Watch a reporter interrogate manspreaders on the subway
If you still don't know, manspreading is the act of sitting on the subway with your legs wide apart like you've got a blimp between them. (C’mon guys -- it’s not that big.)
Intrepid Gothamist reporter Lauren Evans did the dirty work of actually putting a tape measure between men's legs, and a camera in their face, to establish some ground rules for what is a reasonable way for everyone to sit -- see the video below.
The general consensus: seven to 11 inches is how far you should spread your legs. One respondent provided a more outrageous “18,” but we’re going to assume he was accidentally using the centimeters side of the tape.
Another dude rationalized his manspreading, saying "we have no choice but to have our legs like that, you know what I mean? It's different for a woman." (He was talking about his penis.) And yet another told Evans he was "absolutely exhausted" and “usually [doesn’t] even sit down." Life is hard.
You don't to be that guy who cramps everyone on the train, so I advise wearing the "seven-to-11" figure on a Livestrong-style bracelet, tattooing it on the back of your hand, or doing whatever else necessary to commit it to memory forever.
Hannah Serena Goldstein is a Cities editorial assistant at Thrillist. Anyone who manspreads into her space can expect the leg equivalent of a thumb war. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.