While I can’t comment about ALL men, there are quite a few men who are piggish when it comes to both public and private (in-home) toilet seats.
To my recollection, U-Shaped toilet seats were given a quick boot in the seat of the pants during the early 1970s as a result of OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) mandating that businesses MUST have split seat toilets. <deep sigh>
Our government spending our money creating really interesting requirements for businesses.
I also seem to recall that in time, OSHA backed off about the women’s seats and allowed the more-traditional whole ring.
Ah, the useless things that clutter one’s memories.
I used to work as a cashier in a bookstore when I was in college, and I had the responsibility of cleaning up the store’s public restrooms every night after closing. My experience was that vast numbers of people of both genders have disgusting bathroom habits, but that women actually have worse aim than men, which I always thought was strange given that they are operating at point-blank range so to speak.
You have confirmed what many in a position to know have posted before. The consensus is women are messier because they “hover-pee” by standing over the seat, to avoid toilet seat germs. Lacking the necessary equipment to aim with, they have worse aim than men.
I’d always thought of a more logical explanation – if I guy is standing and just going “Number 1”, can always lift the seat mid-stream, so to speak, if you realize it’s down.
A lot of women don’t even sit down on the seat. And believe me, they spray!
Also, what good does it do to put the slot? The rim then gets the dribble. Big gain, huh?
It really surprised me the first time I heard of this phenomenon. “Why not just sit down?” I think. “It’s much more difficult to make a mess that way!” But it seems that people get squicked out merely by the thought of sitting where other people’s bottoms have potentially sat… Or other reasons. I wouldn’t know.
In an early episode of The Sopranos, Jennifer Melfi could be observed visiting the toilet following dinner at a friend’s house. I noted her lavatorial modus operandi, namely to cover the seat with tissue before commencing proceedings, and immediately came up with an alternative solution, as follows:
All citizens should be issued with inflatable rubber rings, individually stamped with the user’s name to enable identification in case of loss or theft. People who wish to use toilet facilities outside their homes can then inflate the rubber ring and place it on the seat. After use, both sides of the ring must, by law, be sprayed with an aerosol containing a proprietory disinfectant. The ring may be carried around in a handbag or, where this is not possible, around one’s neck until it is needed again.
A while back I washing my hands after doing my business when a co-worker came in and headed for the coveted (handicapped) stall. I said “enjoy, I warmed it up for you”. He stopped, called me a bad name, and left.
Now I feel kinda guilty. Kinda. He’s still pissed. Uh, annoyed.
