I knew I was right! Women really can't read maps!

Map reading is probably the main source of conflict between couples while driving. But the assertion that women are incapable of reading a map correctly has, unfortunately for the female sex, been backed up by several studies on spatial ability.

But now, it seems, the idea that women are wandering around in a kind of spatial vacuum -- where successful navigation is more down to luck than planning -- is only half the story.

While it is true that men find the instructions on a map easier to follow, women do far better when following a verbal set of directions, using landmarks to help them.