by http://blog.xkcd.com/2009/09/02/urinal- ... erability/
"When a guy goes into the bathroom, which urinal does he pick? Most guys are familiar with the International Choice of Urinal Protocol. It’s discussed at length elsewhere, but the basic premise is that the first guy picks an end urinal, and every subsequent guy chooses the urinal which puts him furthest from anyone else peeing. At least one buffer urinal is required between any two guys or awkwardness ensues." - XKCD
"In a real situation, is it not acceptable to intentionally choose a urinal which is initially awkward if neighboring urinals will soon become vacant?
A better model would account for this, but it must incorporate acceptable proportion of awkward time, average pee duration, and average pee frequency.
It should probably also include how bad you have to pee, because that is positively related to your own pee duration. Everyone else’s pee duration is most likely unknown, but perhaps their time of arrival could be estimated (assuming they obey the advanced model as well).
One important question is whether it is truly the proportion of awkward time that matters, or a maximum duration of awkwardness." - Zandroid
"This might all be avoided by using the single-long-trough urinal design sometimes seen in stadiums and behind rural Mexican bars (seriously, I first thought there was just a bunch of guys peeing on the wall – turned out there was outdoor plumbing specially installed for the purpose).
Or does this just create infinite awkwardness, by forcing all peers to share one urinal?" - Dragonfrog
"When a guy goes into the bathroom, which urinal does he pick? Most guys are familiar with the International Choice of Urinal Protocol. It’s discussed at length elsewhere, but the basic premise is that the first guy picks an end urinal, and every subsequent guy chooses the urinal which puts him furthest from anyone else peeing. At least one buffer urinal is required between any two guys or awkwardness ensues." - XKCD
"In a real situation, is it not acceptable to intentionally choose a urinal which is initially awkward if neighboring urinals will soon become vacant?
A better model would account for this, but it must incorporate acceptable proportion of awkward time, average pee duration, and average pee frequency.
It should probably also include how bad you have to pee, because that is positively related to your own pee duration. Everyone else’s pee duration is most likely unknown, but perhaps their time of arrival could be estimated (assuming they obey the advanced model as well).
One important question is whether it is truly the proportion of awkward time that matters, or a maximum duration of awkwardness." - Zandroid
"This might all be avoided by using the single-long-trough urinal design sometimes seen in stadiums and behind rural Mexican bars (seriously, I first thought there was just a bunch of guys peeing on the wall – turned out there was outdoor plumbing specially installed for the purpose).
Or does this just create infinite awkwardness, by forcing all peers to share one urinal?" - Dragonfrog
