Since we all walk around wondering why the members of the opposite sex do what they do, we thought we'd ask a couple of pertinent questions of eacho other to try to dissect a couple of those differences.

Bathroom Buds

Guys Ask: Why do girls go to the bathroom in groups and gossip like maniacs? I know that's what they're doing. Is this a genetic defect? 

The Girls Respond: Guys, you are correct that we are not in the bathroom helping one another flush the toilet. We are connecting! And we don't need basketballs or video games to do it. We dissect other people's personalities because it's fun. 

And we can't relax and do it in front of boys because they'll judge us and call us catty. Guys, after all, are talking about supremely impersonal stuff like events, games, objects, politics. Snore. 

--Hae Lee Kim 

Playing the Field

Girls Ask: Why do guys get so uptight when they lose at sports? It's just a game, isn't it? 

The Guys Respond: That's where girls are wrong. It isn't just a game. It's an emotional experience. We're invested. We practice a lot and put in a lot of hard work, so it's disappointing when we lose. There's also the competition factor. Face up, nobody likes to lose--guys or girls. And you know that the other guys want to win as bad as you, so that makes it even more emotional. Then there's the ego thing. Like Scott Royer, a football player at Cliffside Park High School, NJ, says, "When you lose a game, your pride gets stomped on."

But when we win we feel good. "Everybody has a sense of achievement and accomplishment because we did it together," says Mike Vukosa, another Cliffside Park ball player. "It brings up your self-esteem."

--Brian VanNieuwenhoven