# Why did you put gum in the waterless urinal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 26, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115 "2010-07-26T22:56:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![conway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@conway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/conway)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/1 "2010-07-26T22:56:13Z")
Just wondering…you know… since it’s not going anywhere. I assume since you didn’t use the trashcan right behind you that you’re coming back for it? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/2 "2010-07-27T00:01:56Z")
It just seemed like the most logical place to put it. I thought everybody enjoyed seeing each other’s masticated waste everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/3 "2010-07-27T00:05:27Z")
Because I’m a lazy motherfucker and because I can. Oops! ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/4 "2010-07-27T00:07:37Z")
Bike speed bump. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/5 "2010-07-27T00:12:03Z")
I got used to putting it next to the mint. ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/6 "2010-07-27T00:36:39Z")
Why did you put a penny in the bottom of the regular urinal? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/7 "2010-07-27T00:57:17Z")
> [@Baracus](#): > > Why did you put a penny in the bottom of the regular urinal? I was wishing I had some gum? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/8 "2010-07-27T03:12:33Z")
Why would anyone spit anything solid into a urinal? Gum cannot be washed into a urinal. It just sits there in the bottom until some hapless janitor has to pick it out of the thing. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/9 "2010-07-27T08:01:19Z")
Because I haven’t got TIME to turn around and put it in the bin. Can’t you see I’m TEXTING MY FRICKEN FACEBOOK PAGE HERE!!! ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/10 "2010-07-27T08:41:30Z")
Dude, do you know how painful it is to pass a kidney gumwad? Finding a fucking trashcan is the _last_ thing on your mind, I assure you. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/11 "2010-07-27T08:59:52Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > Dude, do you know how painful it is to pass a kidney gumwad? Finding a fucking trashcan is the _last_ thing on your mind, I assure you. :eek: You are… forgiven. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/12 "2010-07-27T10:42:21Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Why would anyone spit anything solid into a urinal? Good question. > [@gaffa](#): > > Gum cannot be washed into a urinal. It just sits there in the bottom until some hapless janitor has to pick it out of the thing. And there’s your answer. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/13 "2010-07-27T13:12:11Z")
As a form of protest maybe? Waterless toilets are just nasty so why not just dump anything you want there. The people who install such things clearly don’t care about the people who use them. Not that I’m bitter that my building has them. I don’t mind the stench of a dozen people’s old urine or having to pee into a pool of yellow with a blue oil slick, really. It’s such a great improvement over the old bucket on the floor technology. I haven’t spit gum in there yet though. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/14 "2010-07-27T14:10:52Z")
It’s not going to be easy to remove. It can’t be picked off, it can’t be pried off, and it can’t be scraped off. But maybe it can be pissed off. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/15 "2010-07-27T15:25:59Z")
The janitor certainly will be. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/16 "2010-07-27T17:59:47Z")
I had to. The mounted plaque thanking me for how many millions of gallons of water I was helping to conserve by pissing into a ceramic dish was making me feel too damned honorable. ---
**Author:** ![conway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@conway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/conway)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/17 "2010-07-27T18:42:04Z")
Well there’s another piece in there today. Or it’s the same one, I’m not sure. Maybe the janitor wanted nothing to do with it. Or maybe the previous poster is right and someone is protesting by putting in a piece a day. I tried to disintegrate it through urine warfare, but it doesn’t seem to be working. ---
**Author:** ![cstamets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@cstamets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cstamets)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/18 "2010-07-28T02:09:35Z")
> [@conway](#): > > I tried to disintegrate it through urine warfare, but it doesn’t seem to be working. And now you know why someone spit their gum into the urinal… ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/19 "2010-07-29T05:58:31Z")
Did I miss something? A waterless urinal is what, a funnel with a hose nailed to the wall? Classy. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115/20 "2010-07-29T16:41:19Z")
That’s it. While conserving water may be an honorable endeavor, I’d prefer to see “nearly waterless” models that flush themselves at least a couple of times a day. The water-free ones can get pretty rank pretty quickly if you, say, work with a group of avid asparagus fans. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-put-gum-in-the-waterless-urinal/548115.md?page=2)