“Sherlock Holmes once said that once you have eliminated the
impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be
the answer. I, however, do not like to eliminate the impossible.
The impossible often has a kind of integrity to it that the merely improbable lacks.”
– Douglas Adams’s Dirk Gently, Holistic Detective
The inability (or great difficulty) in urinating while someone is watching does have a scientific name: it’s called ‘pee-shy.’ That explains the result mentioned of why some guys only go in stalls and don’t use the urinals.
And before anyone mocks the pee-shy sufferer, keep in mind that there may be a good evolutionary reason for it. The biological process of elimination can leave one vulnerable to attack. I’ve seen cats and dogs that were pee- and defecation-shy. They’d only ‘go’ when no one was watching, or, they only ‘go’ when the trusted owner was nearby, and not in front of strangers.
In the age of single-child households where the said child has his or her own bathroom – they can become trained to be very private about such things and become shy around even other humans in public toilets.
Rarely to men talk to other men at a urinal. A friend reported to me one of the exceptions. While he was occupied at the receptacle, a gentleman from the adjoining fixture looked over at him and commented:
“The little mice are out today”.
I never asked whether he thought this referred to the size of his organ – he just reported that he was uncomfortable at being spoken to by a stranger in such an odd venue and phrasing. He just replied “Excuse me???”
The stranger repeated:
“It’s a little nicer out today.”
In Isaac Asimov’s Caves of Steel, set in the future, it is considered very bad manners for men to talk in the “personal”, whereas women are free to do so. He was obviously extrapolating from his own experience. Men tend not to “share” in public restrooms.
I’m always a little rattled when someone starts talking to me in flagrante delicto. (This only happens at work – I’ve never had a stranger start a conversation there.)
Funny story – The restroom here has two urinals, one regular and one that is regular size but installed very near to the ground. I assume it’s designed for handicapped usage, but it’s about the height a two-year old would use. I was using the short one, standing next to a friend of mine, and I casually remarked that “this one must be for very short people.” To which he replied, “Or very long people.” LOL!
“non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem”
– William of Ockham
Damn Nick, you literally moved this topic in the middle of me posting, talk about confusion. Here goes again.
kelli, I’ve been offered assistance by a couple of girls and accepted. Not sure who got more out of it though. Most likely it was the other guys in the bar’s bathroom
I must be unusual because I usually talk at the pisser in bars. Not at resturaunts, or quiet restrooms, but when lining up at the trough at Wrigley or after a dozen drinks at the bar I have no trouble jokin’ with the guy next to me. The urinal ettiquete however still applies.
[quoteDid you ever let anyone hold it while you pee?
—kellibelli
[/quote]
heh…reminds me of a joke. A little boy needed help going to the bathroom and asked his grandma to help. His mom said, “Grandma’s busy, I’ll help you.” And the little boy replied, “No, I want granma…her hand shakes.”
MaryAnn
Sometimes life is so great you just gotta muss up your hair and quack like a duck!
