Bathroom etiquette blunder
Has this ever happened to you?
Everyone has been in a similar situation, yet not everyone is comfortable talking about this topic.
Being in the position to have my views published in the paper, and personally being comfortable discussing pretty much anything, I am going to go ahead and write about this common, and somewhat humourous issue.
The topic is bathroom etiquette, specifically in public washrooms.
An unspoken rule related specifically to bathroom etiquette, if possible and if the situation allows this to happen, is to leave a space between urinals or bathroom stalls if someone else is currently occupying either of these when you need to use the facility.
This is simply common courtesy and it will help circumvent any potentially “weird” and uncomfortable situations.
However, sometimes this is un-avoidable. If you have to go, you have to go, regardless of the potential occupant being merely two-feet beside you.
In order to follow the globally accepted rules of bathroom etiquette, one mustn't handle it the same way this writer did a couple of years ago.
After receiving tattoos from a shop in Sarnia Ontario, myself and a childhood friend headed across the street into a mini-plaza in search of a post-tattoo celebratory bite to eat. Before we found our chosen meal, we ironically both decided that we had to perform the deed, which is commonly referred to as “number two”.
Assuming that my buddy, who followed me into the washroom, had chosen the stall directly beside mine, I proceeded to quote a movie I had recently seen, 2004 Harold and Kumar go to White Castle, and said “Hey, you just sunk my battle — explicative.”
Shortly after the flush and departure beside me took place, a rolled-up paper-towel came streaming in my stall hitting me in the head. I snickered, and told my friend what I thought about his dear mother.
After eating and waiting for my other friend to get his tattoo, I proudly mentioned to my friend about my earlier comment, “That was pretty funny what I said in the bathroom, eh?” Puzzled, he looked at me and asked, “What the hell are you talking about?”
Clueing in now, I realized that the person beside me in the stall was not my buddy after all, but actually a random person who happened to enter the bathroom before my friend.
If by chance that the individual that day is reading this newspaper, my dearest apologies go out to you.
This is definitely an extreme case of public washroom experiences gone badly, but also without a doubt a hilarious one.
The other important question that arises when placed in the situation of being directly beside a fellow washroom occupant, “Be patient, and hold it back somewhat — or just let it go?”
That could be a tough debate, and potentially grounds for another entire article. I'd say bathroom etiquette would suggest hold-off for washroom solitude if possible, but technicalities could come into affect on a situational basis recommending otherwise.
So in order to follow the simple rules of bathroom etiquette; hold-off for isolation if possible, for goodness-sakes don't strike up a conversation with the person beside you, and make sure you're one-hundred-per cent sure that the individual beside you is indeed the person you think it is if you decide to be a wise-guy.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
Everyone has been in a similar situation, yet not everyone is comfortable talking about this topic.
Being in the position to have my views published in the paper, and personally being comfortable discussing pretty much anything, I am going to go ahead and write about this common, and somewhat humourous issue.
The topic is bathroom etiquette, specifically in public washrooms.
An unspoken rule related specifically to bathroom etiquette, if possible and if the situation allows this to happen, is to leave a space between urinals or bathroom stalls if someone else is currently occupying either of these when you need to use the facility.
This is simply common courtesy and it will help circumvent any potentially “weird” and uncomfortable situations.
However, sometimes this is un-avoidable. If you have to go, you have to go, regardless of the potential occupant being merely two-feet beside you.
In order to follow the globally accepted rules of bathroom etiquette, one mustn't handle it the same way this writer did a couple of years ago.
After receiving tattoos from a shop in Sarnia Ontario, myself and a childhood friend headed across the street into a mini-plaza in search of a post-tattoo celebratory bite to eat. Before we found our chosen meal, we ironically both decided that we had to perform the deed, which is commonly referred to as “number two”.
Assuming that my buddy, who followed me into the washroom, had chosen the stall directly beside mine, I proceeded to quote a movie I had recently seen, 2004 Harold and Kumar go to White Castle, and said “Hey, you just sunk my battle — explicative.”
Shortly after the flush and departure beside me took place, a rolled-up paper-towel came streaming in my stall hitting me in the head. I snickered, and told my friend what I thought about his dear mother.
After eating and waiting for my other friend to get his tattoo, I proudly mentioned to my friend about my earlier comment, “That was pretty funny what I said in the bathroom, eh?” Puzzled, he looked at me and asked, “What the hell are you talking about?”
Clueing in now, I realized that the person beside me in the stall was not my buddy after all, but actually a random person who happened to enter the bathroom before my friend.
If by chance that the individual that day is reading this newspaper, my dearest apologies go out to you.
This is definitely an extreme case of public washroom experiences gone badly, but also without a doubt a hilarious one.
The other important question that arises when placed in the situation of being directly beside a fellow washroom occupant, “Be patient, and hold it back somewhat — or just let it go?”
That could be a tough debate, and potentially grounds for another entire article. I'd say bathroom etiquette would suggest hold-off for washroom solitude if possible, but technicalities could come into affect on a situational basis recommending otherwise.
So in order to follow the simple rules of bathroom etiquette; hold-off for isolation if possible, for goodness-sakes don't strike up a conversation with the person beside you, and make sure you're one-hundred-per cent sure that the individual beside you is indeed the person you think it is if you decide to be a wise-guy.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
