By Anupum Pant
Any man who has used a common urinal knows how splashy urinating in them can be. Men have tried for ages to do it the right way, but the right way has remained elusive. Now, science has stepped in to save the day.
Splash lab, Brigham Young University’s famous fluids lab studied the physics of urinal usage and presented their learnings in a conference recently. To reduce the significant splash back that is produced, they suggest some scientifically proven techniques of aiming.
1. Aim for the vertical surfaces. Horizontal ones will produce a much bigger splash back.
2. At closer distances the stream remains continuous. However, turbulence kicks in quickly and the stream separates into individual droplets. (which also is the reason peeing on an electric fence won’t kill you). You don’t want these separated droplets to hit the surface of water. So go closer, as close as you can get.
3. Try to make low angles with the surfaces at which the stream hits surfaces.
4. Splash reducing inserts are put in there for a reason. Aim there.
As splash lab puts it – always remember “Haphazard urinal usage can have devastating consequences.”