THE SOCIAL NORM OF LEAVING THE TOILET SEAT DOWN: A GAME THEORETIC ANALYSIS (link to the article)

. . . In this paper, we internalize the cost of yelling and model the conflict as a non-cooperative game between two species, males and females.We find that the social norm of leaving the toilet seat down is inefficient. However, to our dismay, we also find that the social norm of always leaving the toilet seat down after use is not only a Nash equilibrium in pure strategies but is also trembling-hand perfect. So, we can complain all we like, but this norm is not likely to go away. . . .

This is a entertaining article that explores “the social norm of leaving the toilet seat down” using game theory. It’s fun to see the application of economics to interesting, if not somewhat banal, topics of daily life. Enjoy.