The One Stall You Should Always Use in a Public Restroom
Picture yourself entering a public restroom: Do you immediately head to the stalls farther away from the entrance? If you do, you're not the only one. According to New York Magazine, men tend to choose the stall or urinal closest to the door, while women tend to select those farther from it. But you might want to rethink your stall-selection strategy if you want to minimize your germ exposure.
Why? Because the first stall is the least often occupied by public bathroom users-meaning it's also the cleanest.
"Experts theorize that people tend to skip the first stall in favor of stalls farther back to have a little more privacy," writes Dr. Mehmet Oz on Sharecare. "But because the first stall is used least often, it contains the lowest bacteria levels. Instead of skipping the first stall, choose it to help avoid possible infections."
The stalls you definitely want to avoid? The middle ones, since science has proven that in general, when presented with similar options, people tend to choose the one in the middle, a phenomenon psychologists refer to as "centrality preference," according to Business Insider.
Because we all know a toilet seat liner won't save you.
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