by Gareth Hobbs

Created on: December 22, 2008   Last Updated: January 31, 2011

Who would have thought that one little chromosome could make such a huge difference to the way two different sexes in the same species function. Being chromosomally advantaged myself, I've often been on the receiving end of many of these misunderstandings. Hopefully, by sharing these I can help bridge the gap between XY and XX.

At number 10 is the ability to distinguish different colours. If any guy can distinguish between taupe, eggshell, ivory, bone, ecru and off-white, he's gay. To a straight male all those look like dirty white. This is why when decorating and a woman holds up 5 swatches of fabric and asks "What do you think Honey?" the inevitable response is "Whatever colour you'd like." It's not that we aren't interested, it's just that they all look the same.

At 9 on our list is the inability of men to take subtle hints. We would like to get you that perfect gift, but subtle hints are way too easily misinterpreted, which is why you often end up getting a vacuum cleaner for an anniversary gift. The kind of subtle hint that works is the one written in mirror writing on your man's forehead in permanent marker. This way He'll either see it when he wakes up, or someone will point it out to him. The other hint, and this is the way I like to get hints is "Babe, go to X shop (jewellers, travel agent, lingerie etc) and speak to So-and-so. They'll give you a packet, just hand over your credit card and pay them." I've yet to buy my wife something she didn't want.
Of course, I'm always more surprised than she is when she opens the presents, but at least she's happy.

At 8, and I feel like I'm giving away a secret, we like it when you nag. Yes, we moan about it, but we all realise that without the nagging, nothing would get done. Our 30 second attention span non-multitasking brain requires constant repetition for things to sink through the layer of cars, women and sports that permeates our conscious though patterns. If you don't enjoy nagging, and I do know that most women feel they shouldn't have to, then feel free to use the permanent marker approach suggested for hinting. This should get the desired results fairly quickly, especially if you keep reapplying the message until the job is done.

Social engagements are very different for men and women. You may think you're at the same party, but you're not. For the average women, a party is a time to catch up on all the news and happenings that have taken place in their friends lives since the last opportunity to catch

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