# Give me an insight into the motive: pushing an occupied bathroom stall's door/others not occupied **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 16, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889 "2010-11-16T18:41:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/21 "2010-11-17T03:46:51Z")
> [@Mops](#): > > Now what I sometimes hear from the inside is: someone entering the room and pushing on the handle of the first stall door, noisily and with some force. To no effect, of course. After some time, doing the same with the next door. Until finding a free stall. This happened to me during my accidental foray into the women’s bathroom at the Louvre described [in this post.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=580427) Thank goodness the lock was working, or who knows what kind of trouble I would have been in for being in the wrong bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/22 "2010-11-17T05:22:59Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m not sure I could be so definite. I’m fairly sure I’ve seen doors with some manner of signaling whether the pot is in use or not (although not of the type **Kiwi Fruit** linked to), but I’m not exactly sure where. Needless to say, they are definitely the exception and not the rule in the US. They have those red/green indicators on the doors to Starbucks bathrooms. They are all single stall, so there has to be a way to tell if they are occupied or not. I’ve never seen them on \*individual \*stalls inside a bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/23 "2010-11-17T05:46:47Z")
I’d say it’s probably because the indicators sometimes don’t work - they’re unclear or simply wrong - so some people get used to just trying a door anyway. Or maybe they’re Americans not looking for an indicator. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/24 "2010-11-17T06:02:27Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > They have those red/green indicators on the doors to Starbucks bathrooms. They are all single stall, so there has to be a way to tell if they are occupied or not. I’ve never seen them on \*individual \*stalls inside a bathroom. Well, there doesn’t _have_ to be a way. Most single stall bathrooms I’ve been to at places of business simply lock. You find out if it’s occupied by turning the doorknob and seeing if it opens or not. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/25 "2010-11-17T15:09:44Z")
I’ve very, very rarely in the US seen what I think of as European stalls - doors that go from floor to ceiling to encase you in a beautiful sound-proof little room of your very own. So you have total privacy when you can’t for the life of you figure out how to flush the toilet. US stalls are much flimsier affairs, and when in doubt you can always bend down and look for feet. The doors generally start a good foot off the floor and only go up to, say, six feet. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/26 "2010-11-17T15:29:17Z")
> [@Mops](#): > > I’ll have to begin with describing the setup. Here in Germany unlike in some other countries, bathroom stalls doors in public, office, restaurant etc. toilets almost invariably indicate their status by [a coloured indicator](http://eu.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/anyka/anyka0810/anyka081000281/3790863-besetzt-zeichen-f-r-eine-toilette-t-r.jpg) (red for occupied vs. green or white for unoccupied) … Color blindness? ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/27 "2010-11-17T15:43:26Z")
I never push on the stall door; half the time they’re broken. I have hovered to pee, and kept the door closed by holding it at the same time. I’m talented, lemme tell ya. I have also stood outside many a stall and held the door for a peeing youngster. ---
**Author:** ![Qwakkeddup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/90ced4/32.png) [@Qwakkeddup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwakkeddup)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/28 "2010-11-17T15:59:35Z")
I have to say this, it is not the type of stall, bathroom or door. It is the type of person. Just imagine a person who always barges into the bathroom at home. They either have no respect for other people, or they are just plain clueless. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/29 "2010-11-17T19:54:21Z")
Here is the indicator we use in the U.S.: [LINK](http://www.blogcdn.com/www.aolhealth.com/media/2010/01/stall-feet-bathroom-186km110608.jpg) mmm ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/30 "2010-11-17T20:34:38Z")
It’s such a flexible indicator that you can also use it to say “Hey, I’d like some gay sex, please!” if one can believe the media. ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Nya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@Fish\_Nya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Nya)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/31 "2010-11-18T06:03:30Z")
This remind me of my high school where the default in all the bathrooms were “broken lock” and a few times “no door”. The stalls were also not as high as any I’ve seen since and even more space between the floor and the door. If you were lucky enough to get a stall with a hook, you could hang your bag up. And when you did that if there was a lock it wouldn’t work. Middle school had the added experience of people lighting paper towels on fire with the hand dryers. Because of this when anyone walks into the room when I’m in the stall I view them with suspicion until they choose a stall that’s not mine. ---
**Author:** ![Aeris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Aeris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeris)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/32 "2010-11-18T16:01:07Z")
Ugh. This is one of my biggest beefs with the human race. I’m sorry. It takes two friggin seconds to bend over and look for feet. Just do it. And if you are physically incapable of bending then friggin KNOCK! Whatever happened to knocking? What I hate is when you have to use a stall that has a broken lock and you hang your purse on the hook hoping that the weight of it will keep it closed and praying that people will not BARGE in on your stall. Needless to say I have had many people barge in on me in public stalls therefore I am a steadfast feet checker. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/33 "2010-11-19T04:02:52Z")
> [@CatherineZeta](#): > > I’ve had that happen in the US…obviously we don’t have the colored indicators, but you’d think people would be able to see legs/ **bags** /etc. underneath stall doors… Eeeeewwwww! Putting your bag on the stall floor?! :eek: That’s just gross. I put it on the hook or in my lap or around my neck. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/34 "2010-11-19T10:58:17Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > > [@Kiwi\_Fruit](#): > > > > Don’t the locks in the US have indicators like these? > > In my experience, almost never. 😕 What do you have instead? Latches? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/35 "2010-11-19T14:23:31Z")
In my experience, it’s mostly little kids or old people who are the worst barging offenders, and (again IME), the ones who barge seem to be rather clueless, the kids because of their age, and the older folks because they seem to have lost a few marbles along the road of life. Now sometimes the bargers are seemingly alert adults who have all their wits about them, but they just never fathomed that someone ELSE might be using a public restroom. These people can also be found standing, slackjawed, at the register, aghast at the notion that the cashier expects them to PAY for all those shiny baubles. At any rate, some US public restrooms don’t have working latches. I haven’t seen any “occupied/vacant” signs on any restroom doors that aren’t Portapotties or on an airplane, though they might be handy. Hell, I’d settle for working latches/locks on all public restroom stalls. And hooks or shelves in bathroom stalls should be mandatory. Putting one’s purse on the floor is gross. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/36 "2010-11-19T14:30:37Z")
The main guest bathroom where I work has full doors on the stalls – at least in the women’s room, I would assume the same in the men’s – and has the airplane-style locks. People tend to forget to lock them, I think because the doors are actual _doors_ and not just stall doors. I’ve learned to open them just a crack in case there’s somebody inside. And lots of people do the try-to-open-the-door thing. I can’t entirely blame them, it’s an unusual setup. But it’s also a very old hotel, so who knows. And yes, **Floater** , there’s usually just latches on the inside of the doors, with no indication on the outside as to whether it’s locked or not. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/37 "2010-11-20T05:01:52Z")
I was in a restaurant once that had a single-person bathroom. I locked the door. Someone knocked. I said “Someone’s in here.” He kept pushing and pulling and I YELLED “SOMEONE IS IN HERE.” He kept doing it and busted the door open and he yelled at me for letting him bust in on me. What kind of fucking moron couldn’t imagine that the reason that door wouldn’t open was that it was in fact locked on purpose? I still kick myself this day for not going ballistic on him, but I was so mad I couldn’t even speak for quite some time. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/38 "2010-11-20T20:47:29Z")
> [@Ruby Sees](#): > > \ > > I still kick myself this day for not going ballistic on him, but I was so mad I couldn’t even speak for quite some time. Did you…See Ruby? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Ahem. Sorry. My addition to this peeve is people who have broken bathroom door locks when you’re visiting their house (at their invitation). I don’t care if you’re a family of free-pee’ers who like to do everything in front of each other, I require a locked bathroom door to do my business in a strange house. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/39 "2010-11-20T21:50:13Z")
And two more possibilities, one very rare and another perhaps more plausible: Once in a very blue moon, heh, there may be someone who’s bored on a lonely afternoon, gets a kick out of disturbing someone in one of their most intimate moments and goes for a little bathoom cruise. Don’t, uh, poo-poo this. Those folks live among us. Musta been some kinda houshold issue in their distant past? Okay, enough distasteful fun. The other, more plausible notion, is our pushy, passive-aggressive humans who Have. To. Go. They have priority in their minds and are not accustomed to asking politely for what they need. I’m supposing that if they make enough racket they are assuming that some of us will speed things up. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889/40 "2010-11-20T22:31:51Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > 😕 What do you have instead? Latches? Is this really that hard to figure out? We have doors that lock without an indicator that states they are locked. It may be a latch, it may be a hook, it may be a dial-type lock.[Here’s one possibility](http://gotbeeler.com/wp-content/1104080954.jpg) (Unusual in that it has two separate locks–you usually only get one.) Are you not familiar with doors that simply lock one way or another without having something on the other side indicating their state? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-an-insight-into-the-motive-pushing-an-occupied-bathroom-stalls-door-others-not-occupied/560889.md?page=3)