# Men: Do you spit in the urinal? Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 29, 2008, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125 "2008-07-29T19:08:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/1 "2008-07-29T19:08:49Z")
43 year years I’ve been standing to pee and as long as I can remember, there’s a kind of man who walks into the bathroom, unzips, leans over & spits, and then pees. Sometimes, it’s spit & then unzip but there’s always a spitter. For most of those same 43 years, I’ve wondered why. I happened a few minutes ago and I wondered why. Given that I have the world’s largest time wasting tool at my hands right now, I’ll ask… Why? ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/2 "2008-07-29T19:18:40Z")
Good question. I’ve never spit in a unirnal in my life but god knows so many men do. Still can’t figure that out. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo\_Pin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mojo\_Pin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo_Pin)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/3 "2008-07-29T19:20:18Z")
I’ve found that there’s a near perfect correlation between people who’ve just smoked and people who spit in the urinal. ---
**Author:** ![wasson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4da419/32.png) [@wasson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wasson)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/4 "2008-07-29T19:20:59Z")
A similar topic: > **[Spitting in urinals -- an unknown compulsion?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=279191)** > > Unfortunately, I’m not able to search the forums to see if this question has already been asked… Anyway, along the lines of the “piss shiver” previously made famous by Cecil, what’s up with spitting in urinals? I have no urge to spit at any other... ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/5 "2008-07-29T19:34:48Z")
[QUOTE=Belrix] Given that I have the world’s largest time wasting tool at my hands right now, I’ll ask… Why? [/QUOTE] Are you still at the urinal? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/6 "2008-07-29T19:35:26Z")
Because it’s far better than spitting on the floor, and marginally better than spitting in the sink. And, no, I don’t smoke - I have sinus issues that result in far more mucus than can be reasonably eliminated any other way occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/7 "2008-07-29T19:48:24Z")
[QUOTE=Leaffan] Are you still at the urinal? [/QUOTE] I stand (ba-da-) corrected. The _second_ largest (-boom) time wasting tool in my hands right now. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/8 "2008-07-29T19:55:11Z")
Not urinals. In my own toilet occasionally. Never a smoker. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/9 "2008-07-29T20:21:07Z")
We spit because we can - or more precisely - because we can’t anywhere else. When I step up to the urinal I am allowed to fart, spit and piss, so I do. Who knows when my next chance may come? When I step back I reenter civilization … until the next time. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/10 "2008-07-29T21:45:59Z")
It’s functionally a spittoon, so why not take advantage? Spitting gum, or anything that would have to be fished out by someone is unacceptable. But spit? What’s the harm? ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/11 "2008-07-29T21:52:25Z")
[QUOTE=gaffa] It’s functionally a spittoon, so why not take advantage? Spitting gum, or anything that would have to be fished out by someone is unacceptable. But spit? What’s the harm? [/QUOTE] I don’t think there’s harm (other than to my gross-out response). What’s the advantage, though? Demonstrable maleness? Too much saliva today? Cough up a gooey thing from of your throat? Timing the fall to see if “G” is consistent throughout the building? Enquiring minds want to know. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/12 "2008-07-29T22:13:19Z")
I’ve never gotten why people needed to spit–on the ground, in the urinal, etc. I never feel the need for it. What gives? ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/13 "2008-07-29T22:16:28Z")
it helps avoid being pee-shy. Spit, get that 1000 mile stare and think of the number “3”. (why 3? No clue, it just worked once and I’ve use it ever since…mostly.) What I hate is: if I DO think about the process too much, I can freeze up…really embarrasing.) We had a thread about being pee-shy in the past, and somebody said the cure was notoriously easy, but goddamnit, nobody shared the secret. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/14 "2008-07-30T00:04:27Z")
I don’t myself. I don’t mind people who do. What I DO hate are those who spit ON the urinal – on the top, just below the handle. And it’s invariably filled with phlegm. Just below those guys o the evolutionary tree are those who pick their nose at the urinal and wipe it on the wall. Why do THEy do it? That’s what i want to know. What prompts these troglodytes to display their mucus-generating powers at the urinal? God knows, there atre plenty of them. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/15 "2008-07-30T00:21:38Z")
More men dip tobacco (dip = Skoal or other brands) than you may realize even in white collar urban settings. Spitting in the urinal is about the best way to do it. You might think that any type of chewing tobacco is a Southern/Redneck thing. Think again. You can go into convenience stores even in the most tony parts of Boston and almost all have an ample selection of dipping tobacco. If you never noticed it, just look behind the counter at the tobacco section and it usually there and the supply is usually large and varied. Sometimes you have to ask. A person (yes, I have known some women that do it) can get so good at it that others can’t tell even during a full conversation. It can be much more discrete than smoking. That doesn’t account for all spitting but certainly some of it. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/16 "2008-07-30T00:26:09Z")
Because spittoons have been removed from fashionable bathrooms and saloons. 😉 More seriously, I’ve been producing huge amounts of phlegm, lately, and rather than swallowing it all, when I have a chance to expectorate it, I will. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/17 "2008-07-30T00:31:17Z")
> [@](#): > > More men dip tobacco (dip = Skoal or other brands) than you may realize even in white collar urban settings. Spitting in the urinal is about the best way to do it. You might think that any type of chewing tobacco is a Southern/Redneck thing. Think again. You can go into convenience stores even in the most tony parts of Boston and almost all have an ample selection of dipping tobacco. If you never noticed it, just look behind the counter at the tobacco section and it usually there and the supply is usually large and varied. Sometimes you have to ask. A person (yes, I have known some women that do it) can get so good at it that others can’t tell even during a full conversation. It can be much more discrete than smoking. > > That doesn’t account for all spitting but certainly some of it. I knew one guy who indulged in this. AFAICanRemember, he didn’t spit on the urinal. He DID, however, spit in empty (or supposedly empty) Coke cans, and in the garbage cans. You had to be aware around him, or you could get a nasty surprise. You could tell his spit, too – nasty slimy brown stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/18 "2008-07-30T05:50:30Z")
Freakin’ urinal … thinks it’s so smart … hwak ptui! ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/19 "2008-07-30T09:10:35Z")
[QUOTE=Belrix] Demonstrable maleness? [/QUOTE] I’ve always taken it to usually be this. An expression of machismo, to make sure that others at the urinals/trough are aware of their red-blooded, don’t-you-look-at-my-dick paranoia. And sometimes it just because it’s a convenient and acceptable place to spit. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125/20 "2008-07-30T09:15:35Z")
[QUOTE=Freudian Slit] I’ve never gotten why people needed to spit–on the ground, in the urinal, etc. I never feel the need for it. What gives? [/QUOTE] Because when my histamine response has generated a huge lump of phlegm in my throat/sinuses that has worked its way into my mouth, I either spit it or swallow it, and if I swallow it then I vomit. Which would you prefer I do? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-do-you-spit-in-the-urinal-why/458125.md?page=2)