# Would you bring a cup of coffee into the restroom at work? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 7, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263 "2012-11-07T19:04:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/61 "2012-11-08T12:01:18Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Why not? You take your actual mouth in there. > [@snowthx](#): > > My mouth has the option of staying closed. I suppose a covered cup of coffee is about the same, but still, food or drink in the stalls? Really? What if there is no place to put your coffee while you are sitting down - do you just put it on the floor, or on top of the urinal, like Microsoft TechNet guy? Do you also hold your breath too? Spend some time in the army and all this unnecessary sqeemishness goes away. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/62 "2012-11-08T14:26:16Z")
> [@Brynda](#): > > What do you germophobes do when you are eating alone at a restaurant and have leftovers or a drink to go with you? After losing them to over zealous busboys one too many times, I take them in with me. Usually I set them on the sink. Haven’t died yet. I resent being called a germaphobe merely because I won’t take my coffee cup into the bathroom. Honestly, I don’t need to, so it would be going out of the way for me to do it. I mean, when I come into my building, I have to pass the office to go to the bathroom. Why wouldn’t I just put my coffee cup down? If I have to take it in, I take it in. I just don’t like doing it, is all. I don’t whimper and whine about it if I have to though. It feels weird/gross. I let myself think it’s weird and gross because it’s not exactly affecting my quality of life to not take a coffee cup into the crapper. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/63 "2012-11-08T14:40:26Z")
The Cecil column is certainly vindication for everyone who worries about germs in the bathroom. > [@](#): > > And take it from me, if you do nothing else, put your toothbrush back in the medicine cabinet after use. > > — Cecil Adams I take a broader view, though; it seems my immune system is healthy enough to accommodate a few microbes. Although I will note that since my own toothbrush resides in the bathroom closet when not in use and my potty resides in its own personal little water closet, I don’t worry about any of this overmuch. ---
**Author:** ![highrollinwooded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/71c47a/32.png) [@highrollinwooded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/highrollinwooded)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/64 "2012-11-08T14:41:46Z")
I walked into the restroom at work last week and saw a woman in the stall, and a cup of coffee on the FLOOR, yes the FLOOR, of the stall she was in! Keep in mind that we have a 4 sink vanity that is almost always impeccably clean!! All I could think was…have you lost your friggin mind??? WAY GROSS!!! ---
**Author:** ![grama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@grama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grama)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/65 "2012-11-08T15:06:29Z")
I don’t care at all. I even eat while sitting on the toilet sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/66 "2012-11-08T15:47:50Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I have stayed in hotels from the Motel 6 to Hotel Wales in Manhattan and I’ve never seen a coffeemaker in the bathroom. What hotels are these? This is interesting. Poll created: [Poll: Coffee Makers in hotel bathrooms? - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=671608) ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/67 "2012-11-08T15:59:23Z")
On my wedding anniversary I ensured that our champagne glasses had little lids, so when we sipped them in the bath together no faecal matter dropped in to spoil the mood. Not really. But I have been known to drink beer while relieving myself at a pub urinal -the ‘Circle of Life’. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/68 "2012-11-08T16:10:13Z")
> [@highrollinwooded](#): > > I walked into the restroom at work last week and saw a woman in the stall, and a cup of coffee on the FLOOR, yes the FLOOR, of the stall she was in! Keep in mind that we have a 4 sink vanity that is almost always impeccably clean!! All I could think was…have you lost your friggin mind??? WAY GROSS!!! How far off of the floor does the rim of a cup need to be that fecal creepy crawlies can’t be bothered to make the climb? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/69 "2012-11-08T16:11:57Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I’m shuddering at the boiling water and vegetable peelings aimed straight for Miss Anaamika’s bare toes. 😛 Crocs in the kitchen for me! I go barefoot in the kitchen too. It’s not like I peel carrots directly onto my feet! ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/70 "2012-11-08T16:17:07Z")
> [@grama](#): > > I don’t care at all. I even eat while sitting on the toilet sometimes. Would you do so in a public restroom if the person in the stall next to you was cutting the cheese? ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/71 "2012-11-08T16:46:32Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I go barefoot in the kitchen too. It’s not like I peel carrots directly onto my feet! Oh goodness, I was just being hyperbolic. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/72 "2012-11-08T16:59:41Z")
The bathroom and the coffee station are both distant from my desk and a fair walk. So I will not infrequently go to get a cup of joe, and decide on the way back I should stop for a pee, so I don’t have to make another trip. I used to leave my cup on the drinking fountain outside the restroom, but after forgetting it a few times, I stopped doing that. Now I leave it on the counter near the sinks while I pee. These are multi-stall restrooms, so the sinks are a fair ways from the toilets and urinals, with a bit of a divider between. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/73 "2012-11-08T17:05:54Z")
I do it all the time. I see others do it, too - I don’t see a big deal about it. I set it on the counter, well away from the urinals and stalls. My toothbrush at home is much closer to the toilet than my soda gets when I bring it into the restroom at work. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/74 "2012-11-08T17:21:26Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Do you also hold your breath too? > > Spend some time in the army and all this unnecessary sqeemishness goes away. Here’s the deal - I am not squeamish, nor a germaphope, but I do not want to take food, drink, toothbrush, etc. into the same vicinity where bodily excretions take place. I have no objection to people who choose another path, even with the knowledge of Cecil’s toilet aerosol. Yes, I do bring my actual mouth in there with me as well, but hey, I also bring my actual asshole with me to my desk and lunchroom at work, but I do not take a dump there. ---
**Author:** ![Aeris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Aeris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeris)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/75 "2012-11-08T17:29:41Z")
This discussion reminds me of the episode of Mythbusters where they placed toothbrushes all over the bathroom. They basically lined the walls, plus put a few on the vanity and I think even a few in the hall. If I recall correctly, all the toothbrushes had fecal matter on them. It’s everywhere! It’s inevitable! Just wash your hands often and try not to think about it. Or you could do what Monk would do and pour boiling water over your toothbrush before you use it. Also, I have been in many hotels where the coffee machine was in the bathroom. And now that someone has mentioned they do this in their house I’m thinking that this is brilliant and I should also do this seeing as my master bath is set up like a hotel anyway, with the toilet on the opposite side of a door from the sink. ---
**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 8, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/76 "2012-11-08T17:32:20Z")
I would just like to point out that by using the word “bring” instead of “take” in the thread title, the OP is implying that he or she wrote it while sitting in the restroom. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/77 "2012-11-08T17:47:16Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Here’s the deal - I am not squeamish, nor a germaphope, but I do not want to take food, drink, toothbrush, etc. into the same vicinity where bodily excretions take place. I have no objection to people who choose another path, even with the knowledge of Cecil’s toilet aerosol. > > Yes, I do bring my actual mouth in there with me as well, but hey, I also bring my actual asshole with me to my desk and lunchroom at work, but I do not take a dump there. Ok this made me snort with laughter. Yes, I am 100% in agreement. ---
**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 8, 2012, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/78 "2012-11-08T17:52:54Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > … I do not want to take … toothbrush … into the same vicinity where bodily excretions take place. You don’t brush your teeth in the bathroom at home? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/79 "2012-11-08T17:55:31Z")
No way! We have large multi-stall bathrooms. Sometimes several people are in their stinking it up. I couldn’t eat or drink in there. At home. Sure, a cup of coffee on the throne is ok. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/80 "2012-11-08T18:16:06Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > You don’t brush your teeth in the bathroom at home? No. The toilet has it’s own little room with a door. Back in the day when we had no such situation, the toothbrush was stored in the cabinet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263.md?page=5)