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The Urinal Flies At JFK's Terminal 4 Keep The Floors Clean
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jun 17, 2012
Modified Jun 17, 2012
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jun 17, 2012
Modified Jun 17, 2012
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If you're peeing on a fly at JFK's Terminal 4, you're doing it right. A reader asked the Times' Michael Pollak about the tiny pictures of houseflies that appear on the urinals in Terminal 4's men's rooms and it turns out that if given a target, men have better aim. Studies have found that men are 80% more accurate if given something to aim for, thus making it cheaper to keep the bathrooms clean. To increase accuracy even more, we'd suggest replacing flies with decals of airline corporate logos, depictions of Loud Headphones Boy, Snoring Lady, and other air travel aggravations.
The idea for the flies came from JFKIAT, a subsidiary of the Dutch company Schiphol Group, which runs Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport—a pioneer in testing the urinal target theory. Unfortunately, the flies won't be on any of the new urinals in the Terminal 4 expansion because “The ‘fly’ was a Schiphol initiative and not considered by the group who designed the new plans.” Sure, inspect every orifice at the gate, but don't tell us where to pee!
Tagged
common sense
JFK
terminal 4
urinal flies
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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