Floodlights, Flashlights, and a Shampoo Bottle

How Americans get the last bit of shampoo out

June 25th, 2026 · By Sam McNerney

The investor Paul Graham once wrote an essay called "The Top Idea in Your Mind." It's about how people have one idea they drift toward when their mind is allowed to wander — the thing they think about in the shower.

Here's mine.

There's a category of questions I call floodlight questions. A floodlight question is broad and difficult to answer. A good example is, "What do you look for in a good friend?"

I've never seen a floodlight question that was insightful. I think this is because difficulty is a signal. If you're struggling to answer a question, that usually means you don't have an answer, in which case you have to invent one.

The opposite is a flashlight question. A flashlight question is specific and easier to answer. It asks you to notice something rather than invent something. "Did you eat breakfast this morning?"

Flashlight questions are not automatically insightful – plenty of easy questions are useless – but if your goal is insightful responses, ease is a necessary condition.

Graham is right. The shower is where your mind wanders — which, it turns out, is where I was when I had an idea for teasing out these two question types. I was standing there when I wondered how long it would take to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool if I left the shower running. I knew how long a shower takes. I knew what a huge swimming pool looks like. But I had no way to connect the two.

I felt my mind cast around with nowhere to land. That's what a floodlight question feels like.

I picked up the shampoo bottle. It was almost empty, so I shook it downward like a ketchup bottle, added water, and poured the rest onto my hand. The whole thing took a few seconds, and it annoyed me enough to wonder if other people get annoyed with bottom-of-the-bottle shampoo.

The next day I fielded a survey of 125 Americans. I asked everyone to estimate how long a continuously running shower would take to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Then I asked about shampoo.

"Is there anything annoying about getting the last of your shampoo out of the bottle, like squeezing or scraping to reach what's left?"

For the swimming pool question, the average guess was about three days. The correct answer is 183 days, or about six months. Three days versus 183 isn't an error. It's a manufactured guess standing in for knowledge that was never there.

How long people think it would take a running shower to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
Data collected via online survey of 111 respondents, Americans 18+. June 2026. Outliers above 365 days removed. Responses without units excluded. Hours rounded to nearest day

For the shampoo question, about half the respondents had something to say — and what they said was specific and consistent. They described how annoying an almost-empty bottle is and their solutions: flipping the bottle upside down between showers, adding water, cutting the top open, scooping the inside with a finger.

The other half said no. And because the question pointed at a specific moment — getting the last bit out, not a bottle in the abstract — that no means something.

What people who struggle with the last bit of shampoo do to get it out of the bottle.

Data collected via online survey of 120 respondents, Americans 18+. June 2026. Click a theme to highlight every response that speaks to it — a response can light up under more than one theme.

no
I have to leave it upside down for awhile to get the last bit out
I am bald, but when I had hair, no, I didn't find anything annoying when I used my shampoo bottle.
The pumper is broken so I have to unscrew the lid and actually pour it into my hand, which is a little irritating.
no
I use a shampoo bar, not bottled liquid.
Right now, there is nothing annoying about getting my shampoo out of the bottle.
Not really because I always keep my shampoo bottle upside down so it's fairly easy throughout the lifespan of the bottle.
Nothing much.
Yes, it is annoying to do all that. So I just cut the bottle open and scoop some out for several more uses.
no
Yes, I hate when it's all stuck at the bottom. For this reason, I do not like using pumps on my container because I usually have to unscrew the lid and add a little bit of water to get the rest of the product out and I prefer a normal screw on lid.
I have to remove the pump to get the last bit because it doesn't reach the bottom of the bottle.
no i have a pump in it right now and its still pretty full
There is acutally im at the end of a body wash bottle and i have to shake it hard to get some to come out.
no
pumping to get the last bit out
no not really since i just bought a new shampoo and it easy to squeeze it out
Not really, I don't use my shampoo that much.
Getting all of it out
No it comes right out easily
Squeezing the last little bit out and it not being enough.
I use a big bottle with a pump. There is about 10 showers' worth of shampoo left in there after the pump stops working.
I use 1L bottle professional shampoo, but don't have a pump for it. Have to flip it up to get shampoo out.
Nope, i usually use one with a pump and then store it upside down at the end to get it all out.
No
always getting the last bit out is a hassle
Yes sometimes when there isn't a lot in the bottle it's a bit of a hassle to pound it upside down and get the last bits out.
no, it comes out fine
Mine has a pump, but the last bits cannot be pumped out. So I have to take the top off completely and smack it on my hand.
Yes, I normally leave them sit upside down if possible.
Yes. I hate trying to get everything out when the bottle is almost empty.
No
Yes it is so annoying the shampoo a pump and when the level gets low you have to take cap off and try and scrape it out with finger. Then after fill it a bit with water and shake it
I hate trying to get the last bit out, it takes too long but I hate wasting any shampoo by not using it
no
Sometimes the air in the bottle can make it annoying to get it out
Cant say I have ever encountered any problem with shampoo dispensing.
Yes - getting that last bit out.
yes. getting the last bit out
Completely annoying
Getting the lid off to get the last bit out is distressing.
I use the pump top and it never gets all the shampoo out of the bottom. I feel like I am wasting money.
not really mine is a pump and it works well
No, I recently bought a new bottle and it has one of those tops you press down on which makes it easier.
no not really
Getting the last bit out - I always feel like there's a lot more in the bottle that I can't reach.
My old bottle I could unscrew the top and let water in there to be able to get the last bit but not my new one.
No
Getting the last bit out by using the pump. I always have to take the top and pump off to get the last like 20% out.
Just getting the last bit out of the bottom of bottle since it clings or comes out slowly.
Trying to get the last bit out of a pump bottle.
no mine comes out very easy
it doesnt have a pump
Well the bottom is almost empty so I have it turned upside down right now in order to squeeze the last little bit out
No, everything is fine. Towards the end i'll just put a little water in there and shake it up.
maybe just getting the last bit out
I feel like with squeeze bottle shampoos we are wasting the very end of the bottle because it's hard to get out, maybe because a lot of the shampoo is stuck to the inside edges.
Nothing annoying
Yes. I had to tap the bottle repeatedly to get the last bit of product out.
Yes
No, not really.
Yes, I'm at the bottom of a bottle and it takes more effort to get the product out.
Getting the last bit out of a pump bottle
I am bald, so I just use bodywash from a pump bottle, but it is annoying when the bottle is almost empty and the last bit won't pump out.
Yes, every single time you use it, you have to give it a good shake, otherwise nothing comes out. Gets tedious doing it every time.
Yes, usually the last bit.
Yes, the opening is so thin so I have to use my nails to get it out, and I'm scared that I'll break it (my nails btw).
Yes! The pump releases significantly less shampoo than it used to per pump.
yes its a pump so when it starts to get low but not out I have to remove the pump and just pull from the bottle itself.
not the shampoo
No.
I turn it upside down when its low, so no
Yes, when its almost finished you can see some left but won't come out easily
getting the last bit out
It's annoying trying to squeeze the shampoo out when it gets to the bottom. I always have to use a knife and cut the bottle in half to get it out.
Getting the last bit out is always annoying
The pump is hard to use at the end and the consistency of the shampoo is too thick to shake out
No
Not currently, my shampoo is well stocked and has no issues coming out of the package.
No, I had to pump mine, but I just got a new bottle.
you can never get all of the soap out of the crappy plastic bottles
The bottle is really big and it's kind of hard to squeeze the product out.
Nothing annoying
Turning it over and hitting the bottom so the rest can come out is pretty annoying but it's also not that serious
Yes it can be annoying. But since I have a pump I put water in it and shake it to get the last bit out. I do it with toothpaste cut it open. Really everything.
No, there is nothing annoying
Yes, my shampoo is rectangular shaped with a cap that's really hard to pry open. So it's a real pain to get the last bit out.
Trying to get the last bit out is annoying.
A bit, have to tap against your palm to get the last bit out but not a huge deal
The pump sometimes gets stuck
I typically would roughly tap the opening of the shampoo bottle on my hand; the only annoying part about it is that it hurts.
Getting the last bit out
It's annoying to try to get the last bit out of the bottle.
Bottles sometimes feel slippery in the shower, making them annoying to handle.
Yes. Selsun blue has this issue
No, it is not hard to squeeze out the shampoo and I can just twist off the top and put water in the shampoo bottle if I need to get the last bit out.
The pump not getting out the last bit.
No, it is working really smoothly
No, it's fine
not really
Yes, there is always waste left over at the bottom you can't get without removing the pump
nope i just put the bottle under the shower and pour it on my head
No
The last bit is hard to get out and I usually have to turn the bottle upside down and shake it.
Sometimes it is hard to squeeze the last pump out
Having to grip the bottle with wet hands, especially when it is nearly empty and light, is frustrating.
Getting the last bit out
It's hard to get the last bit out when the bottle uses a pump. Usually the opening is too small to get everything out.
Using the remaining amount of shampoo
Only if the bottle isn't designed to stand upside down to move the shampoo towards the opening.
Nothing at the moment.
Yes, yesterday while showering I used up the last bit of shampoo, and had to squeeze the bottle for a little while.
Not at this time
Yes. Pump shampoo/conditioner is more convenient but it is impossible to get the last of it out without removing the pump and banging the container upside down.
No. I use shampoo in a bottle with a pump
No, I haven't found any difficulty. If anything too much comes out sometimes lol
Nothing annoying.
Yes, the head of the bottle should be larger and flatter so it can be turned upside down when not in use so its easier to get the last bit out.
Nah it slides right off my head

Floodlight questions feel ambitious, but they usually produce fog. Flashlight questions feel smaller, but they give people somewhere to look. And once people know where to look, they can tell you what they actually see.

If you want a second pair of eyes on where your questions are pointing, that's what a Survey Roast is for.

You send me a draft, I send back a recorded critique. No jargon, no slide decks. Just honest feedback.

You can see an example here.

Sam