This morning on my way to work, I overheard this from a college student and it really wound me up.
Just so you know, the bus I catch to work is mainly for college students but since it passes through where I live and goes past my workplace in good time, I catch it as long as the college is open and not closed for half term.
Anywho, while the bus was approaching my stop, I overheard a male college student talking to a girl in the seat behind him. The guy was skinny, wearing glasses, had messy blonde hair with a bluish tinge, had a nose-ring and was on his phone - saying to the girl "It says here that men are (X amount of times) more likely to get struck by lightning than women".
As he puts his phone down, however, he then declared "and that's because all men are stupid".
What annoyed me wasn't the fact that men get struck by lightning more than women as that's scientifically proven - what honestly annoyed me was the guy's conclusion that the reason men got struck more was because of our 'lack of intelligence'.
Thinking about it as I walked to work and contemplating what I would have said if he'd said it a good portion of time before I was due to get off, I would probably have said the following to him:
"Mate, that's utter crap. For starters, Lightning doesn't single you out because your intelligence quotient is below a certain number.
The reason men get struck more than lightning more is firstly because we're more likely to work outdoor jobs like construction, roofing, fitting aerials/satellite dishes, etc. that require us to be in high places and sometimes in bad weather.
Secondly, we're more likely to engage in hobbies or sports that require you to be outside such as Football (soccer to anyone from the USA), Golf, Baseball and Fishing.
Thirdly, when we need something essential we're more likely to brave the bad weather to get what we need while women will usually get what they need another day or wait out the weather to see if it'll clear up". (I've lost count of the amount of times when me or my mum have needed something, I get ready to go and get it and my Mum tells me not to because it's chucking it down outside).
(An additional point my female colleague at work made when I told her was that Lightning travels the shortest way to the ground and that men are on average taller than women - that one got a giggle out of me).
At this point, I would go more into a rant:
"As for your claim that all men are stupid, who's responsible for building and piping up the gas, water and electricity in all the houses we're going past? Who's responsible for building and maintaining the bus we're riding on? Who's responsible for creating and providing the internet used to spread that fact and others around and who's responsible for building your phone that you used to read that fact? The answer to all those questions, buddy, is men - who, according to you, are all stupid.
To add to that, some men are stupid and some men do indeed do stupid things, but some of those stupid things helped changed the world for the better; Columbus was called stupid for wanting to sail west yet he did and discovered the Americas; People were called stupid for wanting to break the sound barrier, but they did and we can now travel around the world faster than we could decades ago; People were called stupid for wanting to go into space and land on the Moon, but we did and that moment where Neil Armstrong declared "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" has become enshrined in history as one of America's greatest achievements".
(My female colleague agreed with me on all of this).
I'd then finish with an insult:
"So to correct you, mate, not all men are stupid - you certainly are though".
