Wednesday, January 07, 2004
While on the Subject of...
A woman came into our break lounge in total disgust. An upper upper management gentleman had used the unisex toilet, and as usual, he failed to lift the seat. He urinated all over the toilet seat, the sides of the toilet, the floor. It is as if he has such little respect for the people that work in our building, he insists on this urination ritual at every visit. How disgusting. How droll.
I let the woman rant and rave for several minutes, encouraged by our appropriately appalled co-workers, and then I began to turn the conversation into one of those life-long pet peeves that had finally found a forum. Why do women who sincerely believe themselves to be well-bred think nothing of peeing all over public restrooms, hovering precariously over the bowl for the misguided sake of sanitary class? Those who consider themselves really superior will take a minute to wipe dry the urine, but many just leave the vulgar yellow droplets to hang around. Wet or dry, what makes them think others want to see or sit in urine?
(You men didn’t know that about women, did you?)
Women who consider themselves totally sophisticated, well-traveled, intelligent, and well mannered, pee all over toilet seats. We ostracize our sons and husbands for the same behavior. We may even file a grievance if a high-positioned supervisor does it. But we are expected to forgive (or ignore) the fact that women pee on toilet seats because at least they followed the number one ladies bathroom etiquette rule: Don’t ever sit on a public toilet seat.
Unless you have to. Unless you are too sick, too short, too old, too young. Unless you are handicapped.
Which brings to mind another horrific problem. Non-handicapped women use the handicap facilities because they are roomier or sometimes the only stalls available. Unfortunately, as everywhere else, they pee all over the toilet seats. And sanitary tissue seat covers are inexplicably wall mounted high and unreachable to a wheelchair bound patron. She must either dry off the seat and try to cover the seat with toilet paper that slips and falls onto the floor, or she just hopes she won’t catch anything because Dear Abby said the only thing you can catch on a toilet seat is crabs. Gee, that makes those of us who are physically challenged feel so much better.
So tell me, why can’t women lift up the toilet seat? Why is that so absurd? Take a piece of toilet tissue so you don’t have to actually touch it, then LIFT IT UP. If you are not going to use it, if you're a man or a woman, LIFT IT UP. It’s a seat -- if you are not going to sit on it, LIFT IT UP.
A woman came into our break lounge in total disgust. An upper upper management gentleman had used the unisex toilet, and as usual, he failed to lift the seat. He urinated all over the toilet seat, the sides of the toilet, the floor. It is as if he has such little respect for the people that work in our building, he insists on this urination ritual at every visit. How disgusting. How droll.
I let the woman rant and rave for several minutes, encouraged by our appropriately appalled co-workers, and then I began to turn the conversation into one of those life-long pet peeves that had finally found a forum. Why do women who sincerely believe themselves to be well-bred think nothing of peeing all over public restrooms, hovering precariously over the bowl for the misguided sake of sanitary class? Those who consider themselves really superior will take a minute to wipe dry the urine, but many just leave the vulgar yellow droplets to hang around. Wet or dry, what makes them think others want to see or sit in urine?
(You men didn’t know that about women, did you?)
Women who consider themselves totally sophisticated, well-traveled, intelligent, and well mannered, pee all over toilet seats. We ostracize our sons and husbands for the same behavior. We may even file a grievance if a high-positioned supervisor does it. But we are expected to forgive (or ignore) the fact that women pee on toilet seats because at least they followed the number one ladies bathroom etiquette rule: Don’t ever sit on a public toilet seat.
Unless you have to. Unless you are too sick, too short, too old, too young. Unless you are handicapped.
Which brings to mind another horrific problem. Non-handicapped women use the handicap facilities because they are roomier or sometimes the only stalls available. Unfortunately, as everywhere else, they pee all over the toilet seats. And sanitary tissue seat covers are inexplicably wall mounted high and unreachable to a wheelchair bound patron. She must either dry off the seat and try to cover the seat with toilet paper that slips and falls onto the floor, or she just hopes she won’t catch anything because Dear Abby said the only thing you can catch on a toilet seat is crabs. Gee, that makes those of us who are physically challenged feel so much better.
So tell me, why can’t women lift up the toilet seat? Why is that so absurd? Take a piece of toilet tissue so you don’t have to actually touch it, then LIFT IT UP. If you are not going to use it, if you're a man or a woman, LIFT IT UP. It’s a seat -- if you are not going to sit on it, LIFT IT UP.
