This story was originally published on 3.42.22.
Writer and illustrator Aubrey Hirsch jokingly asked her followers on Twitter what’s a “universal thing that most men like?” because she was writing a comic and “just realized I don’t actually know any men in real life.” The tweet inspired an avalanche of funny responses.
Hirsch is the author of “Why We Never Talk About Sugar,” a collection of short stories, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, Child, American Short Fiction and Time.
The interesting thing about the responses is that they weren’t the typical stereotypes about men. She didn’t get a ton of people talking about sex, sports or toxic masculinity. Instead, there were a lot of folks that mentioned very specific male behaviors as if they were talking about a bizarre species they discovered in the wild.
There were two things that got the most comments on her post. First, men enjoy throwing heavy objects into bodies of water. Preferably, the larger the rock, the deeper the body of water and from the highest vantage point possible.
The other is watching construction sites. Evidently, the phenomenon is so popular in Italy that there is a specific word for this type of person in Italian.
Here are 19 of the best responses to the question, “What’s a universal thing that most men like?”
Whatu2019s a universal thing that most men like? Iu2019m making a comic but I just realized I donu2019t actually know any men in real life.— Aubrey Hirsch (@Aubrey Hirsch)
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1.
It’s so common in Italy that there’s a name for ithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umarell— James Billot (@James Billot)
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When asked why men enjoy watching construction sites so much, a poster on Reddit named justdaps had the perfect response. “I just find it really satisfying and interesting to see the process behind things being built,” he wrote.
2.
— Daniel Larkin 🌹🏴 (@larkin721) March 22, 2022
3.
Me: Thinking intently trying to come up with a good answer.nAlso me seeing this tweet: Ooh, yeah, this is a good one. A good deep sounding sploosh with a big splash. Yeah, this is a good one.nWe aren’t complicated.— Michael Miller (@Michael Miller)
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— Uhtred Ragnarson (@Iskander861) March 22, 2022
Skipping a stone an unexpected number of times on a lake
— Van Weasel (@vanweezer) March 21, 2022
4.
standing while watching tvhttps://t.co/RJBUGPyJBw
— Russ Shanahan (@russshanahan) March 23, 2022
I have seen dudes do this and I have done it plenty of times myself. I usually stand while watching TV when I want to really focus on what’s happening and do not want to be distracted. This usually happens while watching sporting events or the news. It’s also a great way to use your body language to let other people know that there is something very important happening on the television.
5.
— Randojoeblow (@randojoeblow) March 21, 2022
6.
My work life got a lot easier when I started saying “I don’t know enough to have an opinion on this subject”. Life changing.— PG (@PG)
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7.
A man will buy a knife, and if there is another man, he will ask to hold and admire it for 4 seconds and then give it back and say: “Nice.”
— Nathan (Elemeno P) (@realNathanWheat) March 22, 2022
8.
— AreaMantis, Hat Guy 👒 (@AreaMantis) March 23, 2022
9.
If a guy walks under a low hanging sign he will jump up and try to tap the bottom of the sign as he passes.
Guys like being asked to open jars.
Power tools. Give a guy a new drill and he’ll wander around looking for stuff that needs holes.
— Alan Morgan (@lettersndigits) March 21, 2022
When we do this 99% of the time we’re pretending that the sign is 10 feet high and that we have the ability to dunk a basketball. There are two types of men, those that can dunk and mere mortals.
10.
Memorizing favorite lines from their favorite movies, then reciting them with their friends (or even strangers) who’ve also memorized them, doing entire scenes. Extra points for using accents. A true source of unparalleled amusement & male bonding.
— cautiously optimistic 🙏🏼✌🏻 (@BethCal84918882) March 22, 2022
As a man, this one is near and dear to my heart. I can’t tell you the number of hours I have spent with my friends just throwing lines from “The Big Lebowski” back and forth.
“Nice marmot.”
“The Dude abides.”
“Say what you want about the tenets of national socialism, Dude. At least it’s an ethos.”
A movie that’s running up the ranks of being among the most quotable is another dude buddy pic, “Once Upon a Time … In Hollywood.”
“All right, that’s too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?” … “Rick, it’s a flamethrower.”
11.
Right, no-one else has posted this yet, I know my duty: pic.twitter.com/HPwd8qwgUP
— Katie (@ZiziFothSi) March 22, 2022
12.
Talking about their athletic glory days pic.twitter.com/9LmaG2oEiD
— Ben Ross (@BenRossTweets) March 21, 2022
13.
Dining tables made with resin pic.twitter.com/3WQOjEjvcK
— 🌹Robin Isomaa🐕 (@RobinIsomaa) March 22, 2022
14.
Using tie down straps to secure a load in the back of a truck, then twanging the straps and going “that’s not going anywhere”
— Gom Jabbarjaw (@SensitiveWigi) March 22, 2022
15.
When my dad had to chainsaw branches off a dead tree, neighbor men just gathered with various saws from all corners of the subdivision. It was like a siren song.
— Liz (@WarmestRegardss) March 21, 2022
16.
Posing for photos while holding fish.
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) March 22, 2022
17.
Given a wood fire and a long branch, 100 of 100 men will find a reason to poke the fire every few minutes. Just, you know, to make sure things are burning evenly.
— Patrick Fessenbecker (@pfessenbecker) March 21, 2022
18.
explaining things to women
— ˗ˏˋ Hayley DeRoche ˎˊ˗ (@hayleyderoche) March 21, 2022
Unfortunately, this is true and men do far too much of it.
19.
When shopping at a grocery store, leaning forward with your forearms on the handle of the carriage, while you walk up and down the aisles
— Joe DellaGatta (@JoeDellaGatta) March 23, 2022
Evidently, after reading the responses, Hirsch knew what was going to happen next. No need to feel ashamed about going viral. It just means you created something that people love.
I really feel for the poor Buzzfeed intern currently searching for the perfect gifs to turn this into an article that will support 8 ad spots.
— Aubrey Hirsch (@aubreyhirsch) March 22, 2022