Oh dear, another lettuce recall is in the news…
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.
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 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.
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.
:lol: no, I didn’t pee on crops. It was undeveloped land.
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.
Jesus Christ, people, go before you leave home.
/grumpy old man
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.
HA! You’re not as old as you claim to be!!
Jack Nicholson (from The Bucket List): Never pass up a bathroom.
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?
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.
The women’s bathroom is much cleaner. I will use it when it is the only option.
Men are such slobs!
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.
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 about this, and it confirms my experience.
Thank you Puly.
You have fought my idnorance.
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.
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.
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 
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.