# Toiltet seat down!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 30, 2007, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711 "2007-12-30T17:33:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/1 "2007-12-30T17:33:54Z")
Why do women think that toilet seat down should be the default position? Why can’t the user just be responsible for preparing the device properly before use? Would everybody be happy if we all agreed that toilet lid down should be the starting point? ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/2 "2007-12-30T17:35:41Z")
Toilet \*\*lid \*\* down \*should \* be the default. Why on earth does anyone need to look at an open toilet? And besides, nothing can fall into a toilet with the lid down. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/3 "2007-12-30T17:36:13Z")
That would be like dividing by zero. The universe would implode. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/4 "2007-12-30T17:44:01Z")
Oh, goody! Is it time for this one again? That means the shoes on or off inside the house thread should be coming up just around the bend - I LOVE that one! Ahem: 'Cause it just \*looks \*better that way. A toilet with the toilet seat up looks hard and scary and cold and industrial - it’s a gaping maw, ready to devour toothbrushes, hair ties, kittens and car keys. Yes, we should all be responsible for our own seating arrangements. But as any children’s potty training book or google image search will show you, the default position for toilets is seat down. \*Lid \*down is even better - it gets you bonus purrs from my kitties (who think the carpeted toilet lid cover is put into place to serve as a kitty bed), and provides additional gaping maw prevention, but I’m willing to compromise on that one, as it doesn’t look so wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/5 "2007-12-30T17:45:55Z")
I leave things as I find them… That way I can never be blamed for leaving it in the wrong state… because whoever was there before me did that crime. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/6 "2007-12-30T17:46:29Z")
Have you ever gone to the loo in the middle of the night, sans lights, and sat on the seatless bowl? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/7 "2007-12-30T17:48:24Z")
[QUOTE=sandra\_nz] Have you ever gone to the loo in the middle of the night, sans lights, and sat on the seatless bowl? [/QUOTE] No, but I’ve gone there drunk and _broke_ the seat in half. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/8 "2007-12-30T17:50:09Z")
[QUOTE=DianaG] Toilet \*\*lid \*\* down \*should \* be the default. Why on earth does anyone need to look at an open toilet? And besides, nothing can fall into a toilet with the lid down. [/QUOTE] Agree 100%. Especially if you have any cabinetry over the toilet like I do. Imagine reaching for, say, your contact lens case in the morning and… oh no… ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/9 "2007-12-30T17:53:52Z")
[QUOTE=sandra\_nz] Have you ever gone to the loo in the middle of the night, sans lights, and sat on the seatless bowl? [/QUOTE] That’s entirely your fault. Check before you use it. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/10 "2007-12-30T17:55:03Z")
[QUOTE=sandra\_nz] Have you ever gone to the loo in the middle of the night, sans lights, and sat on the seatless bowl? [/QUOTE] I think I might have used this argument the first time I posted to this topic, but it was quickly pointed out to me that my arms are not broken while I sleep, and I can reach out to feel if the seat is up or down just as well as my husband can feel if it’s up or down and adjust accordingly, and one really does ignore such things at her own risk. Dammit. I hate it when other people are right. ETA: Now I’d just be happy if lifting the seat actually meant that all the male urine in this house actually landed inside the toilet bowl. Since it doesn’t, I wonder why the seat raise thing is even needed - just sit your ass down and tuck the little feller in, boys! ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/11 "2007-12-30T18:12:27Z")
And don’t forget the over the top/under the roll toilet paper thread, **WhyNot** – that one should follow soon, too. 😃 Our default position is lid down, but that’s because of pets. The cat is definitely little enough to fall in, and at least one of the dogs thinks it’s a great drinking bowl. Yuck! So I’ve gotten into the habit of lid down, and I do that wherever I go; it’s hard for someone to complain about you leaving the lid down, whereas if you leave it up and they have pets, it might cause them problems. ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Pumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@Ms.Pumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Pumpkin)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/12 "2007-12-30T21:01:21Z")
“Default”, to me, ought to be lid and seat down, for the same reasons that “default” for drawers and cabinets is closed. It looks sloppy otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/13 "2007-12-30T21:19:49Z")
> [@](#): > > That means the shoes on or off inside the house thread should be coming up just around the bend - I LOVE that one! How to squeeze the toothpaste tube can’t be too far away. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/14 "2007-12-30T21:26:25Z")
[QUOTE=sandra\_nz] Have you ever gone to the loo in the middle of the night, sans lights, and sat on the seatless bowl? [/QUOTE] Nope. I generally turn the light on when I use the restroom, though. I don’t want to miss my mark when peeing, and pooping in the dark seems… weird? That being said, the lid should be down, so my dog doesn’t drink from the bowl. Especially when subscribing to, “If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down.” ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/15 "2007-12-30T21:54:04Z")
Lid down is the way to go. No fights, better hygiene, no lost hairbrushes. ---
**Author:** ![Satellite\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Satellite\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satellite_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/16 "2007-12-30T22:43:14Z")
I used the argument with Satellite^Gal that if I’m to put down the seat, she’s to put down the cover… (as in both of us put down the cover, that is…) Also, I’ve lived in a few places with cabinets over the toilet, so there’s of course the practical side. [QUOTE=WhyNot] just sit your ass down and tuck the little feller in, boys! [/QUOTE] I find I’m not able to evacuate fully in that position… kind of like a kink in a water hose… S^G ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/17 "2007-12-30T22:52:33Z")
[QUOTE=sandra\_nz] Have you ever gone to the loo in the middle of the night, sans lights, and sat on the seatless bowl? [/QUOTE] yeah I have, and it was my own damn fault ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/18 "2007-12-31T00:00:49Z")
[QUOTE=sandra\_nz] Have you ever gone to the loo in the middle of the night, sans lights, and sat on the seatless bowl? [/QUOTE] Yes - in order not to have to put on the light (and noisy extractor fan) or try to pee in the right direction in the dark. The rim isn’t that uncomfortable, nor am I in danger of falling in, but if either of these concerned me, I’m sure I could check for and lower the seat by feel. I like to think I would certainly do so rather than indulge in a gender-political rant about petty stuff. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/19 "2007-12-31T02:13:25Z")
I figure seat down is the better default configuration because women always need the seat down (for #1 or #2), and men need the seat down for #2. Therefore, 3 out of 4 possible uses for the toilet require the seat to be down. It’s just more efficient to leave it where it’s more often needed to be. ETA: I also adjust my expectations depending on who lives in the house. For example, if I’m visiting a male friend’s house and he has two male roommates, I’d assume that the seat is up and check first before I sit down. Also, once when I had a visitor at my apartment (I’m female and currently live alone), they left the seat up after they were done. I don’t go into the bathroom until the middle of the night, and as I don’t usually turn on the light because it wakes me up too much and I’m become used to seat being down, I almost had a fall-in-the-bowl moment. ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711/20 "2007-12-31T03:01:03Z")
This is the part where I wonder why home urinals haven’t made more inroads. They can’t be that hard to hook up to the in&out pipes already laid in for the toilet? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toiltet-seat-down/431711.md?page=2)