# Is it rude to make toilet noises at work when you're not alone in the loo? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 21, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846 "2007-12-21T18:13:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/1 "2007-12-21T18:13:39Z")
I don’t mean if you work in a huge building with constant bathroom traffic- then you’d never finish- I mean in a small office bathroom. For example, I just went in for a quick pee, and there was someone in the stall. When I came in, no noises, so I do what I always do in that situation if I have to go real bad and don’t want to wait and come back- hold my breath and hurry through as quickly as possible. While I’m zipping up after flushing I hear a stream of loud disorienting farts and splashes- couldn’t this person have waited ten seconds until I had made it to the door? They had to have heard me flush, and know I should be in a matter of moments. I mean I don’t understand those who choose to make their daily BM at work, as some people at my job clearly do- I feel number two at work should be for emergencies only, but that’s another topic. On the rare occasion I have to go and someone walks in and they’re at the urinal and will probably be in there a minute tops, I have the common courtesy to hold off on the more voluminous plops and farts until they leave, and always thought this was the courteous thing to do- am I correct on this? ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/2 "2007-12-21T18:18:50Z")
Unless I am missing something a bathroom is designed to be used for that purpose. It was not rude at all. Yes, some people have issues with being in the same room as someone else while they are doing their buisness, others don’t. How was the person in the stall to know that you are one of those people with issues? (I really don’t mean that to sound snarky) And from the sounds you describe, it might just have been an emergency. So cut the guy some slack. Everybody poops. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/3 "2007-12-21T18:21:58Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] While I’m zipping up after flushing I hear a stream of loud disorienting farts and splashes- couldn’t this person have waited ten seconds until I had made it to the door? [/QUOTE] So you couldn’t find the door after he farted? ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/4 "2007-12-21T18:22:48Z")
[QUOTE=lieu] So you couldn’t find the door after he farted? [/QUOTE] No, the fart cloud was too thick 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/5 "2007-12-21T18:29:45Z")
[QUOTE=Ludy] Unless I am missing something a bathroom is designed to be used for that purpose. It was not rude at all. Yes, some people have issues with being in the same room as someone else while they are doing their buisness, others don’t. How was the person in the stall to know that you are one of those people with issues? (I really don’t mean that to sound snarky) And from the sounds you describe, it might just have been an emergency. So cut the guy some slack. Everybody poops. [/QUOTE] I don’t have issues, its just the way I view the situation is this- I’m on the toilet about to rip a juicy prolonged fart. Someone is in here who in ten seconds will not be in here. Now I agree, this is natural act and the loo is the place for it, but you have a choice in waiting ten seconds till they leave and sparing them your stink, or being IMO inconsiderate and letting rip. Now a high volume loo I understand, but this bathroom I probably am in there at the same time as someone else maybe once a week, only about ten people use this facility. To me its like someone talking to you at your desk and you fart, instead of waiting for them to tell you what they need to say and leave and then doing it. ---
**Author:** ![ForumBot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/6 "2007-12-21T18:37:39Z")
I hold in my particularly violent expulsions out of embarrassment, not courtesy. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/7 "2007-12-21T18:55:13Z")
Man, you guys are no fun. Half the enjoyment of a nice noisy shit is sharing it with an audience. Sheesh! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/8 "2007-12-21T18:57:06Z")
Bathrooms stalls are for pooping. Get over it. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/9 "2007-12-21T18:58:48Z")
I once shat a man in Reno just to watch him cry. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/10 "2007-12-21T18:59:33Z")
[QUOTE=Dinsdale] Man, you guys are no fun. Half the enjoyment of a nice noisy shit is sharing it with an audience. [/QUOTE] If I can hear someone in the stall nearby, I sometimes give mental scores. (“And that was a 6 out of 10. Pungent, nice rounded delivery with good grouping, but kind of trails off at the end. Better luck next time!”) Back to the OP: I have never ever heard of the idea of holding off on one’s emissions to spare a neighbour. Many times one can’t. That’s what the place is for, after all. I can understand wanting to hold off outside the loo, though. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/11 "2007-12-21T18:59:42Z")
[QUOTE=Dinsdale] Man, you guys are no fun. Half the enjoyment of a nice noisy shit is sharing it with an audience. Sheesh! :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] That’s the way I took it- basically the guy was saying “I’m going to fart (pretty much) in this guys face- ha!” ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/12 "2007-12-21T19:00:32Z")
At work, I shit in silence like a ninja…in public restrooms, I let it all hang out, so to speak. I even make fake fart noises at times, such as when the lady in the next stall is on her cell phone. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/13 "2007-12-21T19:10:55Z")
[QUOTE=lieu] I once shat a man in Reno just to watch him cry. [/QUOTE] I don’t know, if I had a shit the size of a man, **I’d** be the one crying. ---
**Author:** ![Creaky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@Creaky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Creaky)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/14 "2007-12-21T19:12:21Z")
I agree with **Dinsdale**. Personally I enjoy goin’ into the bathroom at work and making all sorts of foul noises and smells when others are nearby. In fact, sometimes when I let a particularly stinky fusillade rip I actually have to stop myself from laughing. I work in a fairly small branch office so I’m thinking there’s generally little doubt as to who the stenchly culprit is. What can I say, I love poop humor and I’m essentially a 12-year-old boy. So far nobody’s said anything, and I guess I’d be surprised if they did. Next up: A whoopee cushion on my supervisor’s desk chair, maybe? (Actually no way. Things can only get casual to a point, you know.) ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/15 "2007-12-21T19:13:42Z")
When I gotta go, I gotta go. If I even attempted to squelch the farts or the accompanying matter, I feel uncomfortable. What am I going to do? Squeeze my ass cheeks shut in the hopes that nothing slips out? No way. I’m sitting on the toilet for the express purpose of pooping. I’m not there to do a Sen. Craig impersonation and I don’t find the graffiti particularly enthralling. I’m going to defecate in the commode, utilizing it for its primary function. Any noises that are created in the process are all part of my scatological symphony. Think of it as the next movement in Handel’s _Water Music_. And what is to prevent you from waiting to pee until the stall occupant leaves? They were there first, already actively involved in relieving themselves, and you walked in. They might have even tried to be quiet by turtling the turd but the slippery sucker escaped the poop chute. If the thought of noise and smell bothers you, you should have turned around and come back later or else found another lavatory. ETA: Interesting that you’d have [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=448672) too. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/16 "2007-12-21T19:13:46Z")
[QUOTE=Dung Beetle] At work, I shit in silence like a ninja… [/QUOTE] Okay, now I’m picturing you in a scene similar to _You Only Live Twice_, up in the rafters with a poop slowly coming down a long string hanging from your butt to the toilet below. ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/17 "2007-12-21T19:16:22Z")
Perhaps in the past the chap had paid one too many dimes and only emitted gas. Perhaps as well, he had on occasion saved a dime and soiled his trousers. Now he is determined that the time for mucking about is over, and that when his arse hits that seat, so help him god, he will let rip with the fury of hell and no man’s sodding sensibilities shall stand in the way! ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/18 "2007-12-21T19:17:34Z")
[QUOTE=lieu] Okay, now I’m picturing you in a scene similar to _You Only Live Twice_, up in the rafters with a poop slowly coming down a long string hanging from your butt to the toilet below. [/QUOTE] Oh good. I wasn’t sure if I describing it sufficiently. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/19 "2007-12-21T19:22:40Z")
[QUOTE=Slypork] When I gotta go, I gotta go. If I even attempted to squelch the farts or the accompanying matter, I feel uncomfortable. What am I going to do? Squeeze my ass cheeks shut in the hopes that nothing slips out? No way. I’m sitting on the toilet for the express purpose of pooping. I’m not there to do a Sen. Craig impersonation and I don’t find the graffiti particularly enthralling. I’m going to defecate in the commode, utilizing it for its primary function. Any noises that are created in the process are all part of my scatological symphony. Think of it as the next movement in Handel’s _Water Music_. And what is to prevent you from waiting to pee until the stall occupant leaves? They were there first, already actively involved in relieving themselves, and you walked in. They might have even tried to be quiet by turtling the turd but the slippery sucker escaped the poop chute. If the thought of noise and smell bothers you, you should have turned around and come back later or else found another lavatory. ETA: Interesting that you’d have [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=448672) too. [/QUOTE] I’m a big feces fan, its just this particular event I took as a personal attack. And yes, under normal circumstances if I go in for a piss and see feet under a stall, I immediately make a beeline for another floor, but today I had to go really bad and wasn’t in the mood for stairs. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846/20 "2007-12-21T19:33:12Z")
personal attack? you’re odd. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-rude-to-make-toilet-noises-at-work-when-youre-not-alone-in-the-loo/430846.md?page=2)