# Hotel Bathrooms **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 17, 2002, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-bathrooms/124410 "2002-08-17T23:29:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dysurian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c5a1d2/32.png) [@dysurian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dysurian)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2002, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-bathrooms/124410/1 "2002-08-17T23:29:40Z")
I’ve been to a good number of hotels and have noticed the same phenomenon of bathroom light switches being on the outside of the bathroom. I can’t think of any logical reason the switch would need to be on the outside, other than the simple pleasure it brings to torture whoever is in the shower by flicking them off. Any thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![TVGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@TVGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-bathrooms/124410/2 "2002-08-18T00:16:03Z")
IIRC, in some states, it’s code (or used to be) - the idea being that a wet hand won’t have a problem with the electrical switch. In hotels, I would guess that it’s simply so it’ll be easier to find for a person staying in a strange room??? ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-bathrooms/124410/3 "2002-08-18T00:56:11Z")
My new apartment has the light switch on the wall outside the bathroom. I hadn’t really wondered about it, but just considered it one of the quirks, but now I wonder if it was part of the building code when the building was built - it’s a 1968 building. It’s not really inconvenient, just something I had to remember the first few days. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-bathrooms/124410/4 "2002-08-18T04:35:21Z")
In the middle of the night, in a strange room, it’s easier to find the switch _before_ going in? I really hoped this question would be ‘how come the hot water shows up so fast?’