Which Bathroom Stall is the Cleanest to Use?

Everyone knows that public restrooms aren’t the cleanest.  I’m pretty sure every woman has done the bathroom tip toe.  You know what I mean- you walk around on your toes thinking if you do that, you’ll have less of a chance to catch germs.  And let’s not talk about the bathroom door.  Disgusting!  We’ve all used anything we can find to touch it so that our hands don’t have to. We also hover in the stalls so that we don't actually touch the seat. We hold everything we can and if something drops to the floor we silently cry inside and then start working out a sanitizing plan inside our head. We know that with all the traffic going through the bathroom each day the amount of germs is unbelievable.  But do you know which stall is the cleanest?

My friend and I were just at a Binghamton Senators game and got to talking about public bathrooms.  (Yes guys, this really is the stuff girls talk about when we go out) When you have the option, which stall do you take? Do you take the one toward the end of the row to be further away from the door? Or do you take the stall that is in line with the sink so that you can go straight to the sink? My friend said she always goes for the stall at the end of the line- the one all the way in the back because she figures it’s the cleanest.  I said I always go for the first one because nobody does because they think it’s the most used when it’s really not.  Wanna know who’s right?

If you have the option to choose a stall you should go for the first stall. Why the first stall? "You’ll find fewer bacteria in the first stall," says the author of The Germ Freak's Guide to Outwitting Colds and Flu, Allison Janse. Women typically don't use the first stall because we’re more comfortable further into the bathroom.

Did you know the first stall was the cleanest? Will you now go to the first stall after learning it is the cleaner out of the bunch?

Oh- and in all fairness, I knew about the first stall being the cleanest because I’ve read several studies over the years that have told me so.