# Urinal bees? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 29, 2008, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903 "2008-11-29T07:32:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/1 "2008-11-29T07:32:32Z")
On a visit to a SoCal movie theater recently, I was reminded of something that has bugged (no pun intended) my curiosity for a very long time: the urinals had little bee stickers right above the drain. Is this some sort of social experiment? Who puts them there? Why? Are they limited to specific regions? Here are some bad cameraphone pics: [Urinal bee!](http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=xp58p4&s=4) [Closeup](http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=rm62o2&s=4) ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/2 "2008-11-29T07:38:38Z")
It’s a semi-clever trick to get guys to aim for the drain. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/3 "2008-11-29T07:39:19Z")
Sometimes they also have the well known Latin motto _ **Iam apis potanda fineo ne** _ apis is Latin for bee full translation I am a piss pot and a fine one ---
**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:** [November 29, 2008, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/4 "2008-11-29T07:50:13Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > It’s a semi-clever trick to get guys to aim for the drain. This. There’s been a lot of research and discussion of inducing and maintaining laminar flow to reduce splashing. Give us something to focus on, and we’ll piss all over it. I’ve seen poly stickers you can buy online of Bin Laden and GWBs’ faces. ETA: There was talk of urinal cakes which talk to people who use the urinals in bars around New Mexico. They cost $21 each, and the state bought 500 of them. They were supposed to send some to Santa Fe. I never saw any. [http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/148077/peesa\_latest\_drunk\_driving\_defense.html?cat=7](http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/148077/peesa_latest_drunk_driving_defense.html?cat=7) There was a thread about it on here, but I can’t find it. ---
**Author:** ![Skylark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Skylark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skylark)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/5 "2008-11-29T07:52:48Z")
I think they might not be widespread but they are nationwide. I know a gym in Virginia Beach, VA that has them on their urinals. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/6 "2008-11-29T08:02:27Z")
Fascinating! Who makes 'em? Who buys 'em and sticks 'em on? How did the idea get started? ---
**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:** [November 29, 2008, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/7 "2008-11-29T08:16:02Z")
A quick google search gave [this](http://inventorspot.com/articles/would_you_like_to_piss_on_george_bush_this_just_in_19093), but that’s not exactly what we’re looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/8 "2008-11-29T08:22:42Z")
> [@Santo\_Rugger](#): > > A quick google search gave [this](http://inventorspot.com/articles/would_you_like_to_piss_on_george_bush_this_just_in_19093), but that’s not exactly what we’re looking for. Ugh. That’s an insult to urinals everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/9 "2008-11-29T10:09:34Z")
> [@Santo\_Rugger](#): > > A quick google search gave [this](http://inventorspot.com/articles/would_you_like_to_piss_on_george_bush_this_just_in_19093), but that’s not exactly what we’re looking for. Hah! I wonder about the wisdom of the flower ones: > **[10 Fun Ways To Pee On A Flower - InventorSpot](https://inventorspot.com/articles/nature_calls_16073/)** > > Gentlemen and others of the male persuasion… Aren't you tired of peeing in the institutional vessel — the monotonous urinal? Urinal-makers sure don't want you to enjoy your experience, do they? Clark Sorensen wants you to enjoy your pee! Sorensen is... That’s like NASCAR themed tampons. ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/10 "2008-11-29T12:32:45Z")
Are you sure it’s a sticker? I’ve seen those in several places (including SoCal), and they always looked like part of the original urinal design. I recall one restroom that had bees in some and simple dots in others, which I thought might have been due to some urinals being newer than others. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/11 "2008-11-29T12:39:46Z")
Mmmm…urinal cake! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/12 "2008-11-29T13:49:22Z")
In the service we used to have Jane Fonda Urinal Stickers ®. That was Jane’s head with a gunsight / crosshairs / bombsight superimposed. The military is/was very fastidious about its latrines, but somehow once one of those stickers got stuck it was never removed. Some veteran somewhere got the bright idea & sold quite a few to servicemen who travelled a lot & soon they were everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/13 "2008-11-29T13:55:43Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Mmmm…urinal cake! its Mints, urinal mints…Beavis used to eat them and I am to sleepy to remember the rest ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/14 "2008-11-29T15:15:48Z")
> [@Santo\_Rugger](#): > > ETA: There was talk of urinal cakes Mmmm…cake. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/15 "2008-11-29T17:20:51Z")
The first I ever saw anything of the like was in JFK airport, some time around 2002 (though those were houseflies, not bees). The OP is the first male I’ve met since who didn’t immediately grasp the purpose, but I’ve yet to meet a female who did: I admire a good idea, so as soon as I came out, I told my two traveling companions (both female) about it, and one said “so… What? It’s a reminder to zip up your fly?”. **]LSLGuy**, when were those Fonda stickers “in the wild”? Are we talking Vietnam era, or more recently? ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/16 "2008-11-29T18:05:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > **]LSLGuy**, when were those Fonda stickers “in the wild”? Are we talking Vietnam era, or more recently? I can think of two bars within 20 minutes of my house that have the Hanoi Jane stickers in the pissers, both are biker bars frequented by Viet Nam aged vets. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/17 "2008-11-29T18:05:30Z")
[reference #1](http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/comments/3594/P20/) [reference #2](http://www.collegeotr.com/duke_university/pee_on_the_bee_7376) Could it be a brand logo? ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/18 "2008-11-29T18:25:29Z")
There was the rumor when I was a kid that Black Widow spiders hid in outdoor potties, just waiting to bite you on the butt. This led to a lot of messes in the latrine at girl scout camp, since no one would sit down. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/19 "2008-11-29T18:55:52Z")
> [@KRC](#): > > There was the rumor when I was a kid that Black Widow spiders hid in outdoor potties, just waiting to bite you on the butt. This is [more than just a rumor](http://www.emedicinehealth.com/black_widow_spider_bite/article_em.htm). From the thread title, I was expecting it to be about a strange species of small fly that I have only seen in public restrooms (particularly in Texas), hanging about the urinals. Maybe they subsist on urinal cake. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903/20 "2008-11-29T19:07:04Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > [reference #1](http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/comments/3594/P20/) > [reference #2](http://www.collegeotr.com/duke_university/pee_on_the_bee_7376) > Could it be a brand logo? No, I’ve already given the reason. Just to spell it out the Latin word for bee is apis which sounds like a piss. It is an old joke. There have been urinals and chamber pots marked with bees and phony Latin mottoes containing the word apis since forever. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urinal-bees/474903.md?page=2)