# A question about using a restroom at a restaurant **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 31, 2019, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675 "2019-12-31T17:08:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![drivekiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@drivekiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drivekiller)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/61 "2020-01-03T07:06:44Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Really!? I was in a similar situation a few weeks ago. Not cornfields, but vegetation and far from an actual restroom. And I needed to pee. So I found a spot where I wasn’t visible from the road, pulled down my pants, and emptied my bladder. I have to admit, it didn’t occur to me that I’d get in legal trouble. Oh dear, another lettuce recall is in the news… ---
**Author:** ![Kovitlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kovitlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kovitlac)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/62 "2020-01-03T18:07:10Z")
I don’t see anything wrong with using the other bathroom if A) it’s extremely uncomfortable to wait, and B) it isn’t a bathroom with multiple stalls. I mean, if it’s an absolute emergency I’d still use the opposite bathroom, hoping someone else doesn’t walk in (and try to explain if our paths do cross - I feel most people would completely understand). In your situation, I’d likely just wait, unless I was really feeling bad and needed a bathroom right then. You don’t seem like you were in a huge emergency. I’m not sure why your daughter felt a huge reason to argue. ---
**Author:** ![Kovitlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kovitlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kovitlac)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/63 "2020-01-03T18:17:01Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I used a handicap stall once in Japan. All the other stalls were squat type. There were also urinals. I suppose that in Japanese terms I was handicapped since I certainly could not squat and shit. I started using those in China! Almost all bathrooms we came across, save for those in our hotels, were squat-style. I learned late in my trip that any stalls deemed handicapped were not. I gravitated toward those, but I’d be as quick as possible, and if anyone nearby appeared to actually require that stall I wouldn’t (that never happened, though). My dad and brother like to jokingly ask why my mom and I struggled so much with the different style bathrooms :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Kovitlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kovitlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kovitlac)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/64 "2020-01-03T18:24:27Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > I was at a bookstore when the Breast Cancer walk was in town which isn’t quite a women’s march but may as well be. The bookstore chose the moment the marchers arrived to close the multi-occupancy women’s room for a 30 minute cleaning. The women took over the men’s room and guarded the entrance. No men were allowed in because there were women in there (although I think I was the only one to approach it). When the women’s room reopened, they all decamped to the women’s room and the men’s room closed for cleaning. I don’t begrudge the women for their actions but I also didn’t wait for the men’s room to reopen. I just left. I feel like they have zero right to entirely turn a guy’s bathroom into a women’s one. I have zero issue with them using it if they need to, but taking it over and demanding men go without a bathroom just because the women’s is closed is messed up. ---
**Author:** ![Kovitlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kovitlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kovitlac)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/65 "2020-01-03T18:26:55Z")
> [@ALOHA\_HATER](#): > > Carry a screwdriver. Remove “men’s” and “women’s” signs from toilets. Single-occupancy, multi-occupancy, all of them. This is a small public service that you can perform. I’m not even kidding. So basically one bathroom for most establishments (excluding stadiums and the like). Why bother having 2 or more when you can get away with one? Fewer bathrooms for all - yay! (??) No thank you. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/66 "2020-01-03T18:26:57Z")
> [@drivekiller](#): > > Oh dear, another lettuce recall is in the news… :lol: no, I didn’t pee on crops. It was undeveloped land. > [@Kovitlac](#): > > I started using those in China! Almost all bathrooms we came across, save for those in our hotels, were squat-style. I learned late in my trip that any stalls deemed handicapped were not. I gravitated toward those, but I’d be as quick as possible, and if anyone nearby appeared to actually require that stall I wouldn’t (that never happened, though). > > My dad and brother like to jokingly ask why my mom and I struggled so much with the different style bathrooms :rolleyes: I found that I quite liked the squat toilets in Japan. I especially liked them when I developed a spot of tourist tummy – I liked that I didn’t need to touch anything, and the next person to use the facility wouldn’t need to touch anything, either. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/67 "2020-01-03T18:33:14Z")
Jesus Christ, people, go before you leave home. /grumpy old man ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/68 "2020-01-03T18:52:30Z")
> [@Scoobysnax](#): > > Something that I have been noticing here in Southern California is the conversion of the Men’s room into a unisex one and keeping the women’s restroom. I have seen this in small restaurants where the men’s bathroom only had one stall and a urinal and the women’s presumably had two stalls. Kinda sucks for the men if someone is using the unisex one to poop. I’m female and a California resident. Seems discriminatory to me for one sex to have designated restrooms and the other not to. In this situation, it would be much better for both sides to go unisex. I don’t have qualms about using the handicapped stall if that’s the only one open, but I don’t dawdle in there. Seems rude to take up that spot longer than necessary to quickly conclude my business. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/69 "2020-01-03T18:57:03Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Jesus Christ, people, go before you leave home. > > /grumpy old man HA! You’re not as old as you claim to be!! Jack Nicholson (from _The Bucket List_): Never pass up a bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/70 "2020-01-04T12:50:24Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > … > I don’t have qualms about using the handicapped stall if that’s the only one open, but I don’t dawdle in there. Seems rude to take up that spot longer than necessary to quickly conclude my business. Yup. And while i do use the handicapped stall at work to change, because it’s much nicer for that, I don’t use it for regular bathroom needs, because there’s always another stall available, and if a handicapped woman happens to come by, why should she have to wait? ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/71 "2020-01-04T13:25:19Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > When will designers realize this? Stalls need more room than urinals. Womens restrooms need more space. Or, is it against the law, cuz they ain’t equal? > > But, with unisex, the problem could be solved. I went to the newish Little Caesars Arena for the first time a few months ago and the women’s bathrooms amazed me in a good way. I remember there being long lines at Joe Louis (the previous arena for the Red Wings) basically any time during intermissions, but I didn’t have to wait even after the game ended! Granted, it wasn’t a sold out game, but I’m pretty sure the games I went to years ago weren’t either. And the bathroom issue was still a thing even for non-hockey events there. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/72 "2020-01-04T14:46:05Z")
The women’s bathroom is much cleaner. I will use it when it is the only option. Men are such slobs! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/73 "2020-01-04T14:53:40Z")
I have used the men’s single person restroom if the women’s is not available. I’ve been told that’s okay. Once when I had a full cast on my arm and could only use the handicapped stall, someone was using it as a phone booth. I told them I needed the handicap stall. The person came out looking for blood, saw me with my full cast and said “Well, I’ve never seen a handicapped person use this stall.” I once went into the two person women’s room at the local library and used the only unoccupied stall. I notice the feet in the other stall were pointing the wrong way. I finish and as I’m washing my hands, the other stall flushes and out walks a young black dude right out of central casting. He looks at me, the older white lady, and says “Is this the ladies room?” I get a sudden inspiration flash. I go to the first door, hold it open with my foot, open the outer door, hold it open, look at the sign on it, turn to look at the guy and say “Yep.” He walks out without washing his hands, and I have a good laugh. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/74 "2020-01-04T15:22:09Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > The women’s bathroom is much cleaner. I will use it when it is the only option. > > Men are such slobs! Having cleaned restrooms in my time, that was not at all my experience. And I’ve heard, anecdotally from others, the same. There actually is [some basic data](https://www.enviro-master.info/post/2016-12-08-women-vs-men-whos-cleaner-in-the-restroom) about this, and it confirms my experience. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/75 "2020-01-04T17:32:55Z")
Thank you **Puly**. You have fought my idnorance. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/76 "2020-01-04T17:46:37Z")
I’m at a convenience store, with solitary bathrooms, I have no compunction about using the womens room, and have not made a deal about it the few times I’ve seen a woman come out of the mens room. Frankly, I think all single bathrooms should be “unisex, just fucking knock before pulling that handle”, but that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/77 "2020-01-04T18:24:14Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Frankly, I think all single bathrooms should be “unisex, just fucking knock before pulling that handle”, but that’s just me. The trouble with unisex bathrooms is that they require “house rules”: If no one’s in there, should the door be open or closed? If someone’s in there, should the door be locked? If the door is closed and you need to use the restroom, are you supposed to (1) Wait until the door opens, since if it’s closed it means the bathroom is occupied? (2) Knock on the door? (3) Pull the handle, assuming that if someone’s in there, the door will be locked? ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/78 "2020-01-04T19:09:07Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > The trouble with unisex bathrooms is that they require “house rules”: > > If no one’s in there, should the door be open or closed? > > If someone’s in there, should the door be locked? > > If the door is closed and you need to use the restroom, are you supposed to > (1) Wait until the door opens, since if it’s closed it means the bathroom is occupied? > (2) Knock on the door? > (3) Pull the handle, assuming that if someone’s in there, the door will be locked? At the bar I go to with anyone restrooms, it’s the usual standard just to open the door slowly just to make sure no one is in there and forgot to lock it. I’ve never seen anyone forget except for one person who stepped in there to take a phone call and get away from the noise of the jukebox. The lock does have the red for in use and the green for open, so no need to knock. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/79 "2020-01-05T02:47:17Z")
I once waited in a very long queue for the loo at a festival. Shifting on my crutches, uncomfortable because of my broken leg I looked at the handicapped loo and thought “nah I can’t.” Such was my conditioning that it took around five minutes for me realise that my broken leg meant I qualified 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675/80 "2020-01-05T03:26:56Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > The trouble with unisex bathrooms is that they require “house rules”: > > If no one’s in there, should the door be open or closed? > > If someone’s in there, should the door be locked? > > If the door is closed and you need to use the restroom, are you supposed to > (1) Wait until the door opens, since if it’s closed it means the bathroom is occupied? > (2) Knock on the door? > (3) Pull the handle, assuming that if someone’s in there, the door will be locked? How is that any different from being rules for any public restrooms? I don’t want to walk in on anyone, male or female. Anyway: if the door is open, you can look in. If the door is closed, knock. If no answer, open slowly. After you enter, lock the door. Rarely, I just want to wash my hands and don’t want to exclude others in the same boat. In those cases I leave the door ajar as I wash, so other hand washers can see that it’s available. This situation doesn’t really come up at restaurants, but it did when i went on a snorkle boat trip, for instance, when all the passengers were applying sunscreen right before boarding, and several of us wanted to wash extra sunscreen off our hands. I think that was a unisex restroom, but I don’t recall for certain. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-using-a-restroom-at-a-restaurant/845675.md?page=5)