# Sochi Bathroom Sign **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 6, 2014, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665 "2014-02-06T15:50:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dauerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@dauerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/1 "2014-02-06T15:50:27Z")
This sign: [Sochi Winter Olympics snowboarder reveals 'bathroom rules' - with athletes banned from fishing in toilets | The Independent | The Independent](http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/sochi-winter-olympics-snowboarder-reveals-bathroom-rules--with-athletes-banned-from-fishing-in-toilets-9104834.html) It seems to me to be a parody. Does anyone know if it is real? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/2 "2014-02-06T16:00:04Z")
There are also signs instructing people to not flush used toilet paper . . . with a receptacle to dispose of it. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/3 "2014-02-06T16:37:24Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > There are also signs instructing people to not flush used toilet paper . . . with a receptacle to dispose of it. That’s not very unusual in countries where the sewage systems aren’t that great. It’s standard practice everywhere I’ve been in Greece. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/4 "2014-02-06T16:46:54Z")
The article you linked to includes what appears to be an actual photo of the sign Tweeted by an athlete, so it does appear real. Bizarre. The twin toilet thing (linked in the article) is also amusing. Maybe they think the partner sport participants do _everything_ together. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/5 "2014-02-06T16:55:52Z")
What the heck is the person in the bottom right corner doing? ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/6 "2014-02-06T16:58:25Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > What the heck is the person in the bottom right corner doing? Took me a while to figure that one out. I think he’s using a hypodermic needle in his arm. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/7 "2014-02-06T17:05:49Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > What the heck is the person in the bottom right corner doing? Taking drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/8 "2014-02-06T17:05:50Z")
Seems like a hoax to me. I don’t think that there is a significant number of individuals in Russia who would consider going fishing in a toilet in the first place. And why would anybody forbid vomiting in a toilet? That’s certainly not the main purpose, but it occurs frequently and it should be considered a legitimate use of the toilet by any standard. ---
**Author:** ![dauerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@dauerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/9 "2014-02-06T17:06:34Z")
I thought the toilet paper sign was real. It had the proper can to dispose of it, and evidently it is common in most of the world. OTOH, the pictogram sign seems fakey. Fishing and vomiting? Where else would you vomit? And what is the very last guy doing. Hanging wallpaper? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/10 "2014-02-06T17:13:12Z")
You know, it could be a real but lighthearted sign. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/11 "2014-02-06T17:15:37Z")
They all look like official Olympic Winter Toilet Games to me. I agree the bottom right corner is shooting heroin. The gold goes to the US! ---
**Author:** ![dauerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@dauerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/12 "2014-02-06T17:15:51Z")
Should have googled more before asking. First, it was tweeted by a skateboarder, which dramatically reduces the chance it is real, and this [http://maxpwnage.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/sign5.jpg?w=450&h=337](http://maxpwnage.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/sign5.jpg?w=450&h=337) is from 2008 and is almost identical. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/13 "2014-02-06T17:18:55Z")
> [@dauerbach](#): > > Should have googled more before asking. First, it was tweeted by a skateboarder, which dramatically reduces the chance it is real, and this [Max Pwnage: Image](http://maxpwnage.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/sign5.jpg?w=450&h=337) is from 2008 and is almost identical. Wait… you mean I’ve been peeing in the urinal wrong this whole time?! ---
**Author:** ![dauerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@dauerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/14 "2014-02-06T17:19:33Z")
Also, clearly you are allowed to pee while standing, just not on the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/15 "2014-02-06T17:20:50Z")
NSFW: [https://www.google.com/search?site=&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=682&q=funny+toilet+signs&oq=funny+toilet+signs&gs\_l=img.3..0l8j0i5j0i24.1866.5394.0.6008.18.14.0.4.4.1.286.1600.9j1j4.14.0....0...1ac.1.34.img..3.15.937.6prk0PrGDM8](https://www.google.com/search?site=&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=682&q=funny+toilet+signs&oq=funny+toilet+signs&gs_l=img.3..0l8j0i5j0i24.1866.5394.0.6008.18.14.0.4.4.1.286.1600.9j1j4.14.0....0...1ac.1.34.img..3.15.937.6prk0PrGDM8) ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/16 "2014-02-06T17:31:39Z")
There is at least one sign that has a good reason to exist, the one prohibiting squatting above the toilet seat. In some parts of the world, squatting above a hole, even a porcelain hole with metal foot pads and a flush mechanism, is the standard bathroom appliance. I can see the need for this instruction in an Olympic village. ---
**Author:** ![dauerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@dauerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/17 "2014-02-06T18:03:31Z")
Hmmm, I have heard many women claim that is strange restrooms they pee while squatting. I had always assumed that they meant on the seat just like that picture. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/18 "2014-02-06T19:43:34Z")
In one village in Mali, we were taken to the second floor of a building to pee. The toilet was just a groove cut into the floor, and the urine was directed into a scupper than then emptied into the dirt street below. I had wondered why everybody walked in the middle of the street there. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/19 "2014-02-06T19:52:30Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > That’s not very unusual in countries where the sewage systems aren’t that great. It’s standard practice everywhere I’ve been in Greece. Yeah, I was wondering how people traveling there especially journalists could find this to be a strange request. ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665/20 "2014-02-06T20:29:40Z")
It’s a real sign, but an old joke. I most recently saw it in the restroom at Antica Trattoria “da Tito” in Florence, Italy, this past summer. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-bathroom-sign/680665.md?page=2)