# Do libraries have a laxative effect on everyone? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 1, 2024, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598 "2024-07-01T20:46:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/21 "2024-07-02T17:24:58Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Eating Arby’s - most definitely. I haven’t eaten there in 20+ years. I wonder if it would still have that effect? For most folks, digestion does not get more robust with age; rather the opposite. Were you to visit an Arby’s today, I might advise inspecting their bathroom for operability and tolerable cleanliness _before_ you start eating. Just sayin’ 😉 > [@Chronos](#): > > Huh, I opened this thread because I was curious about who bumped it. I’m certain I’ve seen this exact question here once, years ago. You Good Sir, have an awesome memory. Perhaps we could even say an anal retentive one? 😉 Which is certainly more convenient for you than these folks who 23 years ago had anal retention challenges at the library: > [@Bathroom Urge at the Library](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathroom-urge-at-the-library/70133): > > OK this is a weird one. For the last few years whenever I go to a library I develop the urge to go to the bathroom. I haven taken data or anything but such factors as time of day or week and library location vary without changing the result. I can never recall “having to go” when I arrive but the urge does soon develop. What would cause this? Is it possible to develop this kind of habit (i.e. I’m so used to this happening that once I arrive I get the urge)? I suppose that a good thing would b… > [@salinqmind1](#): > > I think I’d rather implode than do a number two in any bathroom other than my own. I’m pretty sure _im_ploding is not the risk. Rather the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/22 "2024-07-02T18:18:02Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > For most folks, digestion does not get more robust with age; rather the opposite. Were you to visit an Arby’s today, I might advise inspecting their bathroom for operability and tolerable cleanliness _before_ you start eating. Just sayin’ 😉 With age comes wisdom! If I ever step foot in Arby’s again, I’ll give a cursory inspection first. I’m to the age where I am listening to me elders more seriously. For example, I’ve now taken to heart this sage advice/credo given by noted scholar, Larry David: “Pee before you leave”. Wise words! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/23 "2024-07-02T18:26:32Z")
Wow, I didn’t realize the previous thread was that old. And even as old as that thread is, it contains a (now-dead) link to a still older one. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/24 "2024-07-02T21:00:35Z")
I was going to answer WTAF?, but I guess it really is a thing for some people. Obviously not for me. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/25 "2024-07-02T22:24:02Z")
One of the comments in that older thread made mention that most retailers and especially grocery stores did not have public restrooms. So if one was out for a day of erranding and did not intend to visit a restaurant, government buildings were likely the only option. Leading to a training effect. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2024, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/26 "2024-07-04T09:45:56Z")
There’s a name for this because it’s enough people experience it! The [Mariko Aoki phenomenon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariko_Aoki_phenomenon) . ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2024, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/27 "2024-07-04T12:34:34Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > One of the comments in that older thread made mention that most retailers and especially grocery stores did not have public restrooms. So if one was out for a day of erranding and did not intend to visit a restaurant, government buildings were likely the only option. Leading to a training effect. My theory for the aforementioned Aoki effect (the need to poop in bookstores) has always been that bookstores, among retail establishments, usually have especially nice and accessible restrooms. So if I’m in Barnes and Noble and get the urge to go I’m probably just going to go, but if I’m in Target I’m going to put it off if I possibly can. I’m sure some of that happens on an unconscious level. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2024, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/28 "2024-07-04T12:57:10Z")
You’re far from the first or only person to express a finely graded hierarchy of bathroom preferences. IMO / IME Target is as generically average as public facilities get. Clean enough, quantity enough, and unobjectionable enough. Traveling as much as I did / do, my standards at least in the so-called First World are pretty indifferent. A not uncommon workday had me pee in 3 different airplanes, 4 different airports, and 2 hotels. Spread across 4 US states and/or nearby countries. Plus the odd 💩 squeezed in (or is that squeezed out 😁) somewhere along the way. Picky won’t work in that environment. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2024, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/29 "2024-07-04T13:24:46Z")
Jesus. Too true. And in my case Diarrhea. Do they **never clean** the meat cutters? ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2024, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/30 "2024-07-04T14:44:29Z")
That was my experience as well. When I was broke and hadn’t yet learned how to cook, Arby’s was a good option because they always had some cheap deal like 5 sandwiches for $5. I learned it wasn’t worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2024, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/31 "2024-07-04T20:30:26Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Gotta be some confusing psychological thing where you subconsciously associate libraries with crapping. Or maybe your allergic to some ingredient in books. I always have something to read by the toilet and it could be some sort of association like that. Not that librairies ever had that effect of me. ---
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2024, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/32 "2024-07-04T21:33:27Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It’s just you. Apparently not. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/33 "2024-07-05T00:56:19Z")
There are about 8 billion people on earth. Allowing for the kids and elderly who don’t post their silly life on the internet there are about 6 billion internet users. Everybody has some foible by the time they’re middle aged. Needing to poop in libraries could still appear in a few internet articles yet have only a thousand “sufferers” world wide. So 1 in 8 million. That’s plenty close to zero; you won’t find another one in a stall next to you in a library if you poop there three times a day every day for 80 years. Face it: the OP (the person) is weird. Then again we all are. In something. The OP just picked library pooping and almost all of everybody else picked … something else to be weird about. We’re all fine. We’re just all weird too. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/34 "2024-07-05T02:33:19Z")
It could be due to the lighting. Many people have reported that fluorescent lights trigger an urge to run to the restroom. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/35 "2024-07-05T02:46:50Z")
Many people? Never heard that. If the library has an attached café, I might drink coffee and possibly have to urinate. But that’s not really a laxative effect. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/36 "2024-07-05T03:09:29Z")
Now I know why my kids had to go to the bathroom in every freaking store we went to. Thank goodness. I thought they all had weird bathroom fetishes. Yeah, I Mom-worried that one for, ummm…a few weeks, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/37 "2024-07-05T03:44:33Z")
It definitely has an effect on me. And I don’t know why. I stare at some books, and then I need to make a major transaction. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/38 "2024-07-05T07:03:52Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > If the library has an attached café, I might drink coffee and possibly have to urinate. But that’s not really a laxative effect. Doesn’t coffee have a laxative effect along with its hastening of urination? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/39 "2024-07-05T07:04:55Z")
Some folks it does. ---
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598/40 "2024-07-05T10:46:50Z")
For me, coffee and crapping are cause and effect, 1-to-1. Not every single time, but frequently enough that I depend on it. If I ever have coffee and immediately go into a library or bookstore, I’d bet the house on it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-libraries-have-a-laxative-effect-on-everyone/1003598.md?page=3)