Each culture seems to have its own archetypal couple’s argument. They are the stereotypes convenient for jokes, TV shows, and other pop culture references, whether true or not.

In Canada, and many other Western countries, the prototypical argument is about leaving the toilet seat up and the female taking an unanticipated midnight bidet ride. Relationship hijinks ensue, and jokes abound about this situation, sitcoms and movies are replete with references. Do couples really spend much time quarreling over the nocturnal urinary patterns of the human male? I don’t know. They shouldn’t, a sitz bath is good for female perineum health. (You’re welcome). But still, it is the prototypical couple’s fight in the West.

Taiwan has its own clichéd couple’s fight; the question of who will take out the trash. For the majority of Taiwanese there is no curbside pickup or option to throw the trash in a back alley for later removal. Instead trash and recycling trucks meander through each neighborhood twice daily. The trash truck blares Beethoven—who must be rolling in his grave—to call people to bring out their trash, forcing them to drop whatever they’re doing, grab the trash, hustle down however many flights of stairs and try to meet the trucks [Video]. It’s annoying to put it mildly. The issue isn’t pure laziness, nor that the task is too onerous. In fact taking out the trash is a communal event, where you get a chance to pass the time of day with neighbors. It’s kind of pleasant. However, it is difficult to be there when the truck is scheduled. Most people work long hours and then may have evening plans that preclude them making it to the truck. I remember once being unable to get to the trash truck for three weeks. My fridge and freezer were stuffed with so many full trash bags that I couldn’t store food. I suppose the system worked okay when every house had a stay-at-home housewife. Not true now. Taking out the trash is, supposedly, the source of much bickering among Taiwanese couples.

Mixed-couples in Taiwan have their own typecast source of friction—control of the air conditioner. If the Taiwanese partner exerts dominance, the air conditioner may not get turned on until the foreign partner nears death, and even then only for a short time, leaving the foreigner to spritz all over the furniture. When sanity prevails, and the foreigner controls the air conditioner, the Taiwanese person is left shivering and shaking, attributing every sniff, cough, and sneeze to the [comfortable] temperature. I have one Taiwanese friend who claims she divorced her foreign husband because of air conditioning. It sounds apocryphal to me, but she swears it’s true.

I can’t speak to the truth of any of these stereotypes. However, these are the conventionalized couple’s arguments in Taiwan. They feature in conversation and jokes, just like the toilet seat up or down in the West.