# Would it kill you to flush the damn toilet! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 22, 2013, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924 "2013-10-22T13:24:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/41 "2013-10-23T00:55:16Z")
Here’s a bit of YouTube humor to go with this thread: [Scottish Mum Tells Girls Off For Not Flushing Toilet - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11j-a9xNu3o) (NSFW language) ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/42 "2013-10-23T01:05:32Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > I recall an Aussie(?) saying I heard somewhere once–maybe these very boards. “If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down.” I’m an Aussie, but the first place i ever heard that little saying was on an episode of _King of the Hill_. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/43 "2013-10-23T01:09:20Z")
> [@Dr.Woo](#): > > Huh. We have some pretty aggressive automatic flushers on the toilets here but we STILL have notes on the stalls from the ever-suffering admins to PLEASE flush the toilets. I’m befuddled by this - the stupid things flush _automatically_. They can’t NOT flush - sometimes they flush two or three times during a trip to the potty. > > I want to see (I think) the physical anatomy of the people in this building who can somehow use one of our toilets without triggering the auto flush. I’m thinking we have an instance of Prehensile Rectum right here at building MR6. This is what I was talking about earlier. Most times it’s not the people, but the toilet itself. The fact is, people are dumbasses. Most of the people in this thread included. Instead of jumping to the conclusion that the problem is the person who used it last, wonder if the thing works in the first place. But nobody does that, and that’s why you are all dumbasses. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/44 "2013-10-23T01:11:46Z")
> [@armedmonkey](#): > > This is what I was talking about earlier. Most times it’s not the people, but the toilet itself. > > The fact is, people are dumbasses. Most of the people in this thread included. Instead of jumping to the conclusion that the problem is the person who used it last, wonder if the thing works in the first place. It’s still the person who used it last - if the autoflush doesn’t work, push the button on the side. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/45 "2013-10-23T01:21:28Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > It’s still the person who used it last - if the autoflush doesn’t work, push the button on the side. It is not flushing, ya idiot! It’s _broken_, but because it’s in a public space it’s "[somebody else’s problem"](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somebody_Else%27s_Problem). ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/46 "2013-10-23T01:27:16Z")
> [@armedmonkey](#): > > It is not flushing, ya idiot! It’s _broken_, but because it’s in a public space it’s "[somebody else’s problem"](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somebody_Else%27s_Problem). Yes, generally mine - when I find these little gems, I flush the toilet and 99% of the time, it works just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/47 "2013-10-23T03:21:43Z")
> [@armedmonkey](#): > > It is not flushing, ya idiot! It’s _broken_, but because it’s in a public space it’s "[somebody else’s problem"](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somebody_Else%27s_Problem). It’s not flushing automatically, but it can still \*be \*flushed. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/48 "2013-10-23T03:44:39Z")
> [@Dr.Woo](#): > > Huh. We have some pretty aggressive automatic flushers on the toilets here but we STILL have notes on the stalls from the ever-suffering admins to PLEASE flush the toilets. I’m befuddled by this - the stupid things flush _automatically_. They can’t NOT flush - sometimes they flush two or three times during a trip to the potty. > > I want to see (I think) the physical anatomy of the people in this building who can somehow use one of our toilets without triggering the auto flush. I’m thinking we have an instance of Prehensile Rectum right here at building MR6. Floating stools explain this phenomenon. > [@bump](#): > > Is that what happens when you go into a stall and you find the poop equivalent of the Hindenburg floating in the bowl with no accompanying TP? How do you mean? That a floater would be less offensive if it was covered with a few sheets of TP? ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/49 "2013-10-23T04:30:09Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > How do you mean? That a floater would be less offensive if it was covered with a few sheets of TP? That there’s a ginormous turd that wasn’t wiped after whoever dropped it - or the TP went down but the turd didn’t, because it’s a floater. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/50 "2013-10-23T04:44:52Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > That there’s a ginormous turd that wasn’t wiped after whoever dropped it - or the TP went down but the turd didn’t, because it’s a floater. Ah. Yes, that is what happens. The TP gets flushed away, the floater stays behind. Many people may not even know they’re the ones responsible for floaters. You do your business, you flush, you walk away without checking, right? So then, when you read the angry notes about " Goddamn flush already" you think: “So who are these assholes that don’t flush? I know \*I \*flush”. But flushing isn’t the problem. And with toilets skimping on water for green and budget reasons, and people eating less healthy, floaters may happen more often these days. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/51 "2013-10-23T04:52:36Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > Yes, generally mine - when I find these little gems, I flush the toilet and 99% of the time, it works just fine. It usually does, after a time. Gassy stools lose some of the gas; fatty stools become waterlogged and heavier. So when you flush, ten minutes or so afterwards, the stools do flush away more easier and you think: “why didn’t the rightful owner flush the damn thing, then? Does he want to offend me, like in the stories of burglars leaving steaming piles of shit for home owners to find?” But ten minutes earlier, you wouldn’t have been able to get it to flush, either. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/52 "2013-10-23T07:24:03Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > [Here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=324485&highlight=shat+cookie+bathroom) you go! Hey, thanks **curlie**! I’d tried all sorts of search terms but couldn’t for the life of me find the offending thread: again it came down to regional language differences…we call the ‘room’ where shitting and pissing takes place a **toilet**. Had I used _bathroom_, it would have been shitloads easier. Still a very funny thread all the same…wonder whatever happened to **S(h)at on Cookies**?? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/53 "2013-10-23T09:23:53Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > At work, I’ll pick a stall if anyone is standing at the urinals. This is because, for some reason, my workplace has a culture of idle chit-chat at the urinal. Peeing is serious business, and I cannot be expected to have a conversation while I am attending to this matter. > > I recall an Aussie(?) saying I heard somewhere once–maybe these very boards. “If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down.” yes but ONLY at home (or during drought condition). And for the folks worried about wasting that potable water - It’s going to be potable water again eventually where it will go through someone’s kidneys again and on and on and on. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/54 "2013-10-23T17:09:47Z")
> [@madrabbitwoman](#): > > yes but ONLY at home (or during drought condition). And for the folks worried about wasting that potable water - It’s going to be potable water again eventually where it will go through someone’s kidneys again and on and on and on. Indeed nearly all water goes around and around in a cycle. But let us take that 5 or so gallons of water. First we have to pump it in, and perhaps over hills, etc. Energy. Then filter it, add chlorine etc. Energy. Then to your house. Energy. Then you flush, and it goes to the waste plant, which uses energy to clean it a few stages, then piped out into the ocean, which can have other consequences. The average family saves about 3000 gallons of water a year thru the “if it’s yellow, let it mellow…” mantra. How much energy that saves depends a LOT, but it is not insignificant. As a rough guess, about 15% of the overall energy generated is used for water. [http://www.rivernetwork.org/water-energy-toolkit-understanding-carbon-footprint-your-water](http://www.rivernetwork.org/water-energy-toolkit-understanding-carbon-footprint-your-water) > **[energywater.pdf](https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/energywater.pdf)** > > 755.34 KB ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/55 "2013-10-24T03:18:39Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Hey, thanks **curlie**! I’d tried all sorts of search terms but couldn’t for the life of me find the offending thread: again it came down to regional language differences…we call the ‘room’ where shitting and pissing takes place a **toilet**. Had I used _bathroom_, it would have been shitloads easier. > > Still a very funny thread all the same…wonder whatever happened to **S(h)at on Cookies**?? 😃 I’m not sure if I should admit this, but I have it bookmarked … ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/56 "2013-10-24T07:25:15Z")
I will admit right here and right now that I am a victim (perpetrator?) of floaters and sometimes have to flush 3 or 4 times to get it to all go down. It’s mainly because I’m partially lactose intolerant, yet I refuse to cut out the dairy from my diet, so it gets very gassy and soft, and a lot of it floats. But I promise when I do have to use a public restroom (which isn’t often), I always check to make sure it is all flushed down. I don’t just get up and walk away at the moment I hear the flushing begin. ---
**Author:** ![knel3030](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecae2f/32.png) [@knel3030](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knel3030)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/57 "2013-10-24T14:46:08Z")
The need to make public restroom doors locks autoengage and not open until the toilet has been flushed. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/58 "2013-10-24T16:15:02Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > I will admit right here and right now that I am a victim (perpetrator?) of floaters and sometimes have to flush 3 or 4 times to get it to all go down. It’s mainly because I’m partially lactose intolerant, yet I refuse to cut out the dairy from my diet, so it gets very gassy and soft, and a lot of it floats. > > . Try a few probiotics, they have really helped me with my lactose intolerance. **knel3030** : yeah so when the plumbing breaks down you’re trapped in there with it. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/59 "2013-10-24T18:20:15Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > I read an article recently which claimed a large proportion of people flushpublic toilets with their foot. So I wonder, why not manufacture toilets designed to be flushed that way? It would be better than the auto-flush ones that go off multiple time while you’re using them if you dare move the wrong way. When I worked at a school they scared the little kids! > > How do we go about changing the industry standard? I’ve seen some in a highway gas station here in France. Instead of a chain or button or lever or whatever on the water cistern, there was a sort of rubber pedal or pressure plate on the floor. Took me a good 5 minutes to figure it out, too. At first I thought it was a weirdly placed smoke alarm. ---
**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:** [October 24, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924/60 "2013-10-24T20:52:47Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > Maybe you think your little turd is a work of art There seems to be unwonted pride of pee as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-kill-you-to-flush-the-damn-toilet/671924.md?page=4)