Many workplaces I visit have a row of three toilets. If all three are available and I want to use the least visited 鈥� and hopefully cleanest 鈥� which should I choose?
鈥� There are two reasons for a lavatory break at work. If for a 鈥渃all of nature鈥�, the first toilet stall will see the most action, as it provides the quickest route to relief.
The other reason for a visit is very different: to liberate mind and soul from the routine of work life. The cubicle, while physically restrictive, is a wonderful environment for the repressed mind to wander at will, briefly freed from the whir of machinery or endless spreadsheets. In this case, the third cubicle is best, as it provides the greatest physical distance from the workplace.
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I would therefore expect the second cubicle to be the least used and therefore cleanest.
Mike McCullough
London, UK
鈥� The TV show Mythbusters found the fewest microbes in the stall closest to the door. The explanation it gave was that everyone assumes others take the closest stall, so they take the furthest one. That was the most contaminated.
It also discovered that there were many more microbes on keyboards and phone handsets than toilet seats.
Mark Carter
Germantown, Maryland, US
鈥� I once researched this for a psychology assignment.
The furthest cubicle from the door, which was bordered by a wall and perhaps gives a greater sense of privacy, was used most often. If it was occupied, the first was chosen. I found that there was seeming reluctance to use the middle one even if the others were occupied. Around a third of potential users in that situation would walk out.
Based on this, it seems the middle toilet is the least used.
Peter Skuse
Whyteleafe, Surrey, UK
鈥� My experience as a cleaner in a girls鈥� high school tells me that you should choose the first cubicle. I always had to top up the toilet paper more often in the second and third cubicles compared with the first.
Mere Bianchin
Hamilton, New Zealand
鈥淢y experience as a cleaner in a girls鈥� high school tells me the first toilet cubicle is the least used鈥�
鈥� The assumption that the least-visited toilet is the cleanest is probably wrong. Look at the problem the other way around. Is the dirtiest toilet going to attract the most visitors, or the fewest?
With all three toilets available, simply pick the one that looks the cleanest.
Howard Bobry
Nehalem, Oregon, US
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