# Do NOT burn matches in a public restroom, you moronic snatch! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 5, 2002, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558 "2002-07-05T23:56:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/21 "2002-07-06T13:47:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > **. . . if worst comes to worst and she ignites the whole roll of toilet paper, chucks it into the toilet, misses and it hits the floor, so?** Meanwhile, the excessively flatulent person in the next stall launches through the ceiling due to an unexpected blue angel. ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/22 "2002-07-06T14:18:48Z")
Aren’t the stall walls usually made of wood? Unless I missed something, I’m fairly certain that wood burns. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/23 "2002-07-06T14:24:07Z")
I think it was probably harmless, and calling her a DARWIN AWARD candidate is a bit over the top. Cripes almighty, she lit toilet paper for a reason, I assume knowing she could quickly put it out. Put me in the corner with Fenris. j ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/24 "2002-07-06T14:47:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cessandra \* > \*\*Aren’t the stall walls usually made of wood? Unless I missed something, I’m fairly certain that wood burns. \*\* Wood? Every stall wall I’ve ever seen has been metal. Perhaps there’s GENDER BIAS in BATHROOM DESIGN!!! :eek: Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/25 "2002-07-06T15:03:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jarbabyj \* > \*\*I think it was probably harmless, and calling her a DARWIN AWARD candidate is a bit over the top. Cripes almighty, she lit toilet paper for a reason, I assume knowing she could quickly put it out. > > Put me in the corner with Fenris.\*\* Being in the corner with Fenris ain’t so bad… Yeah, I understand the point of the rant. And it is a little silly to light fires in bathrooms. But Fenris has a point - it’s no real danger, and all things considered, there are a lot worse things that are done in bathrooms. Think “incontinent angry howler monkey”. (Fenris, they normally aren’t wood in the ladies’. In the average workplace or McDonald’s, they typically are Italian marble or granite. The attendants in the bathroom at Wendy’s, however, told me that _theirs_ was hand-polished Etruscan malachite. Well, I don’t know if that’s true, all I know is it sure was green…) ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/26 "2002-07-06T15:38:57Z")
I doubt it **Fenris** , every stall I’ve been in was metal. Except the ones at this weird little country type store that thought it was an antique shop. Theirs were metal covered with wallpaper. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/27 "2002-07-06T16:24:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by catsix \* > \*\*Except the ones at this weird little country type store that thought it was an antique shop. > > Theirs were metal covered with wallpaper. \*\* I guess so one will not be wiping their ass on the walls…? ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/28 "2002-07-06T17:06:36Z")
Am I the only person who has seen these mysterious wooden stalls??? ---
**Author:** ![Rotten\_Candy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dbc845/32.png) [@Rotten\_Candy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rotten_Candy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/29 "2002-07-06T17:09:05Z")
I’ve never heard of burning papers as a method of getting rid of the smell. Lysol could take care of that just as effectively. ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/30 "2002-07-06T17:41:10Z")
Yes, Guin, next time tell her to set a match to some Lysol! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/31 "2002-07-06T17:50:26Z")
_snicker_ I know, I guess looking back now, it seems I flipped out a little, but it still seemed like an incredibly stupid thing to do. The stalls-if I’m not mistaken, it’s Carerra glass. Oh well, it could be worse. Once, when I first started at Kmart, someone came up to my register and said, “There’s a fire in the lobby.” I went to the inside doors (between the two sets of doors, where the kiddy gumball machines are), and someone had thrown a lit cigarette into a trash can, and it was burning. DAAAAMMMM!!! Luckily, there was a leftover slushy someone had tossed in there, so I was able to throw it over the flame before it got out of hand. ---
**Author:** ![Morningstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Morningstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morningstar)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/32 "2002-07-06T17:52:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cessandra \* > \*\*Am I the only person who has seen these mysterious wooden stalls??? \*\* I’ve seen them, uhm, everywhere. Metal stalls make me think of very horrible public ones. Or prison. Not that I’ve been there. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/33 "2002-07-06T19:52:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cessandra \* > \*\*Am I the only person who has seen these mysterious wooden stalls??? \*\* I’ve come across them many times. ---
**Author:** ![apotheosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba8739/32.png) [@apotheosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apotheosis)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/34 "2002-07-06T20:17:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muffin \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Am I the only person who has seen these mysterious wooden stalls??? > > I’ve come across them many times. > \*\* 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/35 "2002-07-06T20:18:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cessandra \* > \*\*Am I the only person who has seen these mysterious wooden stalls??? \*\* You must patronize classier places than the rest of us lowlifes. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/36 "2002-07-06T21:45:55Z")
The stall walls in my college dormitory are wood. But I only remember that because I’ve read the graffiti so many times, and can see it was carved in wood. I generally don’t notice what the stalls are made of. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/37 "2002-07-07T02:36:14Z")
The only wooden stalls I’ve ever seen were at this one Mexican restaurant in Reston. Everywhere else, they are metal. I’m with Fenris on this one. I don’t see the big deal. Yeah, smoke is annoying, and for that reason lighting toilet paper is a bit much… but lighting a match is no biggie at all as far as I can see. And the TP is only annoying because of the smokiness. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/38 "2002-07-07T02:50:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cessandra \* > \*\*Am I the only person who has seen these mysterious wooden stalls??? \*\* No, lots of folks have seen them. However, it’s all just anecdotal evidence, and CSICOP demands rigorous laboratory studies. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/39 "2002-07-07T07:42:03Z")
This person was in the handicapped stall. Could this perhaps explain some inordinate behavior? ---
**Author:** ![Jello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@Jello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jello)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558/40 "2002-07-07T17:40:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Loopus \* > \*\*The stall walls in my college dormitory are wood. But I only remember that because I’ve read the graffiti so many times, and can see it was carved in wood. I generally don’t notice what the stalls are made of. \*\* Same here, but with high school. Everywhere else, metal. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by kniz_ > **This person was in the handicapped stall. Could this perhaps explain some inordinate behavior?** "I got out of the handicapped stall and this guy in a wheelchair was sitting, squirming, and he yells at me, ‘You’re not handicapped!’ I said to him, ‘No, but I was before I went in there.’ " - George Carlin Ba-doom-chish! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-burn-matches-in-a-public-restroom-you-moronic-snatch/117558.md?page=3)