# The shower is not a toy (except when it is). **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 11, 2010, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023 "2010-05-11T07:44:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023/21 "2010-05-11T17:14:55Z")
[Posted a poll](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=562796) on shower-sitting. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023/22 "2010-05-11T17:16:14Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. Sensory Deprivation Chamber: Only works if you have a bathroom without a window. Simply take a (long) shower with the lights out. Make sure that the lights are out in the room(s) adjacent to the shower, as well, since after 10 or so minutes your eyes will adjust and the light seeping in through the bottom of the door will ruin the effect. YMMV, but I find this to be extremely relaxing. Hopefully the person or persons you live with are the non-judgmental type; in college, my suite-mates thought I was weird as hell for doing this. I refer to this as The Womb Simulator. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023/23 "2010-05-11T17:24:34Z")
I, for one, don’t understand how you wipe standing up. Not only is your ass closed, your pants will fall down. ---
**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:** [May 11, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023/24 "2010-05-11T17:27:03Z")
I was at a hotel once that had a hot tub and a pool. The pool was unheated, and it was early spring. I repeatedly stayed in the very hot hot tub until I just couldn’t take it anymore, then I would get out and dive into the pool. Rinse and repeat. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023/25 "2010-05-11T17:42:19Z")
I like to sit in the bathtub, with the lights off and the shower curtain tucked into the tub… and run the shower, instead of the tap. It’s very relaxing, feeling the water rain down over you and slowly fill up the tub. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023/26 "2010-05-11T18:08:37Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > I, for one, don’t understand how you wipe standing up. Not only is your ass closed, your pants will fall down. Me either. And didn’t your Momma teach you to wipe sitting down ? Re: showering with lights off - I am extremely nearsighted and do a lot of things by feel if I’m not wearing lenses. I might as well take a shower in the dark because I can’t see what I’m doing anyway. So often I do. I can even shave my legs in the dark. Hubby thinks I’m weird. ---
**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:** [May 11, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023/27 "2010-05-11T18:12:44Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > I, for one, don’t understand how you wipe standing up. Not only is your ass closed, your pants will fall down. However, should _The Star Spangled Banner_ begin playing, well. . . ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023/28 "2010-05-11T18:19:30Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > Re: showering with lights off - I am extremely nearsighted and do a lot of things by feel if I’m not wearing lenses. I might as well take a shower in the dark because I can’t see what I’m doing anyway. So often I do. I can even shave my legs in the dark. I do that too. I get up pretty early, before my husband wakes up, and take my shower right away. I figured at one point, why shock my eyes with bright light when it doesn’t help all that much to have the lights on for the shower? I do get some light in through the little window so it’s not total blackness or anything. (I stopped brushing my teeth when half-asleep or not wearing my glasses when I mixed up the orange-colored toothpaste we had at the time - it was on sale - with my [Burt’s Bees Orange Essence Facial Cleanser](http://www.burtsbees.com/natural-products/face-cleansers/orange-essence-facial-cleanser.html). At the time it had a toothpaste-style cap. Fortunately for me, orange oil and glycerine doesn’t taste all that awful. I stopped using that facial cleanser out of what probably wasn’t an excessive amount of caution.) ---
**Author:** ![may\_be\_ignorant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@may\_be\_ignorant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/may_be_ignorant)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023/29 "2010-05-11T21:23:22Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > I, for one, don’t understand how you wipe standing up. Not only is your ass closed, your pants will fall down. You dont take your pants to your ankles when u shit? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023/30 "2010-05-11T22:10:05Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > \*\*1) Sensory Deprivation Chamber: \*\*Only works if you have a bathroom without a window. Simply take a (long) shower with the lights out. Make sure that the lights are out in the room(s) adjacent to the shower, as well, since after 10 or so minutes your eyes will adjust and the light seeping in through the bottom of the door will ruin the effect. YMMV, but I find this to be extremely relaxing. Hopefully the person or persons you live with are the non-judgmental type; in college, my suite-mates thought I was weird as hell for doing this. Usually, I’m still half-asleep when I start my shower, so the shock from the light is hard to take. Ideally, I’d like to get a combination light dimmer/timer, so that the lights go gradually from off to full brightness over five minutes or so. And as for playing around in the shower, the one game I did as a kid was to cover my ears, so that the shower water on my head sounds like rain on the roof. ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023/31 "2010-05-12T01:53:03Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > And as for playing around in the shower, the one game I did as a kid was to cover my ears, so that the shower water on my head sounds like rain on the roof. Oh, I do this too, and did this when I was kid. Always takes me right back to when I’d hide under the wicker couch when my mother was using the vac, cup my ears, and move them away and back quickly to make a sort of ‘quiver’ sound. I always imagined something terrible happening outside (like a hurricane), but was safe and sound in my own little cocoon. In fact, I have a strange (?) affinity to anything that makes a constant loud droning sound. So that’s lawnmowers, showers, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, drills. Anything along those lines. 😛 Sorry for going slightly off topic there. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023/32 "2010-05-12T02:33:29Z")
> [@may\_be\_ignorant](#): > > You dont take your pants to your ankles when u shit? If someone posts a poll about this, one of the choices has to be “I shit in my pants and then change them afterward.” ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023/33 "2010-05-12T03:28:25Z")
The only thing that would be better than the sensory-deprivation shower would require that I be rich: If I could possibly afford it, I’d build a room-sized shower stall with a bed mounted on a pedestal off the floor, with a waterproof tarp over the bed. Get in bed, turn on the shower by remote control and sleep with just the tarp and a sheet between me and the falling water. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023/34 "2010-05-12T08:09:06Z")
I always associated “sitting in the shower = emotional trauma” only if the person was clothed. Otherwise, it’s just your normal brand of weirdness. > [@VarlosZ](#): > > \*\*3) Lightsaber: \*\*Turn the shower on to its hottest possible setting. Exit the bathroom and close the door. Retrieve your laser pointer. Wait two minutes. Return to the bathroom, close the door behind you, and turn off the lights. Turn on your laser pointer. Hold it with two hands, wave the beam around, and make lightsaber noises as desired. Fun! 3a) after the bathroom is fogged up, use one of [these](http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/collectibles/b72c/) turn it on and wave it around. It glows like you wouldn’t believe! Yes I have one, and yes I did it it was awesome! ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023/35 "2010-05-12T11:06:37Z")
Well, hell. For the first time since we bought our house in 08, I bummed that my bathroom has a skylight… ---
**Author:** ![Salem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Salem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salem)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023/36 "2010-05-12T11:54:23Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > However, should _The Star Spangled Banner_ begin playing, well. . . This cracked me up. Great visual… ---
**Author:** ![HardlySanguine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HardlySanguine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HardlySanguine)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023/37 "2010-05-15T03:04:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*2) Whiplash: \*\*For those who are in the mood for “refreshed and invigorated” instead of “relaxed.” Do everything you need to do in the shower (soap, shampoo & conditioner, possibly masturbation, etc.). Then, instead of getting right out, plant yourself under the stream to the fullest extent possible and slowly increase the temperature until it’s about as hot as you can stand it. Give yourself 30 seconds to get acclimated … then slam the temperature gauge to maximum cold. Don’t shy away from contact with the stream. Get out just before you get totally acclimated to the cold water. Good. Morning. Did this. Hate you. And my fist is bruised from hitting the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023/38 "2010-05-15T03:11:10Z")
When I was little and still took baths, but was curious about showers, I used to love floating in the tub water, with the shower on. Damn, gonna have to try the tub-sitting tonight. And when I win the lottery, I am going to have a bathroom that Caligula would envy. 360 degree shower, sauna, hot and cool tubs…bliss. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023/39 "2010-05-15T03:12:52Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > The only thing that would be better than the sensory-deprivation shower would require that I be rich: If I could possibly afford it, I’d build a room-sized shower stall with a bed mounted on a pedestal off the floor, with a waterproof tarp over the bed. Get in bed, turn on the shower by remote control and sleep with just the tarp and a sheet between me and the falling water. Ok, that is also going into my dream bath-house. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shower-is-not-a-toy-except-when-it-is/539023.md?page=1)