# Doorless toilet stall **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 3, 2013, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255 "2013-08-03T16:40:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255/41 "2013-08-06T01:08:02Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > I think the only question here is people either > > a) fighting the hypothetical > b) not understanding probability very well > c) some people enjoy the thrill of shitting themselves in public? > > Based on the votes so far, approximately 20 people shit themselves in public on the way to run to the far restroom, instead of using the doorless stall. > > Of course, I’m sure if you voted (not the person I’m quoting, but you reading this post) to make it, it wasn’t YOU who shit themselves, right? :rolleyes: If there were any cosmic justice whatsoever, people who fight hypotheticals would someday shit themselves. I once dug a hole and shat in the middle of Central Park at 2AM because I wasn’t sure that I would make it across in time, so I have little shame. I tend to get very little warning. When the bowels call, I obey. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255/42 "2013-08-06T17:14:33Z")
Makes me nostalgic for Basic Training… ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255/43 "2013-08-06T17:30:21Z")
It’s a bathroom. It’s for pooping. I’d use a doorless stall even if I wasn’t going to risk shitting my pants. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255/44 "2013-08-06T18:58:15Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > I think the only question here is people either > > a) fighting the hypothetical > b) not understanding probability very well > c) some people enjoy the thrill of shitting themselves in public? Given that I was clearly fighting the hypothetical, I didn’t answer the poll. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255/45 "2013-08-08T17:10:41Z")
I’d use it. The funny thing is that my hang up comes more from being seen wiping my ass than from taking the dump. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255/46 "2013-08-08T17:14:37Z")
> [@OleOneEye](#): > > Do you know why your high school had doorless stalls? Back when I worked for the Tulsa City/County Library system, the downtown Central Branch didn’t have doors on the stalls. They were taken off to discourage homeless people from going in there and either 1) making a disgusting total mess of the place or 2) to discourage homeless people from roosting on toilet and sleeping all day in the warm dry library. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255/47 "2013-08-08T17:49:10Z")
> [@OleOneEye](#): > > Do you know why your high school had doorless stalls? My elementary school did, which was a cruelty the likes of which I have fortunately not encountered since. I remember praying to the God I still believed in at the time that I could finish the task before anyone else entered the bathroom, and I still have the mocking laughter of third graders and cries of “hey look, **Turnip** ’s taking a _SHIT_!” ringing in my years. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255/48 "2013-08-08T17:58:28Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > My elementary school did, which was a cruelty the likes of which I have fortunately not encountered since. I remember praying to the God I still believed in at the time that I could finish the task before anyone else entered the bathroom, and I still have the mocking laughter of third graders and cries of “hey look, **Turnip** ’s taking a _SHIT_!” ringing in my years. And this is why I got through 12 years of school without ever entering the boy’s room. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255/49 "2013-08-08T17:59:23Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > I actually offten have dreams where I really have to go and the only toilet is one out in the open where many people can see me. I’ve never been in that situation, but I think those dreams stem from me being somewhat afraid to use public toilets (afraid people will see and hear me - well, I know they can hear me. And who knows what they can see through those big-ass cracks in the stall doors.) > > Big ass cracks. Perhaps not my best-worded phrase of the day. You know what I mean. The cracks in between stall doors. +2 or whatever. I’ve had recurring toilet dreams where the only toilets are all open, and disgustingly dingy, and dark and creepy, and men and women both use them. I don’t mind peeing in public, and while I will poop in public nowadays I always try to make sure the bathroom is empty, and that I do a courtesy flush. (I HATE people who don’t courtesy flush.) I would walk to the furthest stall. But here’s the deal. I don’t have IBS or anything like that. If I had taken a laxative, or some such, _I would never be in such a place to begin with_. When and if I start having to take laxatives regularly you can talk to me again, but if I thought there was a chance of me possibly shitting myself I’d stay home, near my own toilet. Now here is my interesting and intriguing thought. Potty training is taught so early that I wonder if the aversion to public pooping or the comfort level with it is something that comes from our parents. I can never remember a time when I was comfortable with public pooping, so I wonder, if my mom, when I was learning, used shame techniques. It is a visceral reaction and not one that is just controlled. I can’t just say “Suck it up, Princess” - I’ve actually had my bowels decide, “Nope, we don’t want to go anymore” when the bathroom door opens and a bunch of chattering women come in (or worse yet, a coworker). How’s this for kicks? My boss, who proudly proclaims that she _never_ poops at work, regularly goes into the bathroom and comes back commenting on the smell! Yes, it smells sometimes - it’s a bathroom. The polite thing is not to mention it! And certainly not to dwell on it! And I should never know my boss’s pooping habits! ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255/50 "2013-08-08T18:13:40Z")
It must be age, or perhaps diet, or both, because I do in fact find myself very occasionally in situations where I need to go pretty much immediately. Pee, I could hold for hours. Poop, on the other hand, I have had a handful of very close calls in the last year or two. If I felt a close call coming on then I’m hitting the stalls with no doors: damn the torpedoes. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255/51 "2013-08-08T18:17:47Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > And this is why I got through 12 years of school without ever entering the boy’s room. I never even went in for a pee. In hindsight, I have no idea how I did it. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255/52 "2013-08-08T18:18:26Z")
Having shit myself five times in the last year (yes, I have IBS), I would not take the risk of doing it just for some privacy. If you haven’t shit yourself in memory, human poop (especially the kind that is trying to rapidly evacuate your system) is incredibly stinky (seriously, toilet water covers a lot of the smell, that’s why we have it) and sticky and fucking impossible to clean up. You do not want to shit yourself in public. It’s bad enough if it happens at home. This is not worth the risk. (Mind you, I have, as a girl, dropped trow and peed in a urinal surrounded by guys when I desperately needed to pee so maybe I am not the most worried about ‘privacy.’) Everybody poops. ---
**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:** [August 8, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255/53 "2013-08-08T18:45:03Z")
I would go to the bathroom with doors. It’s worth the risk in my book. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255/54 "2013-08-09T08:59:38Z")
I’ve never experienced needing to go so bad that I could soil myself. When I really need to go, it’s just painful holding it in. That said, I’d go with the open stalls. I’d just have my pants up so you couldn’t see anything. And it’s not like anyone’s actually looking. I would do it as quick as I could, though. It still is uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255/55 "2013-08-09T09:18:29Z")
Under the OPs conditions? Fuck it, I ain’t _ **that** _ bashful and I’m _ **not** _ going to risk shitting myself. Shit in doorless stall, it is. Male. ---
**Author:** ![listedmia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@listedmia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/listedmia)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255/56 "2013-08-09T09:51:08Z")
> [@jayrey](#): > > I used to have a recurring bad dream of being in a large open locker/ restroom with dozens of toilets side-by-side (on raised daises, no less – truly “thrones”), with no privacy barriers between, and having to go. The room in my dream had a creepy feel, lots of exposed pipes, peeling paint, rusting metal. Lord, I hated those dreams. Haven’t had one in a long time now, thank heavens. > > I’d definitely take the risk and hoof for the stalls with doors. I’m so happy I don’t have (recurring) dreams like this. On the one occasion it did happen, I discovered that if you poop in your dreams, you poop in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255/57 "2013-08-09T11:43:00Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > I voted yes, I wouldn’t risk 60/40 odds on completely shitting myself. If it’s a wicked shit, then it’s not only a “new underwear” situation. You’d need call HazMat and close the stadium for a couple of years. > > I, however, shudder at the concept of the doorless stall in any place other than prisons. > I went to a boys only school and not even then would anyone think it was acceptable. Lucky you. At my boys only boarding school we had doorless stalls. But in those days it was acceptable for prefects to beat younger boys- barbaric, looking back, but in those days perfectly normal. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255/58 "2013-08-09T11:56:33Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > Lucky you. > At my boys only boarding school we had doorless stalls. But in those days it was acceptable for prefects to beat younger boys- barbaric, looking back, but in those days perfectly normal. Did you go to school with Ronald Dahl? ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255/59 "2013-08-09T13:26:29Z")
I would absolutely use the open-doored stall. Possibly shitting my pants in the middle of the stadium would be so much worse. Last week I accidentally walked in on someone using a public stall. There was a door, but I guess he forgot to lock it, or else it was broken. It wasn’t as embarrassing as you might think, I believe for either of us. I just turned immediately around and went to another stall. I’m surprised at the number of people who have experienced open bathrooms. My dad told me it was like that when he was in Operation Desert Storm, which was the only time I’d heard of it until this thread. These days you hardly even see urinals without dividers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doorless-toilet-stall/665255.md?page=2)