Talk:Lap

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hmm... i made this article a while ago and it was removed. glad someone put it back up! (though i lost my credit : theradical 7 April 2006
 * Your contributions are in the history of Lap (disambiguation).  and are/were appreciated.  fish &amp;karate  11:50, 13 November 2017 (UTC)

Needs work
Very vague details. Mismatched disorganized sections. "Lapdog" section is nonsense. There are other animals that sit on laps for example cats. Also it is over specific by saying "wealthy European women" — Preceding unsigned comment added by 107.0.226.128 (talk) 02:11, 28 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Eh, wealthy European and Chinese women did develop the lapdog.

One thing in this article that doesn't entirely sparkle with me is the statement that the lap exists in a bipedal being. Apes have laps, sure, but birds definitely don't (the placement of their pelvis in fact gives them almost the opposite of a lap, suitable for nestling over a pair of eggs on either side) and kangaroos don't either.. plus plenty of quadrupedal animals have laps when they lean back, like otters and bears. The definition ought to be "the name for the pelvic region when positioned such that it leaves a surface opposite the pull of gravity" i.e. when you can rest something on it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.182.130.241 (talk) 06:39, 18 May 2013 (UTC)

Slight correction.
With regards to a swimming lap, or lap of a pool:

In running, to complete a lap of the track is to complete one full circuit/circle. In other words; when you cross back over the start line: you have completed one lap. The exact same applies for motor sports, and also for swimming. The concept does not change due to water.

To swim from one end of the pool to the other (i.e. from the shallow end to the deep end, or vice versa) is called one length. To swim two lengths, without stopping or pausing, is one lap, (I.E. to complete one full circuit/circle, crossing back over the original start line).

Consider the meaning of the given example of "being lapped" in motor sports. Quote: "Used as a verb, to lap is to overtake someone in a race by a full circuit (i.e. to have completed an extra lap than them)." The opposite end of the pool is the furthest point from the start line only, and as such is really just the mid-lap marker. Think of the furthest point from the start on a running track, the athlete at that point, would still have to travel the same distance back in the opposite direction to complete the lap.

Swimmers will swim lengths when focusing on maximizing speed, just as runners would in a 100 meter sprint. Similarly, running or swimming laps is more about endurance/distance training. --De1Dragon (talk) 20:49, 11 November 2014 (UTC)