My friend said that about 30 years ago, he had been to a uber-dive bar in Arkansas like this but I can’t imagine anything this unsanitary? Are (or were) there ever really bars like this?
Hey, if you’re friend wants to say he went to a bar where he walked around in urine, let him have that memory.
I really, really doubt it. Sawdust holds in moisture so it would start to reak after about a day and be unbearable after two. I have cleaned out animal cages and barn stalls lined with sawdust and it is brutal.
However, I have been in a couple of bars with sawdust on the floor in which you could throw almost anything on it. Beer tops, peanut shells, cigarette butts etc. were all fine. I didn’t see anyone dropping their pants though.
I have seen lots of bars in places like New Orleans in which the only men’s toilet is a trough to pee in, no sink, no running water, no stalls, or place to sit. Sometimes people puke or take a dump in the trough if there is a real emergency.
My understanding of the purpose of sawdust on the floor was that it’s a relic of the days when men used to spit on the floor, with or without a “chaw” of “baccy”. I never heard that it was “so you could pee on the floor”.
I haven’t seen sawdust, but I do know guys that have pissed on the bar floor on more than one occasion. I always thought they were just braindead dunkards, I didn’t realize they were steeped in a rich tradition of nastiness.
I’m sure that is happens, which is why there used to be “Men Only” taverns with unique accomodations:
Somewhere I’ve seen pictures of such a bar, circa the late 19th or early 20th century, but I can’t locate it right now.
There’s still lots of bars with sawdust on the floors. It’s to keep them dry(spills) and makes for smooth dancing.
BTW the sawdust is swept up and replaced regularly.
…and the only time I saw anyone piss the floor it was unintentional. I assure you they woud not be welcomed back otherwise.
that’s DANCE floors BTW
The Melrose Tavern in Downtown Renton, Washington has the trough below going the length of the bar. When women were not allowed in the tavern the patrons used it to relieve themselves with out having to miss a lick. Its still there, but not used as such. Women were allowed sit at the bar, in 1971? I think, way behind the rest of the USA.
Years ago, Chilcoot Charlies in Anchorage, AK served peanuts free at every table and you were supposed to put the empty shells on the floor. There was also sawdust down there. Then, when the price of peanuts went up they switched to free popcorn instead. Sad, sad day.
Back in the day, it was the same deal at a pizza/adult beverage establishment in Mundelein, IL called “Bill’s” Not sure whether the practice persists.
There used to be a place in Columbia MD that served peanuts and you just pushed the shells onto the floor. The health dept made them stop that practice about 4 or 5 years ago, claiming that someone could slip and fall on the shells and therefore it was a hazard.
The closest I’ve ever seen to the sawdust thing was a men’s bathroom where the toilet was so disgusting that everyone just used the sink instead. From the looks of things, if the sink was busy or the person just couldn’t aim, the floor was apparently an acceptable alternate. This was in a college town in about 1984. Most of the bars in that area died when the drinking age went from 18 to 21 (around 1986), so I doubt that it’s still around.
That may have been the kind of setup he was talking about . Thanks for the info.
I have seen this done frequently in horse barns.
According to my 1990 edition of The Peoples Guide to Mexico, a lot of cantinas in Mexico either have a urinal on the wall or just let the customers pee on the wall.
This is still the case at two restaurants here in town, Logan’s Roadhouse and the Texas Roadhouse. Peanut shells everywhere. I often wonder how often they sweep 'em all out and replace them with fresh shells.
To make the job less tedious, they make a game out of it.
[sub]Get it?[/sub]
When I lived in Huntsville,TX a few years back, there was a Catfish ?? Restaurant, it had peanut shells on the floor everywhere. I think it lasted about six months before it burned down.
The peanuts on the floor thing is still in action at the Riverside Cafe in Myrtle Brach, SC.
Also, I grew up in Hanover, NH, and there was a notorious Dartmouth fraternity with a trough running along one of the walls in the basement. During parties, it was commonly accepted that the men could relieve themselves on the wall. This wall was in the main room of the basement and ran perpendicular to the bar.
The Hanover police got wind of the situation and closed the house about 2 years ago.
IIRC, McSorley’s in NYC had sawdust on the floor.
Peanut shells on the floor were a staple at Lone Star Steakhouses, but this online review mentions that they’ve discontinued the practice because of lawsuits.