Documenting Instanity

Strange differences between genders

I noticed a few weeks ago at a seminar a strange difference between a specific behaviour of men and women that I hadn't noticed before. I have been watching for it for a few weeks now and have come to the conclusion that the trend is real, at least in my little neck of the world.

Assume you have just walked into a room filled with chairs on a flat floor carrying something (a purse, a backpack, a briefcase or the sample bag they handed you at the door, doesn't matter). You find a seat not in the front or back row. You sit down. Do you put the thing you are carrying under the chair in front of you or the one you are sitting on?

My limited, totally unscientific, study indicates that men heavily tend to put it under the chair in front of them and women heavily tend to use the one they are sitting on.

What does this mean? I haven't got a clue. Is it a regional trend? I don't know, you guys tell me. I just thought it was interesting, and the tag line of the blog says I point to the crazy things in life.

BTW, the reason that I noticed was that at the seminar they handed out sample bags so EVERYBODY had something to put somewhere. There were some polite but interesting exchanges when women sat down in front of men and found "their" space occupied. There were equally interesting facial expressions when men sat down behind women and found their preferred space already taken.

Thoughts welcome.

posted by mailgeek @ 5:08 PM