Urinal etiquette explained
Comparative Adjacency Under Conditions of Unequal Neighbouring Mass
QUESTION 7/20
Every available position in this arrangement entails immediate proximity to someone. The question is therefore which form of proximity imposes the least avoidable intrusion.
The situation
The Office · Entrance: Lower right.
| Position | State |
|---|---|
| 1 | Ordinary visitor |
| 2 | Available |
| 3 | Ordinary visitor |
| 4 | Available |
| 5 | Available |
| 6 | Large visitor |
Recommended position: 4
Three different compromises
Position two lies between ordinary visitors at one and three. Position five is directly beside the substantial visitor at six. Position four is adjacent to the ordinary visitor at three, but leaves position five unused before the substantial visitor. These are materially different conditions, despite sharing an immediate neighbour.
The limited recommendation
Four does not provide complete isolation. It avoids both the two-sided confinement of two and the direct large-person adjacency of five. The analysis does not manufacture extra floor space; it identifies the least constrained use of the space actually shown.
Conclusion
Position four is the best available compromise. The Institute does not regard an equal opportunity to inconvenience two neighbours as a form of diplomatic balance.
In plain language
Two puts you between two blokes. Five puts you beside the big one. Take four: one ordinary neighbour, with a gap before the broad shoulders.