Fastest way to the bathroom

At work, the floor is laid out in a large rectangle, with cubicles on both sides of the main path.  Unfortunately, both the mens' room and the kitchen are on the opposite side of the building -- so it's actually a fair hike to get there.  Long enough that -- unlike at my previous job, where the kitchen was right across the hall -- I really feel like I've ''stretched my legs'' when I go use the toilet or use the kitchen.  And I try not to confuse the two.

When I left my desk to perform any of the above-implied tasks, sometimes I'd go clockwise, and sometimes I'd go counter-clockwise.  Usually I'd go counter-clockwise after leaving my desk, because I knew three people on that side, and didn't know anyone on the other side.  But, I still wondered:  which way was shortest?

SO -- last night after work, I stayed behind and measured.  I'd brought my mondo tape measure and my notebook; I made a little diagram in my notebook; and I measured from corner to corner to corner of the pathway, as well as from my cubicle to the corners, and from the toilet and kitchen to the corners.

It turns out that I was getting unnecessary exercise by walking past my friends:  from my desk to the toilets I was accidentally travelling an extra 12.4 meters (41 feet) **each way**; when using the kitchen, it was 8.4 meters (28 feet) each way.

And, for the day:  I tend to visit the kitchen about seven times a day, and hit the toilets about twice a day (I drink a lot of tea).  So that's about 1.17km a day -- about 3/4 of a mile.  That's all right.  :) 

Incidental exercise, they call it.


--GG