Just in: women are better at parking than men.
This, I have learned from a daily newspaper, which recently recorded the results of a study from London, England. Those involved in the study took videos of 700 people who were parking their cars, and interviewed almost three times that number.
Their findings? After examining a number of factors - including how men and women drove into a parking spot, how long it took them to park and how much they "repositioned" their vehicles - the researchers determined that women scored an average of 13.4 points out of 20, while men scored 12.3.
Hmm. Excuse me, but I have some questions - and they have nothing to do with parking.
They have to do with the research. And specifically, how the study began.
"Listen, mates," I imagine one of the researchers would have said, many months ago.
"I have a jolly good idea. What say we study how men and women park their cars? Would be a crackin' bit of research! And might get us out of the pub a bit more!"
The research-proposer and his fellow blokes would have been well into their cups, I imagine. And I am thinking they would have raised their glasses, made a toast, and set about their plan.
Elsewhere, I imagine, would-be researchers are launching their own inquiries.
They're thinking - oh, and I'm just guessing here - about conducting studies that might determine (1) which gender is most fond of having tea at 10 p.m.; (2) which gender is most fond of having a ginger snap with that 10 p.m. cup of tea; and (3) which gender is more likely to have tea, a ginger snap and a telephone conversation with his/her mother at 10 p.m.
Hey, it's important stuff. The world, let's face it, needs to know whether men or women are better at parking their vehicles, just as the world needs to know who is talking with mom at 10 p.m. - and what, precisely, they're talking about.
Without this research, we would never be able to establish parking schools directed specifically at men, which I am assuming are coming soon.
Me? Well, if I was consulting with my buddies at the pub about a research project, I think I'd forego the parking thing, and go for something a tad more meaningful.
I wouldn't want to know who's chatting with whom at 10 p.m., but I might like to know who is likely to be ordering Chinese from my favourite restaurant every Friday at seven.
It's not like I want to be first in line. It's all in the name of research.
