Stall Selection
This post is to serve a dual purpose... Well, since my readership is so low, I doubt it will meet either of my goals, but HECK, I'm going on with it anyway.
Number 1: Is this normal?
So, at the new office there is a regular public bathroom. That is to say, there are stalls. Now, in this particular bathroom there are two stalls. Okay, so what I am wondering is: Do other people, upon entering a multi-stalled bathroom, start to analyze the situation to try to figure out which stall is used the least? I always do this with the goal of choosing the least popular (and therefore cleanest) stall. It goes a little something like this...
The first stall from the door - I never pick this stall because the people who REALLY have to go must almost always pick this stall.
The second stall - Now this is tricky... this is the stall my instincts tell me to go for. I don't know why. I wonder whether other people's instincts tell them that this is the one, too. The bathroom stall problem should be solved with logic, not instinct. Sometimes I use this stall.
The third stall - When I start questioning the wisdom of the second stall and the matter is urgent I sometimes go in the third stall, hoping that it is often overlooked in its nondescript placement.
The handicapped stall - Many times, I choose the handicap stall. Why? Because it is my hope that many people pass it by assuming it is for a handicapped person and not themselves or don't get to it because it is always (ironically) the farthest stall from the door. Also, the whole toilet is higher and it is easier to use "the hover method."
Special cases:
Really big bathrooms - There can be hundreds of stalls (it seems) in one bathroom in this day and age. When at the airport, stadium, etc. I tend to search for the hard to find section. When I turn the corner and marvel, "Wow! There are even more stalls over here!?!" I know that these must be the least frequented fixtures of the bunch.
The unflushed toilet stall - All other rules do not apply! Seek the furthest point away.
The occupied stall - When I have done my calculations and am going toward the "perfect" stall just in time to see some (germ-laden) woman exit MY stall, everything gets turned upside down. Going one stall beyond this one is too obvious; I go one stall before it (unless it is the first stall).
Unfortunately, as a woman, I am often forced to wait in line for the bathroom. In this case, I just take the next available stall, knowing that all hope was lost anyway (and that I will hover just the same).
Okay, I know this seems a little drawn out and all, but I promise that it is a honed and quick evaluation of a potentially dangerous situation. I always proceed calmly, without making a fuss.
Now, I must know (goal of the post #2)... Do other women do this? Because, if they do, the whole thing becomes a complex game theory problem of interactive decision making and I need to go back to grad school to figure out how to solve it.
Number 1: Is this normal?
So, at the new office there is a regular public bathroom. That is to say, there are stalls. Now, in this particular bathroom there are two stalls. Okay, so what I am wondering is: Do other people, upon entering a multi-stalled bathroom, start to analyze the situation to try to figure out which stall is used the least? I always do this with the goal of choosing the least popular (and therefore cleanest) stall. It goes a little something like this...
The first stall from the door - I never pick this stall because the people who REALLY have to go must almost always pick this stall.
The second stall - Now this is tricky... this is the stall my instincts tell me to go for. I don't know why. I wonder whether other people's instincts tell them that this is the one, too. The bathroom stall problem should be solved with logic, not instinct. Sometimes I use this stall.
The third stall - When I start questioning the wisdom of the second stall and the matter is urgent I sometimes go in the third stall, hoping that it is often overlooked in its nondescript placement.
The handicapped stall - Many times, I choose the handicap stall. Why? Because it is my hope that many people pass it by assuming it is for a handicapped person and not themselves or don't get to it because it is always (ironically) the farthest stall from the door. Also, the whole toilet is higher and it is easier to use "the hover method."
Special cases:
Really big bathrooms - There can be hundreds of stalls (it seems) in one bathroom in this day and age. When at the airport, stadium, etc. I tend to search for the hard to find section. When I turn the corner and marvel, "Wow! There are even more stalls over here!?!" I know that these must be the least frequented fixtures of the bunch.
The unflushed toilet stall - All other rules do not apply! Seek the furthest point away.
The occupied stall - When I have done my calculations and am going toward the "perfect" stall just in time to see some (germ-laden) woman exit MY stall, everything gets turned upside down. Going one stall beyond this one is too obvious; I go one stall before it (unless it is the first stall).
Unfortunately, as a woman, I am often forced to wait in line for the bathroom. In this case, I just take the next available stall, knowing that all hope was lost anyway (and that I will hover just the same).
Okay, I know this seems a little drawn out and all, but I promise that it is a honed and quick evaluation of a potentially dangerous situation. I always proceed calmly, without making a fuss.
Now, I must know (goal of the post #2)... Do other women do this? Because, if they do, the whole thing becomes a complex game theory problem of interactive decision making and I need to go back to grad school to figure out how to solve it.
3 Comments:
At 8:22 AM, Anonymous said…
I always use the 1st stall because I read a survey which said it was the cleanest. They had checked out 1000 restrooms and that was their finding. I also like to have a wall on one side of me so I only have to watch one side and I don't have to worry about someone grabbing my foot! It has happened you know.
At 1:04 AM, alicia said…
I try to use the first stall too or second to the wall if we're talking row of stalls at a movie theatre problem. I never go for the middle, everyone goes for the middle.
Funny post. :)
At 10:21 AM, Anonymous said…
I always go for the handicap one. The only problem is that seat height and "splash factor" are directly proportional. The price you pay for luxury.
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