# Urinal Decisions, real phenomenon? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 3, 2009, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739 "2009-09-03T13:25:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/21 "2009-09-03T19:27:53Z")
> [@SHAKES](#): > > Heh, it’s funny. Once in a while I’ll get stage fright and not be able to go for what seems like forever. It’s very awkward. I can’t help wondering what the guy next to me is thinking. “Why is this freak just standing in front of the urinal with his dong in his hand?” :dubious: This. Do we bring up the subject here or open another thread? I dunno bout you, but it started for me after a particularly traumatic event in Junior High. Now, there was this time, at a concert at Mile High Stadium, where a guy led two girls into a stall in the men’s room, one of the girls sat down and he took care of his needs by aiming carefully at the remaining negative space. There was some positive commentary on his maleness. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/22 "2009-09-03T19:32:25Z")
As **Swallowed My Cellphone** mentioned, it’s not specific to urinals. You can also see the same phenomena at theaters. If you were the only person in a theater, wouldn’t you feel weird if somebody came in and sat right next to you? I know I would. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/23 "2009-09-03T19:42:20Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > As strange as it sounds psychologists have done studies on this kind of thing. I don’t know if they just get a guy to sit there with a clipboard for hours on end or do something else. From what I recall about 1 study they found that people prefer the stalls on the end , the assumption is that way you have less chance of someone being next to you. It’s not that strange. Such trials are often part of a wider study into the general phenomenon of invasion of personal space. Whether [Middlemist, Knowles & Matter](http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/06/dont-stand-so-close-to-me.php) were ever interested in these wider issues, I cannot say. In 1976, they designed an experiment to test how the speed and flow of men’s urination in a public lavatory was affected by invasions of personal space. As part of a pilot study they stationed a guy in a urinal, pretending to groom himself in a mirror. > [@](#): > > Timing them on his wristwatch, our intrepid toilet researcher measured the onset delay in micturation along with persistence of flow. If you’re wondering how our correspondent measured these, it was by sound - which must have been no mean feat when there was multiple micturation in progress. That researcher must have the echolocational skills of a bat. Anyway, wishing to confirm the results of this experiment, MK&M then hid a dude in a stall with a periscope concealed in a pile of books. If anyone wants to see a photo of a periscope and a pile of books hidden in a stall, look [in here](http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tmGLFf1dUasC&pg=PA271&lpg=PA270&ots=nZbsseKUYV&dq=Middlemist,+Knowles+%26+Matter+urinal+study&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html). There’s also a graph of time taken to urinate (y-axis) against distance from the nearest third party urinator (x-axis). The pilot study concluded as follows: > [@](#): > > With no one present, unselfconscious urinators’ average onset was 4.8 seconds, with a confederate present one urinal away, mildly self-conscious urinators’ average micturation onset was pushed up to 6.2 seconds. Finally with the confederate in the next urinal, it was 8.4 seconds before our bashful toilet-goer’s blessed relief began. Also, the nearer a urinator was to a confederate, the less voluminous the persistence of flow. Regrettably, MK&M don’t appear to have reported on the crowded urinal scenario and space selection by potential urinators, as mentioned by the OP, so while this post is somewhat off-topic, it’s not what you’d call completely piss poor. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/24 "2009-09-03T20:14:02Z")
Oredigger77 describes more accurately than I have seen anyplace else how the algorithm works. I disagree with garygnu about the first commandment, not speaking at a urinal. Sometimes somebody next to you will say “Man, this water’s cold!”, in which case you are obligated to say “Deep, too!” ---
**Author:** ![Haunted\_Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@Haunted\_Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted_Pasta)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/25 "2009-09-03T20:34:11Z")
A related question: Suppose you’re the only one at a long row of urinals. Then, mid-pee, someone steps up to use the urinal right next to yours. It’s Monty Hall. Do you switch urinals? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/26 "2009-09-03T20:36:51Z")
> [@Haunted\_Pasta](#): > > Suppose you’re the only one at a long row of urinals. Then, mid-pee, someone steps up to use the urinal right next to yours. It’s Monty Hall. Do you switch urinals? Yes. I go to the one where Carol Merril is standing. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/27 "2009-09-03T21:43:47Z")
If there are dividers between the urinals and I’m forced to be next to one person, I’ll use the urinal. If I would have to go between 2 or if there’s no divider I will use a stall. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/28 "2009-09-03T21:49:22Z")
some guys refuse to use the child-sized urinal. Like it makes them look like a little boy. I’m talking in an office men’s room where there is one adult-sized and one child-sized urinal and almost no chance that a little boy will come in and have to pee. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/29 "2009-09-03T22:02:04Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > As **Swallowed My Cellphone** mentioned, it’s not specific to urinals. You can also see the same phenomena at theaters. If you were the only person in a theater, wouldn’t you feel weird if somebody came in and sat right next to you? I know I would. I’ve always wanted to walk into an almost-empty theater and sit down right next to someone. Just to freak them out. ---
**Author:** ![hobscrk777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a6a055/32.png) [@hobscrk777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hobscrk777)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/30 "2009-09-03T23:40:21Z")
The brilliant mind behind the “xkcd” comic (Randall Munroe) recently [mathematically quantified the packing efficiency](http://blag.xkcd.com/2009/09/02/urinal-protocol-vulnerability/) of urinal setups. In short, the phenomenon is alive and real. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/31 "2009-09-04T01:02:14Z")
[Everything everyone needs to know about using a men’s public restroom.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzO1mCAVyMw) 'Nuff said. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/32 "2009-09-04T04:11:54Z")
With the urinals, it’s not all just a personal space issue. Uranals splash a bit, and I don’t want stranger pee on my shoes, nor my pee on stranger shoes. ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/33 "2009-09-04T05:05:38Z")
This seems apt here: [http://www.joe-ks.com/archives\_nov2003/Challenge.htm](http://www.joe-ks.com/archives_nov2003/Challenge.htm) ---
**Author:** ![JCorre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3da27b/32.png) [@JCorre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCorre)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/34 "2009-09-04T05:17:57Z")
> [@hobscrk777](#): > > The brilliant mind behind the “xkcd” comic (Randall Munroe) recently [mathematically quantified the packing efficiency](http://blag.xkcd.com/2009/09/02/urinal-protocol-vulnerability/) of urinal setups. In short, the phenomenon is alive and real. That was awesome. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/35 "2009-09-04T05:34:48Z")
[This game will answer all your questions.](http://gamescene.com/The_Urinal_Game_game.html) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/36 "2009-09-04T05:39:24Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > [This game will answer all your questions.](http://gamescene.com/The_Urinal_Game_game.html) Psssst! See post [19](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11516487&postcount=19). ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/37 "2009-09-04T05:44:38Z")
Doh! ---
**Author:** ![groo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecd19e/32.png) [@groo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/38 "2009-09-04T13:10:49Z")
I went to a concert where the women got so frustrated that they started using the men’s room. This created an instant rule that no men would use the stalls. It was a little disconcerting trying to urinate with a line of women behind me making snarky comments, but I accomplished my mission. If I’m there to urinate, I won’t use a stall unless there are no urinals available. To do so would feel cowardly. My only concern when using urinals is that I not fart audibly (unless someone I know is using a urinal nearby, in which case I let it rip and then look at him and say, “Well?”) ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/39 "2009-09-04T13:55:29Z")
Nope, if it is crowded, I would wait. However, if I could choose, as other pointed out, I would like to go to one where the adjacent urinals are empty or currently used by friends. If there is no such urinal, well, I just use it. No idea why I do this, though. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739/40 "2009-09-04T18:00:43Z")
> [@11811](#): > > some guys refuse to use the child-sized urinal. Like it makes them look like a little boy. I’m talking in an office men’s room where there is one adult-sized and one child-sized urinal and almost no chance that a little boy will come in and have to pee. But doesn’t using that one make your dick look huger? Oh wait, no one is supposed to be looking. :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-decisions-real-phenomenon/508739.md?page=3)