The ten things men and women do that drive each other absolutely stark-staring mad

It really does seem that men and women, even in this age of modern metrosexual equality, couldn’t be more different – and we still drive each other up the wall with our annoying gender differences.

A new study by Dr Beckmann, the UK’s leading laundry specialists, has revealed the thing women do that annoys men the most is say ‘I’m fine’ when clearly they are unhappy about something.

More than four out of every 10 men (42%) pinpointed ‘I’m fine’ as the one thing women do that drives them mad the most.

Women, on the other hand, are driven to despair by men not listening to them properly. More than a third (37%) of UK women claim that is the most annoying male attribute and is made even worse when men repeat the last sentence they heard back to their female partner parrot fashion.

Dr Beckmann questioned 2,000 men and women across the UK to find out what are the most annoying traits of the opposite sex.

And the second most annoying female habit, according to the nation’s men, is talking too much.

Almost a third of all men (28%) say women talk non-stop, especially when they’re trying to watch their favourite TV show, and it drives them nuts.

Interesting that recent reports suggests men may actually have a point – women are reckoned to say an average of 20,000 words every day while men utter just 7,000 in comparison.

In the opinion of the nation’s women, men’s second most annoying habit is not putting the toilet seat down. Some 21% of women said that habit drives them to distraction regularly.

Men can’t stand it when women constantly probe them about what they are thinking. For 15% of UK blokes that probing is just too much when, much of the time, they claim to be not thinking anything in particular.

But women can’t stand men’s friends (15%) and their personal hygiene aberrations – with casually discarded toe-nail clippings and sinks left covered in beard shavings being of particular annoyance for 18% of UK females.

Dr Beckmann spokesman Susan Fermor said: “We wanted to shed some light on the national sexual divide, air our dirty washing in public if you like – and we discovered that women and men infuriate each other constantly, despite the fact that according to what we read men in 2012 are all metrosexual fashionistas who always put their partner’s needs before themselves.

“Our research shows that veneer of metrosexuality and ‘new man’ is wearing very thin and men are as annoying with bad habits as ever.

“Women are no angels either, it has to be said. They continue to chatter when their men are trying to watch a favourite TV programme and then get in huff with their man when he hasn’t been listening properly.

“We may be in the 21st century but we still annoy the trousers off the opposite sex in exactly the same way we have been doing for millennia, it seems.”

Top 5 Most Annoying Female Idiosyncrasies

1, Saying ‘I’m fine’ when they’re not

2, Talking too much

3, Constantly asking what men are thinking

4, Winning arguments by crying

5 Never saying ‘sorry’ even when they are wrong

Top 5 Most Annoying Male Idiosyncrasies

1, Not listening properly

2, Not putting the toilet seat down

3, Toe-nail clippings and beard shavings casually left where they fall

4, Their friends

5, Hogging the TV remote control