The scientific reason we should leave the toilet seat down

And it’s good news for the ladies.

Research Jay Pil Choi at the Michigan State University put the debate to the test in his essay, Up or Down? A Male Economist’s Manifesto on the Toilet Seat Etiquette, and came to the conclusion that the toilet seat should be left down in most cases.

Choi reached the conclusion through a range of complicated formulas which you can see below, which basically assert that because women always need the toilet seat down always and men need it up occasionally, it should be left down more often than not.

Toilet -seat -equation _498x 355 (1)

Image credit: Michigan State University

But here’s where it gets a little bit complicated.

Choi also examined the effect of the male to female ratio in the house, and suggested that because humans defecate once a day and urinate seven times a day on average, the seat is better left up in circumstances where the household ratio is tilted in men’s favour.

In basic terms: if there are the same (or more) women in the house than men, the seat should always stay down. But if there are more men in the house than women, the seat should always stay up. But the seat should probably stay down more often than not.

What do you think? Have you ever had any issues with bathroom etiquette?

Let us know in the comments. 

Article created in partnership with Over60.