The number 1 conundrum

[Blount]

I've been thinking about something that has always brought my piss to a boil. In most modern societies, any bathroom that is used by at least one female is ruled by the ominous commandment of leaving the toilet seat down after use. The question is: why?

I've asked this to several women, and neither of them could give me an answer that didn't revolve around chivalry bullshit. This rule probably makes sense in a habitat governed mostly by women, but if I work at a place with 10 other guys and the only woman there slaps warnings on every toilet so we don't forget to put the seat down, I am going to want to hit her with both blunt and sharp objects. I won't actually do it, but the thought will run through my mind.

I do not want to deal with this in my own house when I get married some day. Just because I have a penis doesn't mean I have to put the toilet seat up and down every time I want to take a piss while she does nothing. People should just leave the seat in whatever position they last needed it. This means that regardless of your gender, you will only have to do one seat operation at a time, tops. Besides, you never know when the next person to use the toilet has the same genitalia as you anyway. In fact, it could even be you!

Of course none of this would matter if mankind finally had the idea of putting urinols in common, household bathrooms instead of just out in the public. This would have the added bonus of not having the toilet's surroundings covered in urine stains. Toilets and penises do not mix! Is this complicated for architects to understand? Whatever's holding them back, I must know.

[Delphine]

lol sexism

[Neo]

The obvious solution is to pee sitting down. Or just hold it in.

[Esrever]

Man, the correct position is with the seat AND lid down! You do it to cover up the bowl before you flush, so it doesn't fill the air with gross stuff. Besides, no one wants to look (or smell) in there every time they come into the room to get a kleenex or whatever.

If there's no lid, like in a unisex public washroom, I still think you still put the seat down, because then at least you are covering up the urine-coated rim of the toilet. And seat-down is still the correct position for the majority of bathroom transactions, so it's a courtesy.

I think you need to get over this one. It's not much of an injustice.

[James McGeachie]

Piss all over the toilet seat and don't clean up. It's the only way to go.

[Green Gibbon!]

I never used to put the seat down until I moved into my current apartment. The toilet splatters everywhere when I flush, so I've gotten into the habit of putting both the seat and lid down before flushing.

It's not usually pretty when I have to clean the lid.

[Crowbar]

Esrever basically said what I was going to. I think things just look neater with the seat down. Plus it's not like the effort involved is significant.

[Blount]

To me it's more about sexism than actual effort. I don't think either gender should demand the other to do something with the toilet if they can't offer a legitimate reason for it. Leaving the bathroom to stink? Okay, that's a good reason, but urine doesn't leave much in the way of smell after you flush it down. I only do that after expelling faeces. Having a toilet like Gibbon's is another valid reason. But simply not wanting to deal with the seat and then making someone else do it all the time? Nuh-uh.

[Crisis]

I think the solution is clear: don't live with the opposite sex.

[Locit]

I don't think that's going to be much of a problem for Blount.

[Dr. BUGMAN]

The only time I've ever desired a toilet seat in a preset postion is when I have to blow chunks. Any other emergency my pants are more of an hindrance than anything, and I can usually operate both at the same time.

[Protodude]

I always thought the seat up/down thing was some shitty comedy trope until I occasionally came across it on the internet. I mean, do people just walk into the restroom ass-first without making any attempt to see where they're going to park their behind? Don't people regardless of sex walk into a bathroom and notice "Oh look, the toilet seat is up/down/ohshitthisisn'tthebathroom" and adjust themselves accordingly in a manner of seconds?

[Delphine]

The only time I've heard an actual woman complain about it is when she's been living with the guy for the first time or for a long time, and she falls in in the middle of the night because when you're half-asleep and just have to pee your brain doesn't always acknowledge the seat position. It's not some women conspiracy to annoy the mens.

[Crazy Penguin]

Problem: Solved.