# Best position for taking a dump? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 1, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-position-for-taking-a-dump/315071 "2005-08-01T03:14:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-position-for-taking-a-dump/315071/1 "2005-08-01T03:14:24Z")
That prettymuch says it all. Is there a position that is significantly “better” than others? I’ll leave the details up to you to help define “best.” ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-position-for-taking-a-dump/315071/2 "2005-08-01T03:25:54Z")
According to the book “How to Shit in the Woods” by Kathleen Meyer, squatting slightly lower than a sitting position is the best position. No, I didn’t make up that book title. ---
**Author:** ![Thin\_Lizzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@Thin\_Lizzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thin_Lizzy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-position-for-taking-a-dump/315071/3 "2005-08-01T03:35:05Z")
Hard to beat the regular squat on the toilet. it is ergonomic and gravity is on your side. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-position-for-taking-a-dump/315071/4 "2005-08-01T04:49:10Z")
Real men crap standing up. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-position-for-taking-a-dump/315071/5 "2005-08-01T09:18:01Z")
> [@Thin Lizzy](#): > > Hard to beat the regular squat on the toilet. it is ergonomic and gravity is on your side. I have to admit, I would love to travel in the orient and areas of the mideast, but with my knees I know _absolutely_ i cannot use a squat toilet…I can stand or I can sit, my knees do not have a middle hold point, or one that i can get down into and up from without a crane or 2 helpful people [I know this because of getting an award in the SCA and having to kneel. I simply cant just ‘get up’ it take significant work=\] So, what do the natives do when they have knee and hip problems? What would I have to do to manage…take one of those little folding camp stools and make it have a hole in the cover to go through? 😕☹ ---
**Author:** ![Thin\_Lizzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@Thin\_Lizzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thin_Lizzy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-position-for-taking-a-dump/315071/6 "2005-08-01T09:27:43Z")
My uncle had a dog that would shit while walking. The dog was just walking along, with a turd popping out every few seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Hemlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Hemlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hemlock)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-position-for-taking-a-dump/315071/7 "2005-08-01T12:56:45Z")
Squatting. You rest on your thighs/haunches. You need Mediterranean, Middle Eastern or Asian ‘hole in the ground’ toilets (or the woods). Trust me - it just plops out with no effort required. (A veg- and fruit-heavy diet helps, but all else being equal, squatting is still the way to ‘go’.) Post-bowel movement cleansing is also very effective this way. You wash your hind quarters witjh water (from a bucket or hose), using the fingers of your left hand (traditionally). Obviously, a good scrubbing of the fingers with soap is in order afterwards. I still do this today at home in the shower when I’m in my pyjamas or some other easy-to-pull-down clothing, despite having a Western-style sit-down toilet. Toilet paper is a pain. Enough information? ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-position-for-taking-a-dump/315071/8 "2005-08-01T14:05:45Z")
You poop in the shower wearing your pajamas? :eek: