Science has figured out how to pee without splashing. This is the best way to do it

If you live with someone with a penis, or you are that person, you’ve probably encountered some unwanted drips on toilet rim. Older people or people who have been drinking alcohol are rarely right when it comes to aiming. This is evidenced by the bathrooms in clubs. However, even a young and healthy person can have mistakes when urinating. The ideal way to prevent this is to do it while sitting. But maybe the bathroom is too dirty, or you think it threatens your masculinity. If the latter is your case, consider it. But just in case, science has studied the best way urinate standing up without splashing.

You probably don’t know about this study, but it’s not new. It was conducted in 2013 by a group of scientists from Bingham Young University Splash Lab. This is a laboratory that specializes in the physics of liquids. And, of course, urine is a liquid.

In fact, their research wasn’t just about finding the best way to pee standing up without spilling water. They were conducted various experiments focused on the analysis of urination in both humans and other animals. For example, they studied how the size of an animal affects its rate of urination. This could have very useful applications in medicine, although it may not seem so. But of course, the most applicable topic in everyday life is splashing.

The Physics of Urine Is More Complex Than You Think

The first thing these scientists did was study the urination of 16 animals of different sizes: five mice, five rats, a dog, two goats, two cows and an elephant.

It was observed that smaller animals urinate faster. In particular, mice and rats needed about two seconds to empty their bladders. However, in animals weighing more than five kilograms, the urination time was about 21 secondseven if there were some differences in size. This is because several factors come into play.

For example, elephants have a huge bladder, and the urethra through which urine flows is similar to a household pipe. Being as long as gravity attracts urine to the lower urethra, increases its flow rate. Therefore, even if the volume is large, it passes relatively quickly. Of course, dogs have a much smaller bladder, but they need about the same time to urinate, because their urethra is shorter, so gravity pulls on it less. There is less urine, but it goes down more slowly.

In fact, these animals need muscles which help them push out urine. Elephants don’t need them because gravity does all the work.

All this is known as the law of urination, and knowing it is useful for understanding this process. It is known that older people, as well as some animals, experience prostate enlargement which reduces the flow of urine due to narrowing of the urethra. Therefore, knowledge of the mechanisms of urination in animals with different urethral sizes is very important.

And you also need to know the best way to pee standing up without splashing. These scientists knew that, so they dedicated part of their study to it.

It is possible to urinate while standing without splashing.

To find a better way to urinate while standing without splashing, scientists developed a 3D-printed artificial urethra. It consisted of cylinder measuring 8 x 3 mm.attached to a pressurized container by tubes. A liquid, colored to simulate urine, passed through the system at a rate equivalent to 21 milliliters per secondThis is the average flow rate measured in a healthy middle-aged person.

By activating the device on the porcelain of the toilet bowl or the standing water at the bottom, they saw some interesting data. First, they noticed that urine was subject to the phenomenon of Plateau-Rayleigh instability. Accordingly, falling streams of liquid break up into droplets. When urinating while standing, the droplets are about 15 centimeters urethral outlet. What should be done to prevent them from spreading throughout the bathroom and going completely into the toilet?

The key, they saw in this study, is the angle. It has to be from less than 45°. That is, the slope of the flow relative to the toilet should form a very closed angle. This means that the closer, the better. But this is not all that should be taken into account.

It is also recommended to urinate while standing, without splashing water. aim for porcelain instead of watersince the flow when mixed with another liquid would be much more chaotic. So, which part of the porcelain should we aim for? They also studied this and concluded that it is better on the side walls.

So, to pee standing up without splashing water, ideally you need to be next to the toilet, at a slight angle, and aim at the sides of the toilet, over the porcelain. Anyway, if for some reason you can’t do it, try doing it sitting down. Seriously, nothing happens.