This Washington Post article (free reg, blah blah blah) about how malls could be better designed is interesting in and of itself, but I laughed out loud at this one:

[Paco Underhill, a retail researcher] spends a lot of time dissecting one of the most troubling issues for shoppers, which is the different way that men and women approach a mall. Men go to the mall just to go, with the family, to see people, to be out. Women go to the mall to shop ... on a city street, men walk faster than women. In the mall, it's the reverse: "Men tend to wander malls like semi-lost children, whereas women are the ones who inhabit the place with a true shopper's sense of purpose."

Malls could help the situation, but again, they don't. Underhill suggests better seating for men and more stores and attractions that typically appeal to them. "This has become one of the most poignant issues in all malldom, the matter of what to do with men while shopping takes place," Underhill says.

So that's why women look at men like they're retarded when we're all in a mall. Ok, so maybe it's one of the reasons.