# Will the "Urinal Code" ever go away? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 24, 2021, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280 "2021-09-24T16:58:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/62 "2021-09-26T15:24:59Z")
The Oakland Coliseum (opened 1968) has porcelain troughs in the lower concourse bathrooms. I’ve never had an issue, though I usually attend weekday afternoon games when the crowds are small. [http://www.urinal.net/oak\_coliseum/](http://www.urinal.net/oak_coliseum/) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/63 "2021-09-26T15:35:16Z")
I mean, it’s a bathroom. If you have coworkers that comment on it smelling like shit when somebody uses a bathroom for its intended purpose, that’s their odd hang-ups. I can’t imagine how they’d handle an outhouse. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/64 "2021-09-26T15:37:15Z")
The ventilation is a bit better at an outhouse. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/65 "2021-09-26T15:49:16Z")
Old barracks would have troughs with a continuous flow of water with a row of holes covering it for defecation. In _Helmet for My Pillow_ Robert Leckie recounts how pranksters upstream would make paper boats, set them alight and sail them under the asses of the unaware. Another military feature was the trough sink, where you’d brush your teeth and shave into a regatta of phlegm gobs flowing past. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/66 "2021-09-26T23:51:50Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > In _Helmet for My Pillow_ Robert Leckie recounts how pranksters upstream would make paper boats, set them alight and sail them under the asses of the unaware. Okay, I balked at revealing my ignorance the first time this was described, but I gotta know: How effective is this prank at actually burning anybody’s ass, which I presume is the purpose of the exercise? Isn’t the seat hole two feet or so above the water level in the trough? How tall are these burning paper boats, anyway? Are the users actually letting their asses or, um, dangly bits project a significant distance down into the hole, and that’s how the singeing happens? So many questions… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2021, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/67 "2021-09-27T00:00:19Z")
I don’t know, but my dad told me about the same trick being played on Navy ships in the '50s. (Also reversing/increasing the pressure on flush toilets.) ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2021, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/68 "2021-09-27T03:22:58Z")
I guess the hull technicians (aka turd-herders) could do fun tricks like that, as well as pipe live steam into the flush urinals for their shipmates’ morning surprise, but it wasn’t necessary. The build-up crystals from seawater and urine would clog the system on its own, and the commodes would back up. The result would be an inch or two of poop water. The head (bathroom compartment) had a six inch gunwale between it and the passageway outside. The shower stalls each had their own two. So to bathe, you’d stand in the passageway bare-assed in flipflops waiting for the ship to rock and the tide of poop water to roll back so you could dash to the showers. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2021, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/69 "2021-09-27T10:08:29Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > How tall are these burning paper boats, anyway? [“all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by”](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/54932/sea-fever-56d235e0d871e) ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2021, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/70 "2021-09-27T14:49:06Z")
The awesome old pub in the UK where I grew up, had a trough urinal on the _outside_ of the building. Though in modern times they then built a rudimentary outhouse around it, you still have to leave the pub to go to the lavatory. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2021, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/71 "2021-09-27T15:20:33Z")
One of the buildings I used to work in had three urinals in a row. One of the guys would go in when all three were vacant, and ALWAYS use the middle one. Then if you stood next to him (having no other choice), he’d take a peek at you while you did your business. I’m not the only one who has noticed that, several of my coworkers remarked about it to me. Was he secretly gay? Curious about penis size? Just an asshole? I don’t know, but there are creeps like him out there which is why the urinal code exists. We had thoughts about petitioning management to put in partitions between the urinals and our movement had a slogan “divided we stand”. But the fucker retired before it went anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2021, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/72 "2021-09-27T15:26:50Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Then if you stood next to him (having no other choice), he’d take a peek at you while you did your business. This reminds me of a scene in Riget (aka The Kingdom) where Stig Helmer, a bitter, disgraced Swedish doctor working at the hospital in Denmark, is standing at a urinal next to an African-Danish orderly. Helmer peeks down, looks shocked, and slaps the Black man’s face. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/73 "2021-09-29T02:32:01Z")
When do we discuss “The Courtousy Flush”? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/74 "2021-09-29T12:06:39Z")
Handicap toilets are those which are _accessible_ to the physically challenged, but they are not _reserved_ for their exclusive use. At least, not here. I thankfully don’t often deal with the stupid Code. The joys of being a sit-down male urinator. I use a stall if at all possible. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/75 "2021-09-29T13:41:24Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > The joys of being a sit-down male urinator. I use a stall if at all possible. ‘I had a hernia, and my doctor told me not to lift anything heavy.’ ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/76 "2021-09-29T13:47:54Z")
Ha! But seriously, sitting down can be better for you, too, if you’re older or unhealthy. Everyone should try it. But only if you _don’t_ flush. “If it’s yellow, let it mellow”… ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/77 "2021-09-29T13:50:54Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > sitting down can be better for you, too, if you’re older or unhealthy. I sit down mainly for cleanliness purposes. I clean my bathroom. I do not want a drop of piss to land anywhere other than in the toilet. Makes my 3 am pee simpler, as well. The only times I stand to pee are when I’m outside; in the yard or woods, or over the gunnel ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/78 "2021-09-29T13:52:04Z")
Why are you pissing on fish? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/79 "2021-09-29T13:52:36Z")
The nitrogen cycle, man! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/80 "2021-09-29T13:54:43Z")
Aah, I thought we were leaving that to the [pease and (sea)weed](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-biologically-active-nitrogen-come-from/951376/2), not the pees and wee’d … ((Oh, and before someone else chimes in to explain the joke, I _do_ know how gunwale is pronounced) ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280/81 "2021-09-29T18:58:38Z")
From urinal code to port-a-potty behavior. We were at our local outdoor bar the other night having a few. There are port-a-potties nearby or one can choose to use the indoor facilities. Most guys choose the former as do some the ladies. (They have his and hers). The missus used the porto and then came running over to me insisting that I come look at something. There, floating on top of the fetid stew, was the $60 she just dropped in. “You want ME to get it? I don’t think so.” She grabbed a paper towel or something, reached in and grabbed it and went running off to the hose on the side of the building to rinse it off and douse it and herself with some anti-covid juice. I told the bartender what happened and before I could finish, he produced a kids butterfly net and a one of those long handled grabbers. Apparently, the grabbers are for the phones that go in and sink. The question is - how much money does it need to be before you go “fishing”? A quick survey at the bar seemed to show that $5 or more would be sufficient. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-urinal-code-ever-go-away/951280.md?page=5)