The age old theory that men are naturally more promiscuous than women and have many more sexual partners may have been proved wrong by maths.
Previous studies have stated that the average British male has 12.7 heterosexual partners, compared to women with 6.5
.
In the US, men have an average of seven partners compared to women with four.
But according to new research, these numbers just don't add up. Indeed, in terms of heterosexual encounters, the median for women and men should be the same.
That is to say, even if one woman is responsible for pushing up the total number of lovers to 20 men, this will be reflected in the median for women as a whole.
Professor Richard Gale, a mathematician from the University of California, said: "Surveys and studies to the contrary notwithstanding, the conclusion that men have substantially more sex partners than women is not and cannot be true, for purely logistical reasons."
The most likely explanation, according to mathematicians, is that the numbers reported by members of the public cannot be trusted.
