# Odd Public Restroom Habits You've Observed **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 15, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033 "2013-03-15T19:33:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/61 "2013-03-19T05:06:39Z")
As far as the getting some toilet paper before whizzing, I know that my grandsons have been trained by their mom to dab the end of the penis to get rid of the last bit of urine after voiding their bladders. I raised my son to do the “shake three times”, and I find the paper usage very odd. So maybe there are guys out there who are using that bit of tissue to dry off those last traces of urine. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/62 "2013-03-19T09:01:30Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > 1. Grabbing a small piece of paper towel before using the urinal. This is not very common, but I have observed it a few times. While I don’t look, it does seem that man holds his penis with the paper towel. Does he think his hand is dirty (to keep his penis clean), his penis is dirty (to keep his hand clean), or something else? This is often a fundamentalist religion thing – not touching their own penis. Ultra-Orthodox Jews are also taught this – they will stand at the urinal leaning forward, but with both hands at their side. Apparently, the ‘logic’ is that if they get in the habit of touching their penis at a urinal, it might lead to _masturbation!_ ---
**Author:** ![Donna\_Lange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Donna\_Lange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donna_Lange)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/63 "2013-03-19T12:17:08Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > Much moreso if you are a male… Maybe some guys have a tampon fetish? ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/64 "2013-03-19T15:36:45Z")
I have a nice little collection that I’ve kept from past girlfriends. Besides being a bit smelly they’re a nice souvenir. ---
**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:** [March 19, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/65 "2013-03-19T17:25:08Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Sorta related-but why do people destroy restroom stalls? Every one I’ve been in in a local library looks like its been hit by a Mack truck-broken door locks, bent brackets-its like there is a concerted effort to destroy them. One bathroom even had the hot air hand dryer wrenched off the wall. And papers on the floor-how hard is it to pick up a paper towel? Would it kill you to pick up something you dropped and place it in the trash bin? People always amaze me. I’ve seen this, too. Especially in schools – in my highschool they demolished the dividers. Even in public restrooms I frequently see reomoved coathooks. Only the screw holes remain to show that they once were there. Why? Why take such a pointless souvenir? Is there a vast aftermarket for recovered restroom coathooks? ---
**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:** [March 19, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/66 "2013-03-19T17:40:26Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’ve seen this, too. Especially in schools – in my highschool they demolished the dividers. > Even in public restrooms I frequently see reomoved coathooks. Only the screw holes remain to show that they once were there. Why? Why take such a pointless souvenir? Is there a vast aftermarket for recovered restroom coathooks? Sometimes it’s the management that takes the hooks out to discourage purse thieves. Women often hang their purses on the hooks and while they sit bottomless, someone can reach over the door, grab the purse, and run. I’ve heard of one state that took the hooks out of the stall doors at rest stops for that reason, only to have the hooks replaced by purse theives. I will flush the urinal before use if I think I might splash someone else’s pee on me. I sometimes steady myself with my free hand. Better that than fall. What I hate are the guys that purposely take a urinal next to you when there is a vacant one with more space around it. We had a guy in the office that did that, and often tried to catch a peek. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/67 "2013-03-19T17:45:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Sometimes it’s the management that takes the hooks out to discourage purse thieves. Women often hang their purses on the hooks and while they sit bottomless, someone can reach over the door, grab the purse, and run. I’ve heard of one state that took the hooks out of the stall doors at rest stops for that reason, only to have the hooks replaced by purse theives. Whereas if the hooks were a foot or two lower, they would be more usable to the person who is using the stall, but less usable by thieves. What ARE we supposed to do with our purses and packages without hooks? For that matter, what are men supposed to do with their coats or jackets when they use a stall? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/68 "2013-03-19T17:47:13Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I will flush the urinal before use if I think I might splash someone else’s pee on me.. Again, I tested this. I took a dis-used urinal, filled the bowl with colored water, put paper towel s from my groin to me knees, and used a squirt gun. None of the bowl material splashed on me. This is not anything to worry about, you’re just wasting water. And in some bathrooms, the hooks are brass, which has value, so they steal them. ---
**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:** [March 19, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/69 "2013-03-19T17:51:52Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Sometimes it’s the management that takes the hooks out to discourage purse thieves. Women often hang their purses on the hooks and while they sit bottomless, someone can reach over the door, grab the purse, and run. I’ve heard of one state that took the hooks out of the stall doors at rest stops for that reason, only to have the hooks replaced by purse theives. > > I will flush the urinal before use if I think I might splash someone else’s pee on me. > > I sometimes steady myself with my free hand. Better that than fall. > > What I hate are the guys that purposely take a urinal next to you when there is a vacant one with more space around it. We had a guy in the office that did that, and often tried to catch a peek. Have you anything to back up that management is doing this? I often see only _some_ hooks missing. And if manaement is respnsible – why? They’re the ones who put the hooks in in the first place. If they wanted to discourage purse thieves, why not put the hooks lower (as has been suggested), or on the dividing wall? And why would that explain the hooks missing from _MEN’S_ stall doors? ---
**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:** [March 19, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/70 "2013-03-19T18:03:11Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Whereas if the hooks were a foot or two lower, they would be more usable to the person who is using the stall, but less usable by thieves. > > What ARE we supposed to do with our purses and packages without hooks? For that matter, what are men supposed to do with their coats or jackets when they use a stall? That would be a better solution, for sure. Or have a hook that you have to work with two hands to remove something, sort of like a dog leash hook. Nobody wants to set anything on the gross floor, maybe the alternative is to keep the purse over your shoulder? Son of a gun! [Snopes says its true!](http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/handbag.asp) ---
**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:** [March 19, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/71 "2013-03-19T18:35:11Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > That would be a better solution, for sure. Or have a hook that you have to work with two hands to remove something, sort of like a dog leash hook. Nobody wants to set anything on the gross floor, maybe the alternative is to keep the purse over your shoulder? > > Son of a gun! [Snopes says its true!](http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/handbag.asp) To be precise, Snopes saysit’s true that thieves steal purses from the hooks on restroom doors (and then go on to rob their houses – something I’d never heard). They don’t say anything about management removing hooks to prevent this. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/72 "2013-03-22T08:12:35Z")
I don’t think this one has been mentioned yet: office men’s restroom in a large-ish office with 3 urinals and 4 stalls, and there’s one guy in the office who goes #1 at the urinal but pulls his pants down to mid-thigh. Come on, N. L. (his initials), if you’re going to lower your pants then please use a stall! ---
**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:** [March 22, 2013, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/73 "2013-03-22T10:35:16Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > To be precise, Snopes saysit’s true that thieves steal purses from the hooks on restroom doors (and then go on to rob their houses – something I’d never heard). > > They don’t say anything about management removing hooks to prevent this. From the Snopes article: > [@](#): > > This form of thievery is so commonplace that come airports have taken the precaution of removing the hooks from stall doors as, for example, the San Francisco International Airport did in 1994 in response to fourteen such thefts. (The thieves countered by replacing them with self-sticking plastic hooks.) ---
**Author:** ![AirFarce1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airfarce1/32/298_2.png) [@AirFarce1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AirFarce1)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/74 "2013-03-22T12:36:51Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I haven;'t directly observed this, but I’ve seen the result often enough. > a lot of guys apparently pick their noses while at the urinal, then feel compelled to wipe the picking off onto the wal in front of them. I’ve seen this a _lot_, and i’ve always found it weird. This. WTF? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/75 "2013-03-22T16:04:13Z")
> [@echo7tango](#): > > I don’t think this one has been mentioned yet: office men’s restroom in a large-ish office with 3 urinals and 4 stalls, and there’s one guy in the office who goes #1 at the urinal but pulls his pants down to mid-thigh. > > Come on, N. L. (his initials), if you’re going to lower your pants then please use a stall! Dude, it’s the _bathroom_. Who gives a rats ass? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/76 "2013-03-23T07:28:29Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Dude, it’s the _bathroom_. Who gives a rats ass? Most people. Hence why it’s in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/77 "2013-03-23T09:40:05Z")
> [@Donna\_Lange](#): > > Maybe some guys have a tampon fetish? As you love your sanity, do not Google for this. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/78 "2013-03-23T13:50:10Z")
Probably already mentioned before, but lots of women in the bathrooms at work flush each time a poop splashes into the toilet or each time they fart. I guess they’re embarrassed that they’re pooping or making noise in the first place (?), but jeez - you’re in the bathroom. If you can’t let it all rip there, where can you? I’d rather someone just let out crazy loud farts or splashes neatly than hover over the toilet in a misguided attempt to be clean only to urinate all over the seat. ---
**Author:** ![listedmia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@listedmia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/listedmia)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/79 "2013-03-23T13:53:55Z")
At my job, we have a single occupancy women’s room and a single occupancy men’s room (we are a bar.) Some people will really not take a locked door for an answer, like the dude who did not knock and SHOVED the door hard enough to break the lock off whilst someone else was in there. Or, the day I nicked my finger and went to wash it off, while holding the door shut with my foot so as to not get blood all over the handle. Some lady just kept pushing on the door, ignoring my “Occupied!” and “Just a minute”'s. Of course, there have also been two seperate occasions where the ladies room sink fell off the wall, apparently because people were doin’ it in there. We are a classy establishment, I swear. ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033/80 "2013-03-24T22:50:33Z")
My rule of thumb is…Don’t touch anything with anything that will be touching something that will be touching my mouth anytime soon without glorious amounts of soap and water. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-public-restroom-habits-youve-observed/653033.md?page=5)