An Illustrated Exploration of Toilet Do’s and Don’ts

We have seen some awesome toilet signs here at the ICBE, but this most recent one is perhaps the most spectacular yet.

Blown away? I thought so, but let’s take the time to examine the sign closely.

Sitting on the toilet is okay. Well, I should certainly hope so! But at least we are off to a reasonable start.

No standing to pee. What?! Perhaps whoever runs the facility is getting sick of pee on the seat, but it seems a little much to ban the standing pee outright. With public toilets, you don’t want to contact the seat unless absolutely necessary, so standing ought to be allowed. That said, if you do pee on the seat for goodness sakes clean it up!

No vomiting in the toilet. Or perhaps No drinking from the toilet. In the first case it seems completely unfair to restrict people from vomiting in the toilet. Let’s face it, nobody really enjoys vomiting and if they are so ill they need to hurl into the potty, well they should be allowed to. Now the no drinking thing I’m behind 100%. Though I really question the sanity of anybody who needs a sign to remind them of this!

No squatting on the toilet. This is a reasonable rule. In some countries squat toilets are very common, but this is clearly a western toilet for which squatting is inappropriate. If you don’t want to contact the seat with your buttocks you need to place your feet on the ground and hover over the seat. A squat such as the one depicted here merely transfers germs and crap (perhaps even literal crap) from the soles of your shoes to the toilet seat.

No fishing in the toilet. I say let people fish. And if they catch any fish, I dare them to eat them!

No urinating like a dog at the urinal. Or perhaps No humping the urinal. In a curious twist, this last image appears to dictate urinal behavior and not toilet behavior. Either way you interpret the image, it seems to be speaking out against canine-based behavior, and is sound advice on both counts.

Thanks plus-k