Urine sample splash back*

Urinating into a cup is undesirable. Perhaps it is because the reasons for performing this task have negative connotations (e.g., illness, employment requirements, etc.) and the physical action often results in a mess. It is even more problematic for those who are disabled and female. In an effort to improve our understanding of the problem we have designed an experiment where a jet of water simulates the urine stream and a tissue-like polymer simulates the interaction with nearby skin tissue. We explore several configurations to cover as many possible differences in anatomy. Cups placed downstream illuminate the splash-back problem during urine capture. We identify several regimes and propose solutions to mitigate the awkward, unsanitary and annoying urine sample dilemma.