Perspective: Ring in the New

This week—specifically, on Thursday—some 260,000 American men will participate in an odd but enduring male ritual. No, not beer pong. They will drop to one knee before their sweethearts and propose marriage. In fact, Valentine’s Day is the single most popular square on the calendar in which to pop the question. And, of course, unless he’s angling to join the castrati, our hero will have a ring box in his hand when he does it.