14 DAY TRIAL // The default position of the toilet seat is something men and women have been bickering over since forever. Well, not exactly since forever. More likely since toilets were invented and somebody had the brilliant idea to put seats on them.
Thanks to scientists, this decades-long war might finally come to an end. Provided that both parties are ready and willing to trust mathematicians and just do as they are told, that is.
Not to beat about the bush, it appears that, as far as a toilet's wellbeing is concerned, it's best if men just leave the seat up when they are done using it. Now let us all take a moment to hear all the ladies in the world letting out a whole-hearted, “Say what?”
How mathematicians reached this frightening conclusion
Michigan State University researcher Jay Pil Choi says that, if the goal is to minimize the number of times a toilet seat goes up and down throughout the course of a day and thus reduce wear and tear, it's best if men and women just leave it in the position they use it in.
Seeing how men too sometimes have to put the seat down when using the toilet, the scientist insists that his solution is the best way to reduce the strain put on toilets. This is because nobody would ever have to move the seat more than once per bathroom visit.
There is one other option, and it too rules in favor of men
Just in case some couples aren't as concerned about protecting their toilet as they are about making sure men and women exert themselves equally when using the toilet, mathematician Richard Harter imaged a scenario under which the end goal is to have men and women operate the seat just as often.
According to Richard Harter, men and women can hope to exert themselves equally when using the toilet if men put the seat down about half the times that they visit the bathroom. True, this other scenario requires more effort on the behalf of men, but it still beats putting the seat down every single time nature calls.
“I expect that this analysis should settle the toilet seat controversy for once and for all,” Richard Harter joked in a recent interview, as cited by Daily Mail. Well, here's hoping he got it right.