# Are You A Shy Pooer? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 27, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054 "2016-07-27T19:04:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/41 "2016-07-29T13:00:56Z")
That’s why I only take the types of shits you normally only read about in Norse mythology. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/42 "2016-07-29T14:43:31Z")
I figure it this way, pilgrim; a man’s gotta poo what a man’s gotta poo. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/43 "2016-07-29T15:01:02Z")
I once crapped behind a small tree just off a busy interstate freeway. For me, it’s any port in a storm, when I have to go, I go. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/44 "2016-07-29T15:02:18Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Just wanted to say that the terms “poo” and “pooer” are revolting euphemisms that suggest a three-year-old emitting soft, sticky turds. Agreed, I also cringe when adults say “pee.” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/45 "2016-07-29T15:08:48Z")
“Poo” is funny and I refuse to be swayed from that position. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/46 "2016-07-29T18:53:09Z")
Reticent. I’ll go if there’s nobody in the other stalls, and I’m not thrilled when someone used the stall next to me after I start. But it’s not the end of the world. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/47 "2016-07-29T22:21:36Z")
> [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](#): > > Agreed, I also cringe when adults say “pee.” ‘‘Piss’’ is too crass for most social settings, ‘‘Go #1’’ is even more juvenile than ‘‘pee,’’ and ‘‘urinate’’ just sounds ridiculous in a non-medical setting. What do you suggest? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2016, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/48 "2016-07-29T23:14:27Z")
I avoid public restrooms unless it’s a matter of urgency. TMI: my contributions tend to challenge even the most stalwart of facilities so I like to be at home where I can plunge if needed. That scene from Along Came Polly? That is the stuff of my nightmares. I don’t mind pooing at work but I hasten to courtesy flush. (We used to have a one-toilet bathroom so you would have privacy; I miss that a lot.) One thing I can’t “do” is portapotties. I can’t help but look and then I can’t forget what I’ve seen. In that case I’ll hold it and go in the wild if I have to. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2016, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/49 "2016-07-30T01:32:04Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > ‘‘Piss’’ is too crass for most social settings, ‘‘Go #1’’ is even more juvenile than ‘‘pee,’’ and ‘‘urinate’’ just sounds ridiculous in a non-medical setting. What do you suggest? “I have to make water”. mmm ---
**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:** [July 30, 2016, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/50 "2016-07-30T15:17:31Z")
When I gotta go, I go. I know every public bathroom in Bergen County, NJ. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/51 "2016-07-31T19:22:12Z")
If I do it away from home, my toilet stays cleaner, my bathroom is odor-free, and I spend less on toilet paper. So yeah, enthusiastic, I guess. Dumb name for it, though. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/52 "2016-08-01T15:37:54Z")
I’m between the “enthusiastic” and “reticent” options in the poll. I prefer pooing at home, but if I’m elsewhere and have to go, I sometimes hold it, sometimes not. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/53 "2016-08-01T16:36:28Z")
The “adventurous” option in the poll reminded me of a documentary I saw years ago, either about Yosemite or about rock climbing. It featured [El Capitan,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Capitan) which AIUI is always/often/sometimes done as a multi-day climb, with people overnighting on suspended platforms part-way up. Anyway, they were interviewing one climber who told a story of being on the cliff face and hearing something tumbling down toward him. Except it wasn’t the typical rock-on-rock or metal-on-rock sound - he couldn’t quite make out what the sound was, until the turds from someone far above him struck his helmet. His finishing remark: “I couldn’t believe that someone had just shit on my head.” ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/54 "2016-08-01T17:13:24Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > When I gotta go, I go. I know every public bathroom in Bergen County, NJ. Hee. Reminds me of George Costanza: JERRY: Anywhere in the city? GEORGE: Anywhere in the city - I’ll tell you the best public toilet. JERRY: Okay… Fifty-fourth and Sixth? GEORGE: Sperry Rand Building. 14th floor, Morgan Apparel. Mention my name - she’ll give you the key. JERRY: Alright… Sixty-fifth and Tenth. GEORGE: Are you kidding? Lincoln Center. Alice Tully Hall, the Met. Magnificent facilities. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/55 "2016-08-02T03:28:08Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Hee. Reminds me of George Costanza: > > JERRY: Anywhere in the city? > > GEORGE: Anywhere in the city - I’ll tell you the best public toilet. > > JERRY: Okay… Fifty-fourth and Sixth? > > GEORGE: Sperry Rand Building. 14th floor, Morgan Apparel. Mention my name - she’ll give you the key. > > JERRY: Alright… Sixty-fifth and Tenth. > > GEORGE: Are you kidding? Lincoln Center. Alice Tully Hall, the Met. Magnificent facilities. When my youngest was around 8 he took a dump in the bathroom at the Yankee Stadium subway stop. I had no idea it even existed before then. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/56 "2016-08-02T18:07:50Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > When my youngest was around 8 he took a dump in the bathroom at the Yankee Stadium subway stop. I had no idea it even existed before then. People were mentioning subway bathrooms in the subway thread – it never occurred to me they existed and I still can’t imagine seeking one out. Port Authority is bad enough. Well, it’s probably worse. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/57 "2016-08-03T04:36:14Z")
Are SF BART station bathrooms still closed? I remember that last time I checked a few years ago they were. It may have changed but the thing was that they were closed “because of 9-11” more than a decade later, and 15 years on I imagine it’s the same. I always wondered whether the bathrooms were kept clean and in working order still. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2016, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/58 "2016-08-07T01:56:01Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > “I have to make water”. > mmm Perhaps a simple, vague “I have to use the bathroom?” ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2016, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/59 "2016-08-07T06:25:07Z")
I voted “reticent” but that doesn’t quite describe it. I would much rather go at home, but if I am out and the need comes upon me, most of the time that means there is no option to wait. I can’t imagine being able to purposely hold it for days until a better time comes. I don’t want to use a public restroom but there is no other option. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2016, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054/60 "2016-08-07T11:45:04Z")
I guess I fit into “reticent,” in that preferably I like familiar and safe, but it’s not a necessity. If I gotta go, I’ll go wherever I am. Right at the moment I live in an environment overwhelmed by too many irritating and unpredictable people who spend hours in the bathroom and sometimes use entire rolls of TP in a day. It doesn’t bear thinking about, really. Anyway, that makes using the bathroom a bit of a… crapshoot. Hmm, pun not intended. Really. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shy-pooer/761054.md?page=4)