# Ladies: Feminine dispenser queston **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 13, 2015, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702 "2015-01-13T11:40:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/21 "2015-01-13T21:01:16Z")
I was thinking, why use cheap or out of date product? It’s only 25 cents and I’d rather have the females at work on my side. The money is really just to keep them from hoarders. BTW, they were kotex product. Arent those good enough? And why dont they work? Its a simple knob and cam mechanism so this is the first time in 12 years on this job I’ve ever had to repair one. These machines are checked about every other day so I dont see why this should be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Zorkmid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e68b1a/32.png) [@Zorkmid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zorkmid)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/22 "2015-01-13T21:26:06Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Yeah. They are either empty, or they still have pads in them that were manufactured in 1979. Funny you should mention that. In college I worked at a library. The librarians were all nasty vinegar faced old women who would have probably slapped my mouth if I’d mentioned the subject so I was on my own if I had female problems (my friends and I called it “being girlsick” :D) Once I was desperate and peeked in the pad dispenser in the restroom. It was never locked and was always open about half an inch so I assumed it was just empty. There were 3 or 4 pads in it in yellowy cardboard boxes, and they were so old they didn’t have adhesive on them, they were the kind you needed belts for. Or in case you didn’t have one handy each came with its own tiny rusty safety pin. The copyright date on the boxes was 1968. :eek: I used 'em anyway because otherwise I’d have looked like something out of _Carrie_ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/23 "2015-01-13T21:43:56Z")
I’d have had to figure out how the belts worked, and I’m not exactly young! I’ve never had to use the belt ones. My interesting thing was in India. I don’t really know how they do it there, but when I had my period and was staying at my aunt’s, apparently the only way to throw out the old one was to wrap it up in its BRIGHT BLUE covering and haul it all the way outside of the house to the garbage…pile…in front. Every so often someone would take it away. This is completely mortifying to a fifteen year old. ⭕o:o ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/24 "2015-01-13T22:29:58Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I’d have had to figure out how the belts worked, and I’m not exactly young! I’ve never had to use the belt ones. > > My interesting thing was in India. I don’t really know how they do it there, but when I had my period and was staying at my aunt’s, apparently the only way to throw out the old one was to wrap it up in its BRIGHT BLUE covering and haul it all the way outside of the house to the garbage…pile…in front. Every so often someone would take it away. > > This is completely mortifying to a fifteen year old. ⭕o:o I have a few _mortifying_ (at the time) stories about this, and now I have to share - sorry if it’s a hijack: When I was 14, I went in to have my appendix removed. It was also that time of the month. The nurse demonstrated this crazy Sumo-wrestler thing I was to wear to the OR. When I woke up and was coherent, I was not only in pain and vomiting, but, to my horror, _someone had changed my Sumo-thing for one of those pads with the belt_. As a 14 year old, it was awful to know someone had done this on my behalf. First day of basic training, I had to go to the MIR (medical clinic) with bronchitis. That morning before our first inspection had been chaotic, and everyone had just chucked whatever into their lockers, we would figure it out later. I was the youngest person there, and one of 26 women (178 men to compare). I did not realize we wouldn’t go back to barracks before heading out, I quietly asked one of my Warrants if I could run back to my room before going to the clinic. He asked why, so I quietly mumbled the reason. He turned and BLASTED across the room (where all students and instructors were waiting) with his best drill-square voice if anyone wanted to drive \*\*“this recruit back up to the barracks to get some feminine protection”. \*\*The room went completely silent and one instructor stepped forward. I wished the Earth to open at my feet and swallow me whole. Of course, after arriving there, I couldn’t get to my bag anyway, it was in someone else’s locker. Now the Master Corporal got to drive a very contrite and mortified 17 year old into the town so she could buy some. When I apologized, he yelled “DON’T APOLOGIZE, IT’S A SIGN OF WEAKNESS.” Best first day ever. ---
**Author:** ![Zorkmid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e68b1a/32.png) [@Zorkmid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zorkmid)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/25 "2015-01-14T00:29:36Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I’d have had to figure out how the belts worked, and I’m not exactly young! I’ve never had to use the belt ones. > > My interesting thing was in India. I don’t really know how they do it there, but when I had my period and was staying at my aunt’s, apparently the only way to throw out the old one was to wrap it up in its BRIGHT BLUE covering and haul it all the way outside of the house to the garbage…pile…in front. Every so often someone would take it away. > > This is completely mortifying to a fifteen year old. ⭕o:o I’m 42 and never saw a belted one before that. So I was really grateful they came with the safety pins. It’s a really good thing we don’t live in India because my daughter would die of shame. I can’t even ask her if she needs stuff without an “OHMYGAWDMOOOOOOM!!!” you can hear across county lines 😃 My husband had to take her to CVS for them once and they both kind of pretend that day never happened. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/26 "2015-01-14T00:45:18Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I was thinking, why use cheap or out of date product? It’s only 25 cents and I’d rather have the females at work on my side. The money is really just to keep them from hoarders. > > BTW, they were kotex product. Arent those good enough? > > And why dont they work? Its a simple knob and cam mechanism so this is the first time in 12 years on this job I’ve ever had to repair one. These machines are checked about every other day so I dont see why this should be a problem. As one who had to order the stock for these at one job, I know that our supplier offered only machine packages. Some were made by familiar retail brands, but most were the generic variety. Some were even the ones with safety pins. :eek: Even the well known branded ones were lower quality than what you’d buy at a retail level because these were purchased by women who had few, if any, alternatives. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/27 "2015-01-14T01:06:29Z")
I can’t remember the last time I saw one of those machines. I just keep my bag stocked with at least two pads and two tampons at all times. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/28 "2015-01-14T01:26:40Z")
> [@Zorkmid](#): > > Funny you should mention that. In college I worked at a library. The librarians were all nasty vinegar faced old women who would have probably slapped my mouth if I’d mentioned the subject so I was on my own if I had female problems (my friends and I called it “being girlsick” :D) > > Once I was desperate and peeked in the pad dispenser in the restroom. It was never locked and was always open about half an inch so I assumed it was just empty. > > There were 3 or 4 pads in it in yellowy cardboard boxes, and they were so old they didn’t have adhesive on them, they were the kind you needed belts for. Or in case you didn’t have one handy each came with its own tiny rusty safety pin. The copyright date on the boxes was 1968. :eek: > > I used 'em anyway because otherwise I’d have looked like something out of _Carrie_ 😃 Would this have been at the beginning, when Carrie gets pads tossed at her in the shower? 😃 Not only was my high school dispensors still stocking those things when I graduated – in **1996** – but a friend of mine had to ask the school nurse for a pad. And that was the type she gave her. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/29 "2015-01-14T01:32:00Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I’d have had to figure out how the belts worked, and I’m not exactly young! I’ve never had to use the belt ones. I was hospitalized when I was 15 for a really bad asthma attack. As luck would have it, I also got the curse. My mom had gone home, so I rang the nurse. Did she bring tampons? No, because I was “young”. She brought in a couple of pads in a box and asked if I needed a belt. I had no idea what the hell she meant. I was wearing a hospital gown, why would I need a belt? Was I going somewhere? Anyway, I called home and mom brought me some normal products, including TAMPONS, thank god. This was **1985**. Nobody used belts. ---
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/30 "2015-01-14T01:33:10Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > The ones in rest rooms that cost 25 cents. How often are those broken, empty, or unusable? > > Note - I just fixed one at our facility. Knob wasnt turning right. Big hammer time? ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/31 "2015-01-14T01:35:12Z")
Jesus christ. You can buy those sanitary belts at STAPLES. The world is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/32 "2015-01-14T01:37:21Z")
> [@Zorkmid](#): > > I’m 42 and never saw a belted one before that. So I was really grateful they came with the safety pins. > > It’s a really good thing we don’t live in India because my daughter would die of shame. I can’t even ask her if she needs stuff without an “OHMYGAWDMOOOOOOM!!!” you can hear across county lines 😃 My husband had to take her to CVS for them once and they both kind of pretend that day never happened. Once I was in 7/11 buying such for my wife and another customer shouted out"Why would a woman send her man out to buy those?" I looked at her with a sneer and replied “My wife hasn’t been out of her wheel chair for 7 years.” Not true of course, but it squelched the bitch. ---
**Author:** ![LouLou7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LouLou7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouLou7)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/33 "2015-01-14T01:45:08Z")
😃 > [@DingoelGringo](#): > > Once I was in 7/11 buying such for my wife and another customer shouted out"Why would a woman send her man out to buy those?" I looked at her with a sneer and replied “My wife hasn’t been out of her wheel chair for 7 years.” Not true of course, but it squelched the bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/34 "2015-01-14T02:16:19Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Would this have been at the beginning, when Carrie gets pads tossed at her in the shower? 😃 > > Not only was my high school dispensors still stocking those things when I graduated – in **1996** – but a friend of mine had to ask the school nurse for a pad. And that was the type she gave her. I was at our HS nurses office and they had a sign which said “If you need tampons and the nurse is out of the office, please see the school secretary”. Which I’m sure is embarrasing as hell because the office tends to be full of all kinds of students, teachers, parents, and whatnot. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/35 "2015-01-14T02:17:45Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > The owner is a man, but the person who runs the park is a woman. I think of her as the owner really. Yeah, when women run things often things change like more and better womens toilets. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/36 "2015-01-14T02:25:43Z")
> [@Poysyn](#): > > I have a few _mortifying_ (at the time) stories about this, and now I have to share - sorry if it’s a hijack: > > When I was 14, I went in to have my appendix removed. It was also that time of the month. The nurse demonstrated this crazy Sumo-wrestler thing I was to wear to the OR. When I woke up and was coherent, I was not only in pain and vomiting, but, to my horror, _someone had changed my Sumo-thing for one of those pads with the belt_. As a 14 year old, it was awful to know someone had done this on my behalf… Well think what is was like for that person. My wife has worked as a camp counselor for special needs teens and with girl campers with different psychological, developmental, or mental issues, the counselors have to change these for them along with other bodily issues like helping them bathe, use the bathroom, and wiping off after using the bathroom. Definitely something not for the squeamish. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/37 "2015-01-14T02:49:22Z")
I don’t need feminine supplies anymore, but still carry a pad occasionally because, well, you know how sometimes mommies sneeze or cough and… yeah. Anyway, my daughter has reached that delightful time of her life, and I always make sure we’re well-stocked just in case. Also, when we go to a con and I get a hotel room with other girls and young women, I always bring pads and tampons - someone always unexpectedly starts their period at the con and needs supplies. It never fails. I haven’t trusted the pad vending machines in years. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/38 "2015-01-14T14:33:30Z")
> [@DingoelGringo](#): > > Once I was in 7/11 buying such for my wife and another customer shouted out"Why would a woman send her man out to buy those?" I looked at her with a sneer and replied “My wife hasn’t been out of her wheel chair for 7 years.” Not true of course, but it squelched the bitch. Oooo, this pisses me off (although your story is good). Why wouldn’t I send my man to get those? I mean, if he’s going to be at the store anyway, why can’t he just pick them up? They are a staple in my house! It makes no fucking sense. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/39 "2015-01-14T15:00:31Z")
Why things like that can’t be kept in stock is baffling. I’m a guy, and I have a goodly supply of tampons and pads in a file drawer behind my desk at work. My wife keeps it stocked in case one of my students gets caught unprepared (teenagers are so erratic (in so many ways!)) With quality product, too. The things the school nurse has are the Korean War surplus items others have mentioned. Every year my debate team gets my wife a present for being a great “Team Mom.” ---
**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:** [January 14, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702/40 "2015-01-14T15:04:06Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Oooo, this pisses me off (although your story is good). Why wouldn’t I send my man to get those? I mean, if he’s going to be at the store anyway, why can’t he just pick them up? They are a staple in my house! It makes no fucking sense. [How To Be A Good Husband During “Ladytimes”](http://basicinstructions.net/basic-instructions/2011/5/22/how-to-be-a-good-husband-during-ladytimes.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-feminine-dispenser-queston/709702.md?page=3)