# Is passing gas while using a urinal considered acceptable in your neck of the woods? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 6, 2020, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983 "2020-03-06T00:02:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/21 "2020-03-06T03:08:29Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Yes, farting in bathrooms is allowed, and necessary, and often unavoidable while voiding. Get over it. Yup, it’s a bathroom. Urinal and stall are interchangeable in this regard. ---
**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:** [March 6, 2020, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/22 "2020-03-06T04:14:42Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > The answer, my friend, > Is blowing in the wind… Just be sure to check the direction of the air flow first. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/23 "2020-03-06T04:20:27Z")
Anything goes in a bathroom. Anything. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/24 "2020-03-06T05:22:31Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > Anything goes in a bathroom. > > Anything. Take your horse elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/25 "2020-03-06T06:01:44Z")
I save mine for elevators and restaurant vestibules. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/26 "2020-03-06T06:42:56Z")
If somebody deliberately waits until I’m nearby to cut one loose, I might take that personally. But it’s a friggin’ restroom, where else are people supposed to fart? Holding it in is not realistic or healthy. We can’t all be Tycho Brahe (and yes, I know that story is likely not true). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/27 "2020-03-06T07:45:45Z")
Okay, as long as we’re asking urinal questions. I was in a public restroom to use a urinal earlier this evening. And there was a number of pubic hairs along the rim of the urinal. What would this guy have been doing that left his public hair there? Was he shaving in a public restroom (it was an open cubicle not a stall)? Was he confused about what a urinal was for and was washing himself in it? Did he rub his balls on the rim of the urinal for good luck and some of his hair fell off? Was he shedding due to the warm weather? Did he just yank a few out and leave them there to mark his territory? I don’t what this guy did but I’m pretty sure it’s not considered acceptable in any neck of the woods. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/28 "2020-03-06T09:30:41Z")
Flatulence isn’t acceptable in any public situation, but sometimes it’s an inescapable reflex action. Really they should be as acceptable as a cough or sneeze, bur for various reasons that is not the case, and so must be weathered more considerately. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/29 "2020-03-06T09:43:22Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I was in a public restroom to use a urinal earlier this evening. And there was a number of pubic hairs along the rim of the urinal. > > What would this guy have been doing that left his public hair there? Huh? Probably 90 % of the time I use a public toilet, there are stray pubic hairs at the urinal / bowl. Hair sheds, simple as that, and janking you dick out of your pants is a good way to disperse the fall-off. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/30 "2020-03-06T11:54:19Z")
> [@The\_Maple\_Leaf](#): > > So where you live would you consider it socially acceptable to pass gas while using a urinal around others or would this be considered bad form? SE Michigan, I hardly ever encounter this in public restrooms. I do know at least one guy at work who would fart loudly/forcibly while at a urinal with people nearby - but then he would also fart audibly while walking down the hall. I just think he didn’t give a [del]shit[/del] damn. Unless you’re at a drunken gathering and farting for comedic effect, I think farting in close proximity to others is bad form and this includes doing so at a urinal if there are people next to you. Occasionally one is going to leak out due to the “sphincter confusion” mentioned upthread, but I think pushing it out in a way that doesn’t minimize noise is rude. Farting while seated in a stall? OK, unpleasant smells are part of why you’re being isolated in that stall, but maybe try not to maximize the noise? ---
**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:** [March 6, 2020, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/31 "2020-03-06T13:22:55Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > We can’t all be Tycho Brahe (and yes, I know that story is likely not true). I learned something today. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/32 "2020-03-06T13:23:28Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > Huh? Probably 90 % of the time I use a public toilet, there are stray pubic hairs at the urinal / bowl. Hair sheds, simple as that, and janking you dick out of your pants is a good way to disperse the fall-off. This. People shed. It’s a fact of life. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/33 "2020-03-06T13:34:42Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Okay, as long as we’re asking urinal questions. > > I was in a public restroom to use a urinal earlier this evening. And there was a number of pubic hairs along the rim of the urinal. > > What would this guy have been doing that left his public hair there? Was he shaving in a public restroom (it was an open cubicle not a stall)? Was he confused about what a urinal was for and was washing himself in it? Did he rub his balls on the rim of the urinal for good luck and some of his hair fell off? Was he shedding due to the warm weather? Did he just yank a few out and leave them there to mark his territory? > > I don’t what this guy did but I’m pretty sure it’s not considered acceptable in any neck of the woods. > [@McMurphy](#): > > I intend to piss in it, not eat out of it. I can’t see why pubic hair is any less hygienic, and thus more objectionable, than pee. It’s a urinal - I’m not going to touch it. Maybe the previous user was overdue for a ballshave and decided to give things a quick trim. What difference does it make? Besides, treat it as a challenge - after you finish writing your initials, try to direct your stream to push each individual hair into the center. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/34 "2020-03-06T14:57:01Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > If you’re not supposed to fart in the bathroom, where the hell are you supposed to fart? On the escalator with a crowd behind you. The down escalator is best because of the air flow. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/35 "2020-03-06T16:30:45Z")
You don’t know random people in public bathrooms. Why should I care what they think? ---
**Author:** ![Joeu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joeu/32/2911_2.png) [@Joeu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joeu)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/36 "2020-03-06T16:37:30Z")
Berakhot 24 in the Talmud has a lengthy discussion of what one should do when it’s necessary to fart (“sneeze from below”) while praying. I know it’s different from being in a bathroom, but maybe some recommendations can be drawn from the analogy. The Rabbis, as usual, have differing opinions. Part of the discussion: > [@](#): > > He went and found the tanna, who recites the tannaitic sources before the study hall, reciting the following baraita before Rav Yehuda: One who was standing in prayer and sneezed from below waits until the odor dissipates and resumes praying. Some say: One who was standing in prayer when he felt the need to sneeze from below, retreats four cubits, sneezes, waits until the odor dissipates and resumes praying. And before resuming his prayer, he says: Master of the universe, You have formed us with many orifices and cavities; our disgrace and shame in life are clear and evident before You, as is our destiny with maggots and worms, and so we should not be judged harshly. And he resumes his prayer from where he stopped. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/37 "2020-03-06T16:50:03Z")
What is the Tycho Brahe / fart connection? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/38 "2020-03-06T16:50:18Z")
Over the decades here at the SDMB, we’ve had multiple threads begun by folks who seem to think that using a multi-stall public restroom while others are present in it is somehow a horrible violation. One poster in particular was quite upset about another man entering a vacant stall in the restroom and defecating while he busy at a urinal. He insisted the proper thing for the guy to do would have been for him to wait until the poster finished urinating and left. Take a seat if he must, but do NOT start the process of elimination until the OP had left the chamber! Others have bemoaned the fact that some people make _noise_ when they evacuate, and find that particularly troublesome and a violation of social mores. Some have been appalled that anyone would ever use the facility to have a bowel movement, rather than just urinate. And others insist we must break wind silently, as if volume and pitch is under voluntary control. I’m all for being discreet and thoughtful when attending to such needs, but basic biology dictates that there will be sounds and odors that will frequently be non-discretionary, and that includes breaking wind during micturition. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/39 "2020-03-06T16:59:43Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Better to do it in a stall than at the urinal. Why? It’s not like the stall masks the sound or the odor. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983/40 "2020-03-06T16:59:52Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > "And when thou fartest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to fart standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be smelt of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. > > But thou, when thou fartest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, fart to thy Father which is in secret." > [@Tatterdemalion](#): > > I sat next to the Duchess at tea, > She said, “Young man do you fart when you pee?” > I replied, " Not a bit! > Do you belch when you sh–t?" > Which I felt left the honors with me. I’m glad I read this thread just because of these gems. To fully appreciate Thudlow’s, see [Matthew 6:5-6](https://www.biblehub.com/kjv/matthew/6.htm) in the King James Version. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-passing-gas-while-using-a-urinal-considered-acceptable-in-your-neck-of-the-woods/848983.md?page=3)