# If you flushed every toilet in the Empire State Building simultaneously... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 28, 2012, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-flushed-every-toilet-in-the-empire-state-building-simultaneously/632910 "2012-08-28T10:08:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-flushed-every-toilet-in-the-empire-state-building-simultaneously/632910/1 "2012-08-28T10:08:07Z")
would it overwhelm the plumbing (either within the building or under the streets outside)? Do engineers factor in this possible “max load” when designing big buildings, or just assume “no more than X% will be flushing at any one time”? I’m thinking sports stadiums must factor in a serious half-time tidal wave, too. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-flushed-every-toilet-in-the-empire-state-building-simultaneously/632910/2 "2012-08-28T11:28:42Z")
Engineers take all that into account when they design buildings and stadiums and such. Video of a flush test at a stadium: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6i_kIXjGrU) Sometimes they do have problems. Here’s a news article about a flush test to see if they’ve fixed all of the problems that they were having: > **[Browns Stadium passes the flush test](https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2007/08/browns_stadium_passes_the_flus.html)** > > • July 26: Toilet valves blamed for Browns Stadium flood• Photos from the flood• July 29: Cleveland Browns confident flood damage will be fixed in timeNearly 300 people packed into the bathrooms at Browns Stadium Wednesday, but it was the... More flush test articles: > **[HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News](https://www.huffpost.com/?err_code=404&err_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2F2010%2F06%2F01%2Fpittsburgh-penguins-stude_n_596807.html)** > > Read the latest headlines, news stories, and opinion from Politics, Entertainment, Life, Perspectives, and more. > **[Can stadium be flush with success? Plumbing: A plumbing test in the Ravens'...](https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1998-07-15-1998196016-story.html)** > **[A Test of 7th-Inning Stretch Proportions, Flush by Flush](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/23/AR2008022302198.html)** > > It was an important, if not highly skilled, job required of 175 volunteers yesterday at Nationals Park. They were present for a synchronized swooshing, a choreography of commodes to test whether the new stadium's plumbing could handle the nearly... > **[1,074 BALTIMORE STADIUM TOILETS TO BE FLUSH-TESTED](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1998-07-15-9807160340-story.html)** ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-flushed-every-toilet-in-the-empire-state-building-simultaneously/632910/3 "2012-08-28T17:26:38Z")
Urban legend says this was tried at some campus (Texas, IIRC0. the place had a belltower that chimed the hours, and some engineering society (always the engineering students) got as many people to be at a toilet on campus and flush when they heard the bell chime the hour. The story goes tha the main sewer pipe exploded, but what would a good urban legend be without a funny ending? Most high-rises, IIRC, have a jog in the drain lines every so often, so a flush does not fall 1000 feet building up momentum all the way. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-flushed-every-toilet-in-the-empire-state-building-simultaneously/632910/4 "2012-08-28T23:15:22Z")
The building would take off and head for the moon. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-flushed-every-toilet-in-the-empire-state-building-simultaneously/632910/5 "2012-08-29T03:28:50Z")
Didn’t Abbie Hoffman have a proposal similar to this? (I’m too tired to G it…) ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-flushed-every-toilet-in-the-empire-state-building-simultaneously/632910/6 "2012-08-29T04:43:38Z")
I have been in buildings when a majority of the toilets were flushing. The water has been shut off. When the water was turn back on the boosted water pumps restarted a lot of the flushometers opened. The pumps will start and go to full speed trying to get the system up to pressure. Slowly a few flushometers will close. As a few close the systtem pressure will increase. The increased pressure will close more until most will close. There may be a few that will have to be repaired to get them to operate properly. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-flushed-every-toilet-in-the-empire-state-building-simultaneously/632910/7 "2012-08-29T05:14:41Z")
The Empire State Building will have a number of storage tanks at different levels in the building, or perhaps all somewhere up high. Flushing all the toilets could drain all those tanks if there no limiting mechanism. Refilling those tanks requires pumping water in stages all the way up to the tank levels. They will have a known recovery time for the loss of all water in holding tanks. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-flushed-every-toilet-in-the-empire-state-building-simultaneously/632910/8 "2012-08-29T10:42:09Z")
Can I ask, exactly _how many_ toilets do you think one building has? It isn’t like there are 5000 rooms, each with their own pair of his and hers toilets. There are public bathrooms on each floor, and then a select number of office suites have a single ‘half bath’ [toilet and sink only] and an even smaller number of office suites that might have an added shower. I would be surprised if there are more than 2500 toilets in the entire building. And those supporting probably 10 000 people not counting tourists. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-flushed-every-toilet-in-the-empire-state-building-simultaneously/632910/9 "2012-08-29T10:59:49Z")
Would it cause earthquakes in China or Bolivia or somewhere? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-flushed-every-toilet-in-the-empire-state-building-simultaneously/632910/10 "2012-08-29T11:15:09Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Can I ask, exactly _how many_ toilets do you think one building has? It isn’t like there are 5000 rooms, each with their own pair of his and hers toilets. There are public bathrooms on each floor, and then a select number of office suites have a single ‘half bath’ [toilet and sink only] and an even smaller number of office suites that might have an added shower. I would be surprised if there are more than 2500 toilets in the entire building. And those supporting probably 10 000 people not counting tourists. That number sounds fair ([this page](http://fusionanomaly.net/empirestatebuilding.html) agrees with 2,500, but bear in mind [Colophon’s Third Typographic Theorem](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15092244&postcount=87) when considering its reliability). But that’s still a lot of effluent in one go: a toilet on full flush is allowed to use 6 litres (1.6 gallons) of water, so you’re talking 4,000 gallons thundering through the pipework in one go. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-flushed-every-toilet-in-the-empire-state-building-simultaneously/632910/11 "2012-08-29T13:06:31Z")
I’m sure there is a truther conspiracy waiting to be born here. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-flushed-every-toilet-in-the-empire-state-building-simultaneously/632910/12 "2012-08-29T13:18:24Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > That number sounds fair ([this page](http://fusionanomaly.net/empirestatebuilding.html) agrees with 2,500, but bear in mind [Colophon’s Third Typographic Theorem](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15092244&postcount=87) when considering its reliability). But that’s still a lot of effluent in one go: a toilet on full flush is allowed to use 6 litres (1.6 gallons) of water, so you’re talking 4,000 gallons thundering through the pipework in one go. Great Flying Spaghetti Monster, that is a hell of a page for whacked visuals :eek:☹ With 51 miles of piping, I think it can probably deal with a 4000 gallon flush. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-flushed-every-toilet-in-the-empire-state-building-simultaneously/632910/13 "2012-08-29T14:33:02Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > I’m sure there is a truther conspiracy waiting to be born here. My god, you’re right! WTC7 was brought down by controlled flushing! :smack: