Gee whiz...has this happend to you?

Not long ago I got a stuffy new job...when ever I would use the restroom (we all share one) someone would have left the seat down and there would be urine on it.

Being the new guy, I don't know who it was, but I knew who everyone would think it was...so I kept cleaning it up. Eventually I asked one of the woman who worked there if she had noticed it, hoping by asking that she would also know it wasn't me. (which I'm sure backfired and made her thing I was a slob...which I am, but not about toilet seat pee)

This went on about 6 months and I tried to keep an eye on toilet traffic to see what blokes were using our lav, Maybe it was somebody with parkenson's or some odd fitting party tunic that forces hard angles...I hoped to confront them about being a bit more considerate

Finally one day I went in and there was piss everywhere, and on close inspection there were two little footprints on the seat.

I spent a short while trying to match the tread on peoples shoes and over a period of a few weeks I found that not one but two of the woman I work with stand on the toilet seat and pee...(all over)

Being the stuffy place it is, I wanted to sing to the mountains and to all the village people that I wasn't the recalcitrant piss slouch and in fact it was a woman...but that's the sort of thing that can get a person some sensitivity classes, forced counseling or worse...I also thought about unbolting the seat, and putting a touch of soap and diesel fuel on the seat bottom to kinda make a rodeo of it...but I haven't.

Has this happened to any of you my Tiki amigos? Do the people in your work, school or cellblock whiz all over and do you get the blame? What to do?

X/O
Your close personal friend...Gigantalope

[ Edited by: Gigantalope on 2004-08-09 21:31 ]

no

Funny story!

How little were those footprints?
Maybe you have leprechauns!

That's gross! I don't blame you for being..."PISSED OFF". haha

But remember this sage advice:
Wise man say "Is better to be pissed off than to be pissed on."

Save the Tikis!

[ Edited by: 8FT Tiki on 2004-08-10 07:54 ]

that's disgusting. you should talk to HR. make it a reverse discrimination claim - leave an anonymous note threatening to enforce rights to have separate bathrooms for the sexes.

I've NEVER heard of a woman standing on the seat. I've heard of the squat-pissers - who also leave a huge mess - and it certainly taxes your quads if you have a full bladder. I thought men's bathrooms were disgusting and smelly, but some women are just plain SAVAGES when it comes to bathroom etiquette.

I know of one woman who carries around a trial-size bottle of rubbing alcohol in her purse to clean a bathroom seat (public or otherwise) before using it - she and her whole family have OCD - it may sound strange but it's more civilized than pissing all over the place.

"bunch of savages in this town..."

Back in college plenty of girls stood and squatted over the toilet. It too took me a long time to figure out what was going on.

When my family visited the Big City - Manhattan I warned & warned them about the disgusting bathrooms. Turns out as I toured them around the city it was just my college that disgusting bathrooms!

i've encountered this icky practice when i worked at a manufacturing plant in san diego. i was told it was cultural,that women from a particular country always stood on the toilet seats. i do think HR stepped in and had bathroom etiquitte classes. it helped a little bit.

It's disgusting. I see it all the time, piss on the seats in the women's washrooms, even footprints.
The worst I've ever seen was in an Ikea in Toronto. The woman not only budged in front of me, but left the most disgusting mess! Footprints, pee, it was so gross. They should be teaching proper cleanliness techniques in school these days. There is really no excuse.

It's funny, these people are trying to avoid the mess, when it is in fact them who are creating it.

On 2004-08-10 09:48, dangergirl299 wrote:
that's disgusting. you should talk to HR. make it a reverse discrimination claim - leave an anonymous note threatening to enforce rights to have separate bathrooms for the sexes.

Just say "hostile work environment" -- that will get their attention!

On 2004-08-09 21:29, Gigantalope wrote:
I also thought about unbolting the seat, and putting a touch of soap and diesel fuel on the seat bottom to kinda make a rodeo of it...but I haven't.

[ Edited by: Gigantalope on 2004-08-09 21:31 ]

DO IT

Having been in several industries that required me to clean bathrooms in my younger years I don't find this surprising at all. In fact, I would go as far as saying that as far as public restroom habits are concerned women are far more disgusting in the mess they make. I'll spare the details, but a little splashed urine was one of the less disgusting things that I encountered.

Matt

I most certainly have seen this. We had a problem with this in a bathroom in a lab building on a University campus. Only, it was not urine. It seems that the bombadier was not so sure of his target before he released the bomb-bays!
This is a curtural difference problem. It is certain recent asian immigrants primarily from Japan and Korea who are used to "squat Pots" which are sort of like those giant floor mount urinals except set flat on the floor. To use, you drop trou' , squat and let go with your load. We 'mer'kens can barely squat without blowing out a knee or falling in.

Another problem is the water everywhere syndrome. Folks from India are used to using water to clean their bum (left hand only please) and think our use of paper alone to be frankly repulsive. Imagine if you will a semi-public, i.e. workplace crapper with a shared bar of soap and a bucket with a cup or ladle provided for all to share for such cleanup. Enjoy your dinner at the Bombay Palace ;^)

[ Edited by: WillTiki on 2004-08-10 14:52 ]

[ Edited by: Unga Bunga on 2004-08-10 15:17 ]

Excellent use of cultural anthropology Willtiki... any more generalized stereotypes based on ignorance to spread?

"Recent immigrants from Japan and Korea" - that's interesting since the Japanese make the best "Western-style" toilets on the planet (with the Koreans catching up). Almost every Japanese home has what you'd call a "normal" toilet - public restrooms usually have a few squatters, but at least one for the cultural illiterates.

"Folks from India" - What percentage? The followers of the Islam or Hindu faith? Even the Muslims (with the "left hand" thing) have sh1tpaper available for sale to the non-believers (and i've known one or two to "cheat").

I've taken a dump in Europe, Asia, Japan, Africa, North and South America. Hands down, Americans have the nastiest bathrooms in the world. I'd take a shovel with a roll of toilet paper in SE Asia anytime over the average crapper in the US.

Contact Human Resources. Case closed.

On 2004-08-10 19:38, kha_o wrote:
Excellent use of cultural anthropology Willtiki... any more generalized stereotypes based on ignorance to spread?

On 2004-08-10 19:38, kha_o wrote:
Hands down, Americans have the nastiest bathrooms in the world.

:-?

My friend was in the Hare Krishnas and he told me they all stand on the toilet seat to go. Perhaps the Krishnas are using the lav at your job, that would explain the footprints on the seat.

A similar work situation happened to me. The restroom was shared by about 10 offices for retail stores, and the possible suspects were all impeccably dressed, ultra snooty, buyers, accounting & finance types (oops! like us!). It only happened in one stall, and three of us in our office compared times we'd witness this mess, but couldn't figure out who it was. All the while, the others we passed in the hall probably thought that it was us! Anyway, our office was the second closest (Disney Store was closer, but don't they have their own "Castrooms"?) One day, the CFO and I tried the Worst Echoing Hallway Stakeout in spike heels ever. Our plan was to wait around the corner of the cavernous tile hallway, and appear to be rounding the corner by our office when we heard someone else leave the restroom of offense. On top of that, we had alternating fits of church giggles whenever we'd hear someone walking down the hall, so our cover was questionable at best. The CFO even started her own little educational protest signage campaign, leaving increasingly outraged notes to the offender on the stall of disgrace door. For us, it wasn't a HR problem, as it was a shared space, but about 6 months later, keys were issued to the offices for this restroom, the mystery pee-er (what a word to spell!) ceased to leave evidence, and we never did figure out who it was! What's funny in retrospect was that we all had been so forgiving in our theories when we all found out we'd all seen evidence of this. "Maybe it's someone with a bad back." and even thinking that it was the tall, thin woman on the floor, and thusly she must be a crossdressing man having trouble with clothing and equipment. Yes, that's what working 12 hour days dressed to the nines in a teency li'l office and being an adult is all about! HA!

Yikes.
Having travled a bit, I must say that the gent's rooms in South America (Western Amazon)are less tidy than the ones here. The wierd part comes when kids who have never seen a white person (in my case) are assertive about wanting to know what exactly comes from us.

Also they often thought I was blind, and would try to make me flinch. (Blue eyes)

Toilet Travel Tip: Most places in the world outside Europe and Australia, one should not flush toilet paper. ( I guess it wrecks havok with the pipes) It's a constant source of American jokes...stopping up the plumin'. It's expected that it's placed in a basket near the commode...in toilet paper using places I mean.

Life's full of splendor!

I spent one summer as a kid in a tiny village in the south of France visiting my grandmother. When we arrived, Mom inevitably went to check out the "bathroom" which was really an outhouse with only a toilet. We looked at the toilet paper Grandma had and it reminded me of the unbleached, unlined writing paper my teachers handed out at school when we had to do math problems, except on a roll. Needless to say we promptly walked down to the general store and bought a box of Kleenex since no other kind of toilet paper could be found.

I also remember seeing those squatter-type toilets on my way to Versailles too. I think they were in some roadside eatery. I do remember it being somewhat unpleasant.

Despite that, it was one of the funnest summers of my life.

kha_o, you obviously havent had to use a squatter in a dive bar in Thailand. Cause there you get the delighful unisex squatter-plus-bucket combo! That was truly an exercise in mind over matter. I had to bring TP everywhere in my purse.

People in some countries prefer to squat, some prefer to sit. I don't think it's ignorant to point that out.

However, if you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie, wipe the seatie!

Not sure what bugs me the most when visiting remote places. The facilities. The insects in them, or wondering pigs. Stray dogs don't get eaten most places, but share a taste for the unsavory.... I know it's pretty much the same as expencive french cheese in smell, which makes the pigs smart shopers.

I travelled in the former USSR in the mid-80's, and got all dressed up one night to catch an opera in Moscow (I think) - the fanciest place of our whole 2 week whirlwind tour.
It was interesting that this beautiful, stately and ornate building had the most primitive bathroom I had ever seen - no doors on the stalls, and the "toilets" were just holes in the floor. I can't remember whether there was toilet paper or not.
This prepared me though for the "interesting" toilet conditions I experienced during my 2 week stint of training with the USMC in Quantico - after that, nothing phases me any more.

When I was just a tyke in pre-school(early 80's) there were paper dispensers in the stalls.(in the basement of a church)
They produced jagged edged brown paper, not unlike the type of paper used in grocery bags. Not very nice to use.

welcome to t.p. central :)

Tinkle Central?

On 2004-08-11 01:24, vintagegirl wrote:
I spent one summer as a kid in a tiny village in the south of France visiting my grandmother. When we arrived, Mom inevitably went to check out the "bathroom" which was really an outhouse with only a toilet. We looked at the toilet paper Grandma had and it reminded me of the unbleached, unlined writing paper my teachers handed out at school when we had to do math problems, except on a roll. Needless to say we promptly walked down to the general store and bought a box of Kleenex since no other kind of toilet paper could be found.

I also remember seeing those squatter-type toilets on my way to Versailles too. I think they were in some roadside eatery. I do remember it being somewhat unpleasant.

Despite that, it was one of the funnest summers of my life.

was it in the 40's ??

[i]On 2004-08-11 15:41, virani wrote:
was it in the 40's ??

Mon Dieu, Virani! Je ne suis pas si vielle! It was in 1977. A tiny place called Excenevex (where my grandmother moved to after the war) on Lac Leman next to the Alps.
http://www.presquile-leman.com/fr/fr_excenev/1_excen.html

On 2004-08-11 07:05, tikifish wrote:
However, if you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie, wipe the seatie!

You're such a cutie.

On 2004-08-10 19:38, kha_o wrote:
Excellent use of cultural anthropology Willtiki... any more generalized stereotypes based on ignorance to spread?

"Recent immigrants from Japan and Korea" - that's interesting since the Japanese make the best "Western-style" toilets on the planet (with the Koreans catching up). Almost every Japanese home has what you'd call a "normal" toilet - public restrooms usually have a few squatters, but at least one for the cultural illiterates.

"Folks from India" - What percentage? The followers of the Islam or Hindu faith? Even the Muslims (with the "left hand" thing) have sh1tpaper available for sale to the non-believers (and i've known one or two to "cheat").

I've taken a dump in Europe, Asia, Japan, Africa, North and South America. Hands down, Americans have the nastiest bathrooms in the world. I'd take a shovel with a roll of toilet paper in SE Asia anytime over the average crapper in the US.

---

Contact Human Resources. Case closed.

Sorry if I offended you kha_o. But we DID contact "human Resources" (or the equivalent in a University environment) and the result was the graduate advisors (from the same countries as their students) of the foreign students who were the bathroom culprets had a little talk with them re: local sanitary practices. I found out the "rest of the story" from my advisor and one of the Indian students. I was not trying to spread "generalized sterotypes"; but, rather relate a true event as an example (i.e. not "based on ignorance")which happened around 1997.