# Mortal sin: leaving the toilet seat up: why? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 25, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900 "2013-06-25T18:43:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/41 "2013-06-25T23:21:16Z")
In our house, we put the lid down before flushing. I really don’t have sympathy for the “women fall in the toilet” argument. You should notice the seat is up when you go to lift the lid (or at least check if the lid is closed and needs to be lifted). And if you expect to _always_ have the lid up and seat down, you’re just as lazy as your man. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@Tequila\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Party)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/42 "2013-06-26T02:46:09Z")
Jesus. I wasn’t trying to be scientifically literal. I meant that men need to sit down to take care of one set of issues and stand for another set. Since that means they DO need it _some_ of the time, and women need it ALL of the time, combined it still means that’s a greater amount of time than the smaller portion that men need it _some_ of the time. Clearer, my happy pedants? ---
**Author:** ![Zjestika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/8edcca/32.png) [@Zjestika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zjestika)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/43 "2013-06-26T03:14:44Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Well you should be darn glad he never replaces the toilet paper roll, since you know that males will _always_ hang it the wrong way. Funny, that’s what my lawyer said too. ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/44 "2013-06-26T03:52:54Z")
I’m really surprised by the amount of women that apparently regularly fall into toilets with the seat up. As a man I still need to sit down ~1/3 of the time, and I’ve never in my life fallen into a toilet, or even sat down when the seat was up. Do women close their eyes when they enter bathrooms? ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@Tequila\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Party)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/45 "2013-06-26T04:00:39Z")
The reason men probably don’t fall into toilets is because they are trained to check for the need to have them either up or down. Women, on the other have, never have any need to develop that trait until they share space with a male. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/46 "2013-06-26T04:54:17Z")
Down because: Urine mist + toothbrushes = bad. Small children + toilets = bad. Especially if you have those Toilet Duck gel things which are apparently very attractive - official word from Poison Control is that they won’t kill, just irritate gastro lining. Cats + toilets = bad. Things falling + toilets = bad. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/47 "2013-06-26T05:21:04Z")
1. If people want the seat down all the time, why not build the seat in? 2. People have no trouble sitting on the toilet bowl if they have to. It seems people can learn to lower themselves such that, seat or no seat, they won’t fall in. 3. If you flush with the lid down, do you open to check everything’s gone? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/48 "2013-06-26T08:30:29Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Not true. People generally don’t poop the as many times as they pee during the day. Men need the seat down 1 maybe 2 times a day (unless they have diarrhea) up a hell of a lot more than that. Not true. Men need the toilet seat down 100% of the time that they actually use the toilet, because they do their peeing in the sink, as a form of clandestine revenge on their spouses for whatever shit they’ve had to take during the day. Jeez, I thought this was a well known fact by now. (Then they put the seat up anyway and leave it like that, just out of spite.) ---
**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:** [June 26, 2013, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/49 "2013-06-26T09:53:51Z")
> [@Girl\_From\_Mars](#): > > Down because: > Urine mist + toothbrushes = bad. [Cecil has investigated](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1317/does-flushing-the-toilet-cause-dirty-water-to-be-spewed-around-the-bathroom) this scenario. TL;DR: You should really prefer to poop in the kitchen sink and brush your teeth in the toilet with toilet water. See Slug’s illustration for further clarification. ETA: P. S.: There are no girls on Mars. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/50 "2013-06-26T10:30:37Z")
I bought the self-lowering lids for all our toilets a few years ago, because I got tired of hearing about it. To me it’s just another data-point in the constant refrain: “We females can handle anything you men can!” (except changing the oil, replacing the filters, fixing the brakes, backing the RV, launching the boat, starting the weed-eater, fixing the deck, patching the roof, wiring the new hot-tub, fixing the stair railing, replacing the disposal, putting in a sink, filling the freezer with fresh game meat, re-hanging the broken garage door, replacing the opener, and of course… raising toilet lids) that I’ve been hearing my whole damned life. :rolleyes: The seat and lid (if tapped) will slowly lower themselves to the closed position. No more effort required to lower them. I really should put a clip of this on you-tube. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/51 "2013-06-26T10:47:16Z")
We’ve been together 13 years now, and we’ve always maintained that one of the factors in a harmonious household is separate bathrooms. That way you can do what the hell you like with the lid. Seriously, whenever we house-hunt we immediately discount any houses with a single bathroom, or ones that don’t have the potential to add one on. That’s what we did with the last place we bought; we removed some fitted wardrobes from the master bedroom and built a small shower room/WC in their place. Our estate agent reckons it added more value to the property than it cost us to build. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/52 "2013-06-26T14:23:56Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Then when you consider there are some people, of both genders, who stand up to wipe after a deuce, **which means they need to raise the seat lest the wad of soiled TP hit the seat on its way to the bowl** , you’ve probably got a near wash of people who end their toilet usage with the seat up as with the seat down. The fuck? 😕 > [@pullin](#): > > To me it’s just another data-point in the constant refrain: “We females can handle anything you men can!” (except changing the oil, replacing the filters, fixing the brakes, backing the RV, launching the boat, starting the weed-eater, fixing the deck, patching the roof, wiring the new hot-tub, fixing the stair railing, replacing the disposal, putting in a sink, filling the freezer with fresh game meat, re-hanging the broken garage door, replacing the opener, and of course… raising toilet lids) that I’ve been hearing my whole damned life. :rolleyes: :rolleyes::rolleyes: (And what a surprise, you’re one of those who refers to women as “females” but men as men.) ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/53 "2013-06-26T14:24:00Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > To me it’s just another data-point in the constant refrain: “We females can handle anything you men can!” (except changing the oil, replacing the filters, fixing the brakes, backing the RV, launching the boat, starting the weed-eater, fixing the deck, patching the roof, wiring the new hot-tub, fixing the stair railing, replacing the disposal, putting in a sink, filling the freezer with fresh game meat, re-hanging the broken garage door, replacing the opener, and of course… raising toilet lids) that I’ve been hearing my whole damned life. Should the offenderati come for you I will let them take you, but I will stand beside you in the fire. ETA: Ah, ninja’d already. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@Tequila\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Party)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/54 "2013-06-26T14:40:57Z")
Seriously, what the two previous posters said. WTF?? ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/55 "2013-06-26T15:18:51Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > I bought the self-lowering lids for all our toilets a few years ago, because I got tired of hearing about it. I slept in a hotel room in Amsterdam that had one of those a while ago. Really amazing technology. ---
**Author:** ![AnthonyElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/56 "2013-06-26T15:45:13Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > Yes. This. Exactly. > The worst that would happen to a guy if the seat is left down is he has to aim for a smaller hole. Boo effin’ hoo. If you fall in you get a cold wet dunking and bruises and a wrenched back. > > Plus the underside of the seat and the edge of the bowl are unattractive. Be a grown up and be considerate. As a man, I’m willing to take those risks. The seat stays up. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/57 "2013-06-26T16:14:55Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > I really don’t have sympathy for the “women fall in the toilet” argument. Same here. My semi-sarcastic answer is always “So wait, you don’t even look at the toilet before you sit down? Eeeeeuuuwwww!” ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/58 "2013-06-26T16:24:25Z")
> [@ombre12](#): > > The one problem with both parts being down is in the middle of the night when a guy is in a hurry, doesn’t take time to turn the light on, (like the ladies are unable to do or so it seems)’ knows where the hole in the toilet is supposed to be and just lets it go. It takes a few seconds to realize that IT is bouncing off the top of the toilet seat and going absolutely everywhere except into the toilet. > > Gawd what a mess to clean up in the middle of the night. Personally, when I have to take a piss in the middle of the night, I don’t want to have to worry about aiming. Concentrating sufficiently to make sure that my stream is all going into the bowl in a dark bathroom involves too much mental activity, and wakes me up. Turning on a light so I can see what I’m aiming at wakes me up even more. It’s much easier to sit on the toilet, push my penis down between my legs, and be 100% sure that it’s all going into the bowl. I can do that without getting any more conscious than I had to be to get to the bathroom in the first place, which makes it a lot easier to get back to sleep afterwards. And what’s this bit about being a guy in a hurry in the middle of the night? I’ve never been in such a hurry that I couldn’t hold it for another minute or two if I had to. I don’t get it. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/59 "2013-06-26T17:10:55Z")
My wife is a lovely, hard working person who does a lot for me; if putting the seat down makes her life a little easier, I’d be a douche not to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Essured](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Essured](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Essured)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900/60 "2013-06-26T22:04:38Z")
Don’t care about seat up or seat down at all and never did. Until I read Cecil’s article. I still don’t care about the seat position, but now both of us agree the lid should always be down! I can’t believe the seat up vs seat down argument is still going on, in a world where that article exists! And if the lids always down, it’s an easy habit to lift it up and pee while bleary-eyed and half asleep, as much as it is for him to lift lid + seat in one motion, and then pee while half asleep. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mortal-sin-leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-why/661900.md?page=4)