Remember when Al Gore was a sex symbol? Neither do we. But apparently there was such a time, at least according to People, which in 1994 named the then 46-year-old vice president to its Most Beautiful People list.

With The Assault on Reason poised to remind the world of its author's formidable intellect and turgid rhetorical style, we thought the moment apt to remind readers of an earlier era, when one could use the phrase "pure animal magnetism" to describe Gore without breaking into hysterical laughter.

After the jump, see why People deemed Gore worthy of inclusion alongside the likes of Blossom star Joey Lawrence, country singer John Michael Montgomery, and other timeless beauties.