# Men...why do you pass up urinals to pee in the toilet? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 7, 2016, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383 "2016-01-07T01:28:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/21 "2016-01-07T04:01:09Z")
I don’t want any little kid outside the men’s room pointing to me and saying “Mommy, that man showed he his wee-wee”. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/22 "2016-01-07T04:05:09Z")
I usually don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enter_the_Flagon)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/23 "2016-01-07T04:17:14Z")
I’ve got some BPH going on nowadays. Emptying the tank requires about twice as much time as it used to, and at least 10x as much jostling and shaking - and nobody wants to see that. But if I skip that crucial step in the process, I’ll end up looking like I’ve been straddling a garden sprinkler. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/24 "2016-01-07T04:21:57Z")
One of the movie theaters I visit now has no-water, non-flushing urinals. I guess they prevent backsplash, but I have to wonder how clean they are. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/25 "2016-01-07T04:34:45Z")
Sometimes when I pee, I take the opportunity to re-tuck in my shirt and generally straighten up, it’s easier to do with the extra room in a stall. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/26 "2016-01-07T04:59:06Z")
Doctor told me not to lift heavy things. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/27 "2016-01-07T05:41:42Z")
I don’t but a couple of people I know who do, do it out of stage fright. ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/28 "2016-01-07T08:57:19Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > In my office, I have learned through extensive testing that there are only two ways to avoid splashback: > > 1. Restricting flow > 2. Getting very close and peeing off the side of the urinal > > Number 1 makes each visit an excruciatingly long affair because I drink a lot. Number 2 looks weird. There you have it. 1. Place foot in toilet and pee down your leg. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/29 "2016-01-07T09:12:22Z")
I use the stalls because I sit down to pee.[Like the Germans (or not).](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=697893) [As God intended](https://islamqa.info/en/9790). ---
**Author:** ![HowSoonIsThen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@HowSoonIsThen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HowSoonIsThen)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/30 "2016-01-07T09:51:32Z")
Not really stage fright. It’s more I’m stressing out that I’m going to hold everyone up and hence can’t relax enough to pee (I’ve also noticed I sometimes struggle to pee if I’m alone but stressed/frustrated/worried about something else). Though I’m really bad. I struggle to even use the stalls if there’s a line or too much noise outside. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/31 "2016-01-07T11:59:43Z")
It’s called a “smartphone”. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/32 "2016-01-07T12:02:28Z")
My foreskin is a little too tight. So sometimes it squeezes the end a little too much and distorts the hole. This means that I can’t be sure which direction it will be going in. It’s like squeezing the end of a hose and making the water fan out. I’d rather do that in a cubicle as there’s a larger target and I’m not going to hit anyone else. ---
**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 7, 2016, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/33 "2016-01-07T12:58:01Z")
I’ve rarely found splashback from urinals to be a problem; they key is just to pay attention to aim so that that the stream strikes a glancing blow against the back wall, like a plane on final approach. As for why some men prefer peeing in a stall even when a urinal is available, I wonder how many men have untreated (or poorly treated) [hypospadias;](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypospadias) this condition involves a malformed urethral terminus, which can result in urine spraying in all directions. For such men, sitting down to pee is pretty much a requirement in order to maintain decent personal hygiene. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/34 "2016-01-07T13:31:37Z")
I only pee in a stall if all the urinals and sinks are in use. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/35 "2016-01-07T13:42:39Z")
Anecdata, cool story bro: I went to a high school in the 1990’s with a massive population of immigrants from Hong Kong. Almost to a person the HK guys would use the stalls and the non-immigrant guys would use the urinal. During the rare occasion where an HK guy would use a urinal, he’d position himself so as to have maximum privacy (almost pressed into an end urinal with his back tilted towards the centre of the room). Figured there are probably different expectations of peeing privacy in different cultures, obviously no other practical or physiological reason for it. There’s your piece of anecdata for the day. Get a bunch of those together, and you got yourself a stew going, baby! ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/36 "2016-01-07T13:45:27Z")
I do it because of my blue urine. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/37 "2016-01-07T14:06:57Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > One of the movie theaters I visit now has no-water, non-flushing urinals. I guess they prevent backsplash, but I have to wonder how clean they are. As McMurphy said in the book _One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest_ “I intend to pee in it, not eat out of it”. If there’s no back splash, and no handle to flush, all the traffic between me and the urinal is one-way. So cleanliness is not a major concern for me. YMMV. In answer to the OP, I don’t. I operate under the polite fiction that no one notices anything I do, and I don’t notice anything anyone else does. And what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/38 "2016-01-07T14:41:01Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > I’ve run across a lot of urinals lately where those plastic things in the bottom just splash back right at me no matter where I aim. That’s one reason I’m about to adopt the policy that you question. Don’t pee on the plastic things, those are intended to catch gum, towels, or other things people toss in urinals; they’re not targets. It’s peeing down into the water that causes splash back. Instead, most urinals are designed to pee into the back wall with no splash, as long as you’re not pissing like a racehorse. Ones with flat backs will cause splash if you do that, so you’ve just got to use the side or maybe pee in the bottom but just not onto the plastic or into the water. > [@Trinopus](#): > > Lots of us are shy, and like the privacy of a closed door, even when just taking a whiz. Personally, I almost always use urinals, even if they are bookended, but this is a common reason I’ve heard. Also, particularly for larger guys, sometimes the extra space is needed. I’ve personally gone into stalls when the urinals are oddly close together. Or if I need a little bit more space or privacy for other things, like farting, retucking, fixing a wedgie, etc. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/39 "2016-01-07T14:45:29Z")
> [@stui\_magpie](#): > > I don’t but a couple of people I know who do, do it out of stage fright. It’s called [Paruresis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paruresis) or shy bladder. Some people honestly can’t go when other people are watching. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383/40 "2016-01-07T15:38:04Z")
Sometimes you get sprayback if you have a particularly full bladder, safer to use a toilet then. I’ll use a urinal unless I can’t leave a space. Or if I wear sweatpants- sometimes if you only move them down a little, the pants will fold away from your body only a little bit so you risk peeing on your pants at the end of the stream when pressure lowers. In that case you have to use a stall and lower pants completely before peeing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-why-do-you-pass-up-urinals-to-pee-in-the-toilet/742383.md?page=3)