# Peeing in a swimming pool **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 12, 2001, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195 "2001-05-12T09:07:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pessor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pessor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pessor)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/1 "2001-05-12T09:07:25Z")
Growing up, there was a neighborhood family that had a swimming pool, the only swimming pool on the street. The kid from that family was always cordial enough to invite the entire neighborhood to swim in their pool, however, he always spoke of a chemical that was in the water that would detect urine. The general threat implied that if you urinated in the pool, there would be a ring of “red” around you, singling you out not only as the biggest loser on the block, but also the guy who put the “p” in “pool”. Is there such a chemical… Or was little Donnie Wright a marketing genius with no product to sell? Curious, Gotta Go ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/2 "2001-05-12T09:32:41Z")
[http://www.snopes2.com/spoons/fracture/poolpiss.htm](http://www.snopes2.com/spoons/fracture/poolpiss.htm) The answer is “no”. ---
**Author:** ![Freedom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Freedom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freedom)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/3 "2001-05-12T12:42:09Z")
Damn I love this site. I can’t believe I fell for that one. ---
**Author:** ![Azazel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Azazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azazel)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/4 "2001-05-12T13:01:00Z")
The truth is, if you pee in a public swimming pool, no one will be able to tell -unless you’re peeing from the diving board.😛 ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/5 "2001-05-12T14:19:49Z")
ah, sort of not so Azazel. There is a test. Organic stuff in the water effects your eyes. When you’ve been in a public swimming pool & look at a light & see a purple ring around it, that is because the organics in the water (pee, etc) are effecting your eyes. We had a pool for years & never got that effect. But have seen it happen with public pools. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/6 "2001-05-12T15:06:08Z")
I never came across such a chemical in the 70s when I worked at the head office of Canada’s largest pool store. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/7 "2001-05-12T15:37:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\* > ah, sort of not so Azazel. There is a test. > > Organic stuff in the water effects your eyes. When you’ve been in a public swimming pool & look at a light & see a purple ring around it, that is because the organics in the water (pee, etc) are effecting your eyes. > > We had a pool for years & never got that effect. But have seen it happen with public pools. \*\* Got a cite for that, **handy**? I tend to disbelieve it, as I learned in ophthalmology that it’s the chlorine and other ions that cause the conjunctivitis that causes redness, and a slight corneal aberration as a result of the inflammation, and visual changes. Anything that can cause conjunctival inflammation will have this effect, including viruses, allergies, and a wide range of chemical irritants. Qadgop, MD ---
**Author:** ![Redboss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8baadc/32.png) [@Redboss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redboss)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/8 "2001-05-12T16:35:44Z")
You’re asking him for a cite? [insert boggle-eyed smilie here] Meanboss ---
**Author:** ![mongrel\_8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@mongrel\_8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mongrel_8)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/9 "2001-05-12T17:36:55Z")
I worked as a liefguard last year for our city pool. The manager said she was looking at buying some stuff that you added to the water so that whenver someone peed the water turned purple around them and then it followed them where they went. ---
**Author:** ![Freedom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Freedom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freedom)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/10 "2001-05-12T18:12:07Z")
> [@](#): > > and then it followed them where they went. Smart pee?🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skelji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Skelji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skelji)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/11 "2001-05-12T18:37:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Redboss \* > **You’re asking him for a cite?** Insert the “laughing my ass off” smiley here 😃 I guess if a cite gets posted, then _urine_ luck. [sub]groan[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/12 "2001-05-12T18:45:29Z")
I recall from many years ago coming across warm spots in the pool at the Naval Base. Are these “pee spots?” ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/13 "2001-05-12T18:48:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Redboss \* > \*\*You’re asking him for a cite? > > [insert boggle-eyed smilie here] > Meanboss > > \*\* Hey, it’s the old “act as if” principle. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/14 "2001-05-12T23:40:21Z")
Yeah, right, I can see it, going back in time to circa 1977 & pulling the quote so I can post a quote link for QM. Sorry, dude, ain’t gonna happen 🙂 But if you use search engines you can find a lot of info on organics & the effect on your eyes (the so called red eye effect) in pools. ‘Pee’ isn’t the word to look for ‘organics’ is. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/15 "2001-05-12T23:46:18Z")
So why don’t **you** back up your claims instead of us, **handy**? It’s the polite thing to do. Besides, it might convince people to take you seriously, for a change. ---
**Author:** ![bare](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bare/32/471_2.png) [@bare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bare)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2001, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/16 "2001-05-13T10:07:54Z")
Yer all missing the point, I’ll bet there was less pee in that kids pool than any other pool in the neighborhood. I know if someone told me I’d have a bright red ring around me, there would be less temptation to pee. Sounds like a pretty smart kid that likes to swim pee free. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2001, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/17 "2001-05-13T13:07:32Z")
> [@](#): > > . I know if someone told me I’d have a bright red ring around me, there would be less temptation to pee or more, maybe just a little pee, just to see if it is true. ---
**Author:** ![Doubleclick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Doubleclick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doubleclick)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2001, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/18 "2001-05-13T15:14:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by k2dave \* > \*\*or more, maybe just a little pee, just to see if it is true. \*\* Bingo! Being brought up by my father who is a Chemical Engineer and listening to him explain what he was doing at work in great detail, I naturally gained an intrest in chemical reactions of multiple substances. (Don’t tell me you never sat in the bathrrom mixing stuff together just to see what would happen. 😃 ) So, a buddy of mine just got a new pool and gave us the “Red Ring” warning. Being as skeptical as I was, I had to test his ‘theory’. So I jumping in the pool and …ahhhh… Turned out his theory was full of holes and not Red Rings. =) ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2001, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/19 "2001-05-13T15:23:42Z")
"So why don’t you back up your claims instead of us, handy?’ If you read what I said, I said the information was given to me in the 70’s when we had a swimming pool. I never got those eye rings from our pool, just public pools where tons of people & kids pee…There was no P in our OOL. ---
**Author:** ![nikjohns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/53a042/32.png) [@nikjohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikjohns)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2001, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195/20 "2001-05-13T20:14:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\*There was no P in our OOL. \*\* There was an F though… ## D+R :D## [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peeing-in-a-swimming-pool/65195.md?page=2)