexual peak in their 30s. Men in their late teens. Now no one is suggesting that we should go all Mary Kay Letourneau (hell, we can make use of that handy 1/2+7 rule too!) but it does bear consideration that older women are better matched with younger men, (sorry to Cary McNeal of GuySpeak but…) at least in the bedroom. Older men may be more experienced and skilled but their sexual energy level and enthusiasm just does not compare to a man in his 20s….

But Zsa Zsa Gabor figured this out decades ago. Check out her How-To book entitled, How to Catch a Man, How to Keep a Man, and How to Get Rid of a Man, (Doubleday, 1970). Seriously, every girl should own a copy IF just for the hilarity. She agreed that a young woman should marry a man who is in his 40s. But she had a longer term plan than that. She figured the husband would die once the woman reached her 40s. She, then at her sexual peak, should next marry a man who is 18, now at his sexual peak. She will die when he is in his 40s leaving him to marry a young girl and thus continue the cycle. This way, everyone gets their “ya-yas” out.

How to find a young man when you are in your 40s? Simple, she explains. You simply choose among the male friends of your children.

In all sincerity though, there are pros and cons to every union of ages. And although there are ageists out there (watch Millionaire Matchmaker on Bravo!) most of us have reasonable high and low ceilings. And at the end of the day, the perfect match probably has very little to do with age.

But just for shits and giggles, tell us. What is the oldest and youngest you’ve ever dated? And would you do it again?