On Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me last weekend there was a piece about the squatting desk, a new idea to replace the now-bad-for-you standing desk, which replaced the as-bad-as-smoking chair. What? I missed the news day on which the standing desk lost favor.

So to the web. I found one study, but it was poorly designed, sorting people into mostly-standing or mostly-sitting based on their job types, not on interviews, then collecting data on their health. For example, all office workers would be classified as sitting, even those with a standing desk, and all carpenters would be classified as standing, even those who specialize in inlays. I think carpenter are seated while assembling inlays. In any case, this study found that standing and sitting are both bad. Float, people.

Then there were the skeptics who claimed, No one benefits from a standing desk because no one actually stands at one. I do. I stand for hours every day. I also know a person who stands to use the computer, which she does primarily, and sits to use the phone. So there are two of us. My husband used a standing desk for at least a year, ultimately deciding he did not like it, but while he had it, he stood. And someone at his office claimed it when he relocated and may be using it now. So, 2.5 to 3.5 confirmed cases.

Other people say standing isn’t exercise if you are still. Luckily, it’s impossible to be perfectly still while standing at a computer. I’m constantly shifting my weight. Certainly that incredibly accurate step-counter, Fitbit, gives me lots of points. Hey, it’s more exercise than driving the Mustang, which also puffs up my Fitbit score.

One complete idiot said that sitting is better than standing for preventing DVT. Actually, No. That is Dangerously Wrong info. Less than two months ago I personally heard a vascular surgeon exhort people to stand to avoid that exact condition. This is an example of how you can die from browsing the Internet.

So am I just like the folks who keep  browsing until they find the answer they already believed when they started? Or am I actually a good identifier of inaccurate information online? Note that I did not find any accurate information. Surprise?