# Another men's toilet etiquette thread.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [June 18, 2012, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502 "2012-06-18T12:09:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/1 "2012-06-18T12:09:27Z")
Maybe fodder for Totally Mindless…
What the fuck is wrong with some people? There are three stalls. One of the end stalls is occupied. The other two are clean. Why the hell would you select the middle one? For crying out loud people crapping want their space.
There was a humorous app making the rounds where you had to choose a urinal based on occupancy. The cardinal rule was to never select a urinal that was adjacent to one being used (if possible). This rule holds for bowls too. Where were you people raised?
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/2 "2012-06-18T12:27:31Z")
That’s why I go before I leave the house.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/3 "2012-06-18T12:53:42Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#):
>
> Maybe fodder for Totally Mindless…
>
> What the fuck is wrong with some people? There are three stalls. One of the end stalls is occupied. The other two are clean. Why the hell would you select the middle one? For crying out loud people crapping want their space.
Meh. Shit stinks and the process of shitting is sometimes noisy. Nobody should bother being embarrassed, surprised or upset by this.
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### Author:  [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/4 "2012-06-18T13:28:23Z")
Why don’t they just put up real doors (might not be feasible, though, at certain public toilets)? IMO this is mainly a problem with urinals.
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### Author:  [@MostlyClueless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyClueless)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/5 "2012-06-18T13:45:24Z")
The thing with urinals I get. As for the stalls, who gives a shit. When you gotta go, you gotta go. Everyone has an asshole; get used to it.
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### Author:  [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/6 "2012-06-18T13:48:23Z")
Really? The urinal choosing nonsense now applies to STALLS? It has a door. Use it.
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### Author:  [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/7 "2012-06-18T13:54:29Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#):
>
> Really? The urinal choosing nonsense now applies to STALLS? It has a door. Use it.
Yes. It does apply because Larry Craig. Personal space is requested and appreciated.
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### Author:  [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/8 "2012-06-18T14:10:22Z")
> [@stpauler](#):
>
> Yes. It does apply because Larry Craig.
[Relevant scholarly article.](http://www.theonion.com/articles/why-do-all-these-homosexuals-keep-sucking-my-cock,10861/)
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### Author:  [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/9 "2012-06-18T15:31:19Z")
My office building has the simple fix - only two stalls and two urinals in most restrooms, so there is none of that “leave an empty space” nonsense.
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### Author:  [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/10 "2012-06-18T15:35:04Z")
People don’t take craps in a vacuum (though that would be interesting to see). Perhaps the outer stalls were occupied when he entered and had no choice but to take the middle one. The other two guys finished their business and left poor middle-stall guy all alone before you entered. It’s happened to me many times at my office john, which has a similar design.
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### Author:  [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/11 "2012-06-18T15:41:09Z")
Geez, panties twisted. They are stalls (i.e., surrounded by partial/whole walls), right? That’s pretty much the definition of privacy. If you want more, crap at home. Why so concerned about the selection of stalls? Maybe the guy didn’t see your feet…or care much. A toilet is a toilet is a toilet. I don’t pay any attention to who’s in which stall when I go into a public restroom. I’m an equal opportunity shitter. Any clean toilet is as good as the next clean toilet. I pretty much make a beeline to any random stall, check it’s cleanliness, and continue on to my business. I rarely even notice any feet that may or may not be on the other side of the partial wall. As a result, I am rarely bothered by the presence of another shitter nearby (with the exception of floor pissers and discourteous non-flushers\*). You should try to be more like me. It’s liberating.
\*Don’t even get me started on automatic flush toilets.
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### Author:  [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/12 "2012-06-18T15:43:32Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#):
>
> People don’t take craps in a vacuum (though that would be interesting to see).
Turns out gravity provides a useful separation function.
I can’t remember the last time I cared about what someone else did in the bathroom. As long as the previous users didn’t get…stuff all over the stall, I don’t care what people get up to.
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### Author:  [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/13 "2012-06-18T16:11:35Z")
When a man gotta go, he gotta go.
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### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/14 "2012-06-18T16:20:24Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#):
>
> People don’t take craps in a vacuum (though that would be interesting to see).
Especially with a Dyson.
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/15 "2012-06-18T16:48:21Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#):
>
> There was a humorous app making the rounds where you had to choose a urinal based on occupancy.
An app, or a website? 'Cause I knew a guy who created a website like that. That was years ago, though.
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### Author:  [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/16 "2012-06-18T16:53:08Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#):
>
> Turns out gravity provides a useful separation function.
Why would gravity not operate in a vacuum? And even if you were in zero-g, wouldn’t a vacuum provide the ‘separation function’?
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### Author:  [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/17 "2012-06-18T16:54:51Z")
I guess I was thinking of space as being the most likely location for needing to poop in a vacuum. You’re right though that a vacuum does not imply zero-G.
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### Author:  [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/18 "2012-06-18T17:16:17Z")
I don’t care how irrational it is, I still get upset when someone sits down in the stall next to mine when there are 5 unoccupied stalls in the whole rest of the bathroom. It’s only happened a couple times since I started working here, fortunately.
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### Author:  [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/19 "2012-06-18T17:17:43Z")
OP here. Shocked at the responses. I liken a toilet stall to a parking space. If you have an empty lot except for one parked car, and you park next to the lone car, I think there’s something wrong/odd about you.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-mens-toilet-etiquette-thread/625502/20 "2012-06-18T17:21:42Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#):
>
> If you have an empty lot except for one parked car, and you park next to the lone car, I think there’s something wrong/odd about you.
Double that if you shit in the car.
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