General Chat

Just in time for the last minute Christmas shopping rush the Telegraph uses science to diffuse the inevitable arguments between men and women over whose strategy to find presents is best.

According to research from the University of Michigan, the differences in behaviour between the sexes are down to the roles they acquired in prehistoric times towards providing food for the family.

Similar to their shopping styles, men knew what food items they wanted in advance, went out, killed it and brought it home. Simple.

Women on the other hand spent a lot more time searching for the perfect items, because the nature of the potentially poisonous nuts and berries they were collecting meant that selecting something that is anything less than perfect could mean the difference between life and death.

Furthermore, because foraging is a lower impact activity it lends itself to bring the children along a lot better than the process of hunting, which is often dangerous and the presence of children would be a hindrance to the process.

The researchers are hoping this research will help couples understand each other more while they go out shopping during the festive period and hopefully defuse a number of purchase based arguments.

Thanks Len

I'm the exception that proves the rule. Run into the shop, grab stuff off the shelf, pay and get the hell outta there!!!!!!!

In a hunter/gatherer scenario I'd be the one with the family poisoned by dodgy berries because they were nearest to the cave entrance.