# What counts as a “lap?” **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 11, 2021, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-counts-as-a-lap/937732 "2021-03-11T19:04:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2021, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-counts-as-a-lap/937732/1 "2021-03-11T19:04:59Z")
Usually I think of a lap as something that exists only when I’m sitting down. But it could be clinically described as the anterior surface of the legs between the hips and the knees, when perpendicular to the dominant direction of gravitational force. So, normally, you have one when you’re sitting down. But what if you’re lying flat on your back? Can you invite your puppy or kitteh to sit on your lap when you’re recumbent on the sofa (or bed, Davenport, floor, or yoga mat)? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-counts-as-a-lap/937732/2 "2021-03-12T07:39:30Z")
I hadn’t thought about this before, but, yeah, I’d say that, if my pupper\* gets on my thighs when I’m laying on my back, it would still be on my lap. Otherwise, when I sat up, he would somehow be on my lap without moving, which seems weird. Plus the alternative would be to say he’s on my thighs, which seems weird. \*Internet term for small-ish dog whether puppy or adult. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-counts-as-a-lap/937732/3 "2021-03-12T07:52:28Z")
The length of a swimming pool. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-counts-as-a-lap/937732/4 "2021-03-12T08:11:45Z")
What you do after victory, if you still have the stamina. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-counts-as-a-lap/937732/5 "2021-03-12T09:36:50Z")
You only have a lap when you are sitting. Standing up there are no horizontal surfaces to be a lap save for the tops of your head, shoulders, and feet. All of your body is a horizontal surface save for those mentioned, so no part of your body is distinctly a lap. If you are sitting with your legs up on an ottoman I don’t know if you have a lap or not, or why you put your feet up on old Turk. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-counts-as-a-lap/937732/6 "2021-03-12T10:11:02Z")
So, is there any other “part of your body” that only exists when you are in a certain position? The crook of your arm? The thigh gap? How about a facial expression like a smile, is that different from a lap? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-counts-as-a-lap/937732/7 "2021-03-12T10:55:12Z")
The “hand-step” used to give a leg up? BTW, I think you lap only exists while sitting down, but does still exist if you’re using a footstool. The vertical belly is a necessary component, so it doesn’t exist if you’re lying down. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-counts-as-a-lap/937732/8 "2021-03-12T13:39:02Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > but does still exist if you’re using a footstool. Would the full length of your legs comprise the lap, or just the thighs? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2021, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-counts-as-a-lap/937732/9 "2021-03-13T06:38:28Z")
Do any other critters besides humans ever have a lap? Various primates perhaps? I don’t picture dogs, cats, dolphins, geese, or parakeets having laps. If we can begin to understand why some animals don’t even have a lap, then perhaps we can begin to define what a lap is. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2021, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-counts-as-a-lap/937732/10 "2021-03-13T12:47:44Z")
If you are swimming, 50 metres forth and then back counts as a lap, but if you are running then it’s 400 meters. So it depends. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-counts-as-a-lap/937732/11 "2021-03-14T16:57:21Z")
Just the thighs. Shins are too bony to be comfortable. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-counts-as-a-lap/937732/12 "2021-03-15T19:38:11Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > forth and then back counts as a lap I think the key is that at the completion of a lap, you are essentially back where you started. The other type of lap only exists when you are sitting, and is only the thigh area. But what if you’re sitting cross legged on the ground? It’s a very different geometry than the traditional lap, does it still count? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-counts-as-a-lap/937732/13 "2021-03-15T20:50:32Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > But what if you’re sitting cross legged on the ground? It’s a very different geometry than the traditional lap, does it still count? I’d say yes. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-counts-as-a-lap/937732/14 "2021-03-15T21:22:48Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > … but if you are running then it’s 400 meters. So it depends. I was thinking a quarter mile myself. That’s imperialism for you.