Shakespeare once wrote: ‘Love all, trust a few’ – but a recent survey shows that when it comes to blokes, whatever you do, don’t believe them. His pants are definitely on fire. (Sorry, boys!)
The Bard must have known, even back then, that one sex is rather more reliable than the other. According to a survey, the average male tells 1,092 lies every year – doing the maths, that turns out roughly three a day. Apparently the study showed that men are less inclined to feel guilty about there little deflections than their female counterparts – who only tell 728 fibs per annum (that’s twice a day).
The study
Market researchers OnePoll spoke to 3,000 adults for the survey ahead of a gallery launch at the London Science Museum, which aimed to make sense of brain science, genetics and human behaviour. Surprise, surprise, men’s main untruths were related to their drinking habits, while the perennially useful ‘nothing’s wrong, I’m fine’ came out on top for the ladies.
Mums bore the brunt of lies, being the most lied to recipient at 20 to 25 percent, while ten percent said they most often deceived their partners. These stats revealed that lying may seem to be an unavoidable part of human nature, but it’s an important part of social interaction. However, the jury is still out as to whether human quirks such as lying are the result of our genes, evolution or our upbringing.
The proof was in the pudding though, the clincher being 82 percent of females questioned said telling a lie ate away at their conscience, while only 70 percent of men confessed to pangs of guilt. Hmmm…looks like we’re going to have to use our female intuition to tell if his pants are on fire then, as he may not allow it to be so obvious!
The top 10 lies men and women tell their partners
Men
1. I didn’t have that much to drink
2. Nothing’s wrong, I’m fine
3. I had no [phone] signal
4. It wasn’t that expensive
5. I’m on my way
6. I’m stuck in traffic
7. No, your bum doesn’t look big in that
8. Sorry, I missed your call
9. You’ve lost weight
10. It’s just what I’ve always wanted
Women
1. Nothing’s wrong, I’m fine
2. I don’t know where it is, I haven’t touched it
3. It wasn’t that expensive
4. I didn’t have that much to drink
5. I’ve got a headache
6. It was on sale
7. I’m on my way
8. Oh, I’ve had this for ages
9. No, I didn’t throw it away
10. It’s just what I’ve always wanted
