Urinal etiquette explained
Unequal Shores and the Preservation of a Dry Intermediate Position
QUESTION 17/20
A central puddle divides the available dry candidates visually, but does not confer equal desirability on the two sides. The identity of the nearer occupant remains relevant.
The situation
Railway Station · Entrance: Middle right.
| Position | State |
|---|---|
| 1 | Large visitor |
| 2 | Available |
| 3 | Available |
| 4 | Wet floor · unavailable |
| 5 | Available |
| 6 | Available |
| 7 | Ordinary visitor |
Recommended position: 5
The paired candidates
Position four is wet and unavailable. Positions three and five each retain one intervening fixture before their nearer occupant. At three, that occupant is the substantial visitor at one. At five, it is the ordinary visitor at seven. The ordinal gaps match, but the immediate spatial burdens do not.
The preferred shore
Position five increases separation from the substantial visitor whilst preserving a gap before the ordinary one. It must not be rejected merely for standing beside the wet position: the puddle affects four, not five. Position six sacrifices the remaining gap before seven, and two adjoins the substantial visitor.
Conclusion
Position five is the more defensible dry allocation. A symmetrical drawing does not oblige the occupants to have symmetrical shoulders.
In plain language
Take five. It is dry, has a gap before the ordinary bloke, and keeps the big one farther away. The puddle at four does not own five.