Standing
While not moving, a human can be:
- standing; requires sufficient height, e.g. it is not possible in a regular car; one can stand freely or lean against a wall, a pole, etc.;
- sitting; requires a chair or some other low, more or less horizontal structure, e.g. a low wall or a table, or can be done on the ground; special ways of sitting are with the legs horizontal, and in an inclined seat;
- lying; requires sufficient space in one direction; usually done on a bed;
- squatting
For sitting and lying softness and cleanliness are relevant factors. Sometimes paper, cardboard or cloth is used when sitting or lying on the ground, a dirty bench, etc. Sitting or lying in the grass or on a sandy beach is comfortably soft.
For sleeping and sexual activities one often lies down. For most activities which does not involve moving, sitting is usually preferred, e.g. reading, watching television, using a computer; this also applies for moving in a vehicle.
Standing and squatting is mainly done when there are not enough seats, e.g. in a public transport vehicle, a train station, a bus stop, a waiting room; whether people will sit anyway depends on the availabilty of other places to sit (including enough space on the floor), how inventive one is, how conventional, how dirty these places are, how dirty one is willing to become, and whether paper etc. is available to sit on (these things also apply when there are seats, but dirty).
Availability of seats is sometimes somewhat subjective, e.g. whether an additional person fits on a bench. This depends also on shyness and feelings about proximity.
Standing in a moving vehicle is less stable than sitting and usually requires holding on to something to absorb accelerations (going faster and slower and making turns); for this poles and/or handles are often fitted. Squatting may be difficult because of being too unstable.
See also Criss cross applesauce, Ergonomics, Lodging.
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