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The guy chatting you up at the bar smells weird, is wearing a T-shirt two sizes too small and keeps calling you "hon" -- yet you still can't keep from batting your eyelashes at him or flipping your hair.

That's because women are far superior to men at feigning interest in the opposite sex. How do we know? Indiana University researchers asked 54 college students to watch speed-dating sessions recorded in Germany.

The students could only assess body language and vocal tone since the people on the video spoke German. Most of the students were able to judge how the men felt about their dates, but were off about the ladies. The women who looked interested in their dates were not.

Click here to see why researchers say women do this.



Ingrained Actions?
Researchers tie the results back to biology, claiming women flirt to figure out if a guy's worth having a baby with.

But it could also be that the women didn't even realize they were flirting. Jeffry Simpson, director of the social psychology program at the University of Minnesota, says flirting is not always intentional.

"With a lot of it, especially the nonverbal stuff," he says, "people may not be fully aware that they're doing it. You don't see what you look like. People may emit flirtatious cues and not be fully aware of how powerful they are."

Flirting vs. Friendly
Debi from California admits that she often flirts even when she's not digging a guy, but takes it to a higher level when she is interested.

"Flirting can just be fun; it's the way I interact, and it's always fun to be flirted back with. Why do it? Why not? When I'm really interested, it's more than flirting, it's more serious, the physical flirting (eye contact, brief touches), or I flat out ask him out."

L.L. from Winnipeg, Canada, says she may be flirting just by being nice to people.

"I think it can send a lot of mixed signals, but I don't want to have to be a bitch to show my disinterest!"

Tell us: Do you flirt with people who don't stand a chance with you?