I believe I have unearthed one of the psychological divides between men and women.
The kernel of truth was delivered to me at a corporate gala in the form of a fancy gift bag holding a cactus. I am not making this up.
Listen:
We are all wearing tuxes seated at a circular table like good little boys and girls. There are five men and two women. Under each chair one of the good sisters from the gala committee has placed an opaque gift bag. I take the bag out from under my chair and put my hand in it to remove the contents. I say, "Holy S--t," which is not the most urbane comment ever heard at a corporate gala, because once I get my hand out of the bag, it has a small decorative cactus attached to it. I remove the cactus, thinking and saying, "Who the heckwould put a cactus at the bottom of an opaque bag as a party favor? Why not just load it up with rat traps?" My male table mates look at me and say, "You too?"
The women at the table are mystified. They think the cactus is darling because each had looked in the bag prior to safely removing it. Later in the month, I visit the client site. I'm in a meeting with the top marketing people in the company. There are 4 women and 4 men. I remark on the fact that I now know what the world's worst party favor is. It is a "cactus in a bag." All the men agree. All the women disagree. We all sit silently for a moment then we start discussing the phenomena. It turns out, there are over 100 incidents of men sticking their hands in the bag without looking and getting stuck on the cactus. And not one recorded incidence of a female doing so.
That in my mind makes it official.
A woman will look in an opaque bag before putting her hand in it.
A man is more likely to put his hand in an opaque bag without looking in it.
Copyright ?2003. Chris Dykstra. All Rights Reserved.