Scientists have revealed the secret of how to choose the cleanest stall in any public restroom

When it comes to a public restroom, we often wonder which stall to enter. Scientists have revealed the secret of how to choose the cleanest one among the available ones.

Psychologists emphasize that people usually prefer stalls located in the middle, even if they don't realize it. Therefore, the cleaner ones are those located at the edges of the row, DailyMail writes.

In a study, a psychologist from the University of California, San Diego, examined how four identical stalls were used in a bathroom on a California beach.

By measuring the amount of toilet paper, the researchers could see which of the stalls was the most popular. Of the 86 rolls, 40 percent were used from the two outer toilets, and all the rest were taken from the middle stalls.

This suggests that people have what psychologists call a "central bias" for toilet stalls, meaning they prefer the middle option when all conditions are equal.

However, when there are two more stalls to choose from, one closer to the door and one further away, men and women made different choices, the researchers say.

A survey of toilet use habits suggests that men tend to prefer the stall closest to the door, while women tend to gravitate away from it.

So, if you are looking for the cleanest stall, it means that men should choose the option that is further away from the door, and women should choose the closer option, experts advise.

The scientists emphasize that it is really important to choose the cleanest restroom possible, because it affects your health. Every time water is flushed into the toilet, the "toilet plume" releases a cloud of aerosolized feces, toilet water, and bacteria that cover the surfaces around it.

"Some of these droplets quickly settle to nearby surfaces such as the flush handle, sink and door handles, while others remain in the air for a long time where they can be inhaled by other bathroom users," said Elizabeth Peddie, a toilet plume researcher at Loughborough University.

These aerosols have the highest concentration in the first five minutes after flushing, which can be a real problem in poorly ventilated and busy public bathrooms, experts say.

Peddie emphasizes that when a toilet is used too often without cleaning, it can lead to "significant accumulation and survival of bacterial bioaerosols" that affect health.

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