In The Other Side of the Sky by Clarke, the eponymous short was a series of vignettes about building the first space station. In one the narrator is returning from a shower in just his shorts when he misses a push-off and winds up in the middle of a large open space with very little velocity. After mulling it over, he removes the shorts and pitches them as fast as he can, calculating it will impart enough speed that he will reach the nearest wall in about five minutes. He will then push off properly, retrieve his underpants and be on his way. Unfortunately, before the five minutes elapsed the station director came through, giving a (female) visiting dignitary a tour of the station.