# Wanna Laugh? Co-ed bathroom related. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 23, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677 "2010-11-23T17:45:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/21 "2010-11-24T12:21:02Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Seriously… I’ve never heard of such a thing… I’m flabbergasted at the mere notion of it. Unisex bathrooms designed for only one occupant at a time, sure, but true _co-ed restrooms_? Really? Many universities have these. At my school the showers were in the unisex bathroom, so you would take a shower every day with only a couple flimsy shower curtains between you and someone of the opposite sex. There were no doors or even a way to secure the curtains. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/22 "2010-11-24T12:23:44Z")
I once lodged temporarily in a co-ed dorm at an American university. It was orientation for international exchange students, before the start of the semester, so most of the regular students had not turned up yet and there were not very many people about. There were two bathrooms on the floor where I was staying. One had a printed paper label on the door, saying “MEN”; the other had a printed paper label on the door, saying “WOMEN.” Hidden under the paper label saying “MEN” was a permanently affixed plaque, saying “WOMEN”; hidden under the paper label saying “WOMEN” was a permanently affixed plaque, saying “MEN.” Both bathrooms, I was able to discover, contained both urinals and stalls. I have never yet managed to figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/23 "2010-11-24T12:28:15Z")
Oops, thought of another one! Space is at a premium here in Japan, so often tiny restaurants will offer only one bathroom. Without a lock on the door. When you enter, you find a urinal and a sink, and then a small stall with a locking door. This allows for privacy for stall-users, but the lack of a lock on the outside door means that when you exit the stall you stand an excellent chance of encountering a bloke mid-stream, as it were. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/24 "2010-11-24T13:53:23Z")
> [@Carmady](#): > > Many universities have these. Why? ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/25 "2010-11-24T14:00:58Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I worked at a place that had motion sensor lights on the floor, and they’d go off after a ridiculously short time - like five minutes or something. When things got quiet in there with everyone grunting away over their **computers** , the lights would keep turning off. It got so people got in the habit of waving a hand around in the air periodically just to keep the lights on. Bolding mine. I was anticipating this word to be “toilets”, or something. So, they brought their computers into the stalls with them? _With the grunting, and all._ ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/26 "2010-11-24T14:17:21Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > I like the story, but when the person who turned off the lights on you left, why didn’t you yell “Hey! I’m still here here!”? Or… _You’re not going to leave me out here? Oh, Jonathan, for chrissakes, kill me but don’t leave me here!_ ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/27 "2010-11-24T14:33:16Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > But she’s probably still wondering why he was in there with the lights off. Hey, he doesn’t need to see that sh-t. > [@corkboard](#): > > So, they brought their computers into the stalls with them? > > _With the grunting, and all._ …and they never even left their Raid on Warcraft… ---
**Author:** ![ratmanizhere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b5ac83/32.png) [@ratmanizhere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratmanizhere)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/28 "2010-11-24T14:40:32Z")
I can’t understand why there isn’t more unisex restrooms in the US. It would just be case of redesigning restrooms to allow more privacy per stall by having the partitions running from floor to just below the ceiling and the doors actually reaching the floor to stop voyeurism. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/29 "2010-11-24T14:45:51Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I worked at a place that had motion sensor lights on the floor, and they’d go off after a ridiculously short time - like five minutes or something. When things got quiet in there with everyone grunting away over their computers, the lights would keep turning off. It got so people got in the habit of waving a hand around in the air periodically just to keep the lights on. I worked in an office like that. Normally there were 5 or 6 of us there so it was not really a concern. But I went in on a Saturday once, and was the only one in the office. For some reason the sensors didn’t reach all the way to my desk, so waiving my arms was not an option. I’d actually have to get up and walk to the middle of the room. That got really annoying to do every five minutes. I ended up collecting all of the office toys (Nerf balls and such) so that whenever the lights went out I’d just throw something to turn them back on. Then every 20 minutes I’d have to get up and collect all the toys again. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/30 "2010-11-24T15:04:33Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Seriously… I’ve never heard of such a thing… I’m flabbergasted at the mere notion of it. Unisex bathrooms designed for only one occupant at a time, sure, but true _co-ed restrooms_? Really? The school used to be an all women’s school so all the bathrooms have stalls not urinals. Some of the newer buildings have urinals in the smaller unisex bathrooms that you can lock, this one is on a teaching floor with all classrooms so no single bathrooms. And I didn’t shout when the first person left because I was slightly in shock and I knew there were other people in the hallway…I’m just not that loud. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/31 "2010-11-24T15:12:20Z")
We had the same kind of bathroom at work. I was in the stall when someone turned off the light on me too. It was right then and there I discovered the boss had been wrong about me the whole time. I could find my ass with both hands in the dark. ---
**Author:** ![Any\_Other\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@Any\_Other\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Any_Other_Name)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/32 "2010-11-24T20:29:03Z")
> [@ratmanizhere](#): > > I can’t understand why there isn’t more unisex restrooms in the US. > > It would just be case of redesigning restrooms to allow more privacy per stall by having the partitions running from floor to just below the ceiling and the doors actually reaching the floor to stop voyeurism. Traveling in Europe last year, we found many restrooms like this in France and Belgium, usually in smaller towns. The stalls were completely closed, and the entrance room had sinks - and sometimes urinals for the men. Local children giggled at some members of our group trying to restrict men from entering while one of the women from our group was entering. The same “restroom police” were at a loss when they encountered a port-a-potty urinal at a later stop. Standing in the middle of an empty field, it looked like four urinals mounted on a center post. I haven’t been so impressed by a bathroom facility since my first porcelain trough. Unfortunately, I don’t have anyway to post a picture, and I haven’t found an example online. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/33 "2010-11-24T20:32:28Z")
> [@Any\_Other\_Name](#): > > Local children giggled at some members of our group trying to restrict men from entering while one of the women from our group was entering. So, what are you saying? Your group took it upon themselves to override local practice and custom? ---
**Author:** ![Any\_Other\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@Any\_Other\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Any_Other_Name)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/34 "2010-11-24T20:36:52Z")
Here it is - found it by searching for “pissoir”: [pissoir](http://www.oobject.com/pissoir-designs/modern-portable-pissoirs-england/3920/) [pissoir in use](http://www.moderngonzo.com/pics/eurail/eurail-Pages/Image18.html) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/35 "2010-11-25T00:26:57Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I once lodged temporarily in a co-ed dorm at an American university. It was orientation for international exchange students, before the start of the semester, so most of the regular students had not turned up yet and there were not very many people about. There were two bathrooms on the floor where I was staying. One had a printed paper label on the door, saying “MEN”; the other had a printed paper label on the door, saying “WOMEN.” Hidden under the paper label saying “MEN” was a permanently affixed plaque, saying “WOMEN”; hidden under the paper label saying “WOMEN” was a permanently affixed plaque, saying “MEN.” Both bathrooms, I was able to discover, contained both urinals and stalls. > > I have never yet managed to figure it out. I stayed in a dorm for a weekend once, and the paper-over-the-plaques was just the same. I was told it was because half-way through the semester they’d switch the bathroom’s gender so the poor people at the ends of the floor didn’t have to spend the entire semester running all the way down to the other end. I guess no-one took the papers off at the end of the year. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/36 "2010-11-25T00:47:20Z")
> [@ratmanizhere](#): > > I can’t understand why there isn’t more unisex restrooms in the US. > > It would just be case of redesigning restrooms to allow more privacy per stall by having the partitions running from floor to just below the ceiling and the doors actually reaching the floor to stop voyeurism. I think you answered your own question. Communal (gendered) toilets would all have to be redesigned, which would be quite pricey. I’d love for every American toilet to have the privacy of its European counterpart, but something tells me the reasoning behind those peekaboo doors goes beyond being cheap e.g. dissuading people from having sex, shooting up and sleeping in stalls. ---
**Author:** ![Any\_Other\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@Any\_Other\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Any_Other_Name)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2010, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/37 "2010-11-25T06:53:44Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > So, what are you saying? Your group took it upon themselves to override local practice and custom? Don’t get your panties in a bunch. This was an event in honor of the group. No one was offended, everyone laughed about it, and just as quickly as it started, it ended. Fortunately everyone there was understanding. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/38 "2010-11-26T04:40:22Z")
> [@KinkiNipponTourist](#): > > Ha ha ha! Our company bathrooms have this same lovely feature, and reading along (especially the part about “everyone grunting away”) I thought, Wow, this happens to someone else too then? Then I got to “computers” and realized you weren’t talking about your restrooms.\ > [@corkboard](#): > > Bolding mine. I was anticipating this word to be “toilets”, or something. So, they brought their computers into the stalls with them? > > _With the grunting, and all._ What, you people don’t grunt as you work? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kbear)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/39 "2010-11-27T23:35:17Z")
> [@Any\_Other\_Name](#): > > Here it is - found it by searching for “pissoir”: > [pissoir](http://www.oobject.com/pissoir-designs/modern-portable-pissoirs-england/3920/) > > [pissoir in use](http://www.moderngonzo.com/pics/eurail/eurail-Pages/Image18.html) They have these in Soho, I guess to keep the drunks from pissing in the street when they leave the clubs ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677/40 "2010-11-28T03:06:54Z")
> [@Any\_Other\_Name](#): > > Here it is - found it by searching for “pissoir”: > [pissoir](http://www.oobject.com/pissoir-designs/modern-portable-pissoirs-england/3920/) > > [pissoir in use](http://www.moderngonzo.com/pics/eurail/eurail-Pages/Image18.html) The first link is ‘forbidden’. The second link shows a man and woman pissing in a urinal. How does that work? I understand that it can be done with special equipment, and even that some women can stand up and direct the stream, but she’s wearing jeans. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-laugh-co-ed-bathroom-related/561677.md?page=3)