tiled and fractious

hile looking for tiles for our bathroom recently, I overheard several squabbles and disagreements. One young couple, complete with small child in pushchair, were attempting to calculate the cost of some tiles in B&Q.

She: How big is a square metre?
He: It's about this big (points to a tile about 20cm by 30cm).
She: Are you sure?
He: I think so.
She: Well, this is no good. You should have measured the bathroom before we came out.
He: Look, firstly, I didn't know we were coming out. Secondly.... (the couple grump off down the aisle, muttering acrimoniously...

Elsewhere that same day, in a specialist tile showroom, an employee was speaking on the phone...

He: ...But I haven't done anything!... Well, I didn't know that... Look, I'll sort it out... I told you, I haven't done anything!...He's my brother, I'll talk to him...

And this all before trying to reach agreement on which tiles to buy.

Is there something about tiles that generates discord? Are their cold, sharp, hard characteristics also reflected emotionally or psychically? Just think what they could do to someone who spends a lot of time fitting them... What do the theories of feng shui say about tiles, I wonder? Surprisingly nothing at this feng shui bathroom site, despite having a lot to say about energy, light and mirrors, and the obligation to modernise every six to eight years.