Every day, they slowly accumulate. Plates covered in sauces and bread pieces. Bowls with a fine layer of who-knows-what. Forks, knives, and spoons all stuck with bits of this and that. At the end of a long day of work, cooking, cleaning, and, for many, negotiating with small children, a couple has to ________ the big question: Who is going to do the ________. ?

recent report on family dynamics suggests that the answer to that question can have a significant impact ________.the health and long lasting of a relationship. The study examined a variety of different household tasks, ________ shopping, laundry and housecleaning, and found that, for women in families, ifs more important to ________ the responsibility of doing the dishes than any other task. Women who wash the vast majority of the dishes themselves report ________ relationship conflict and less relationship satisfaction than women with husbands ________ help. Women are happier about sharing dishwashing ________ than they are about sharing any other household task.

What is it about dishes? Dan Carlson, assistant professor of family and consumer studies at the University of Utah, and the lead author of the study, offers his own observations: “Doing dishes is gross. ________ , unlike some other household tasks such as cooking or gardening, doing dishes well does not ________ praises.”