"U" Shaped Germ Barrier

[A. Kingstone]

I've noticed a trend in mens washrooms of having some kind of a pull out 'U' shaped paper thing that I presume is placed on the toilet seat to protect ones bottom from the hellishness that is left on a toilet seat. I've noticed this at work in a really clean bathroom. I never use them. I glance, if there is something I don't want to sit on I wipe it off.

Is my ass going to fall off from some horrendous plague that I've not been properly informed.

Do you subscribe to the "U" Shaped Germ Barrier?

[Monte Smith]

I always spray the toilet seat down with my own piss first, so I know it's clean.

Now a development I have noticed and cheer and use is the motion detector-activated automatic paper towel dispenser. Nice innovation. Beats both wrestling with manual dispensers ("rip") and the completely ineffective air dryer ("For best results, wipe hands on pants").

[Surfer]

Is my ass going to fall off from some horrendous plague that I've not been properly informed.

Dont you know you can get the Aids from the toilet seat?

[me wag]

It's for the literally anal people who, until this innovation, used to put toilet paper down on the seat before doing their business. The thing that would disgust me is some would actually leave the toilet paper on the seat for everyone to enjoy. I guess it was too disgusting even for them.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

I think those things are pretty useless. However, I remember being at O'Hare airport in Chicago. The seat is completely covered by plastic. There is no opening at the front of the seat so the plastic completely envelopes the seat. All you have to do is press a button and the used length of plastic would advance and disappear into a container on one side of the toilet while a new length would take it's place from the other side. But...for all I knew it could have been the same three or four covers being used over and over.

[tippy]

This is very interesting. You are talking about those tissue thin paper things. They’ve been in ladies rooms for a long, long time. Over 3 decades at least though I believe they’ve become more common in recent years surely for disease concerns. A LOT of women don’t sit on the seat anymore even in clean bathrooms and the reason I know this is they leave the evidence on the seat, a situation I find extremely discourteous. This unfortunately is also very common. One almost expects to find a seat with sprinkles on it.

I think part of the psychology is that people who don’t sit on the seat don’t want to touch the seat during the cleanup process and believe that others people should follow suit so they give themselves a pass for cleaning up their urine. It’s also like a cautionary marker, evidence that you shouldn’t sit on the seat because people are peeing on it. This doesn’t take into account not everyone can squat like children who are too short or older people and others who don’t have the muscle tone.

If I am afraid of catching anything from the toilet seat it’s herpes.

Oh and I think the papers are a good thing btw.

[Dr Dave]

I've used public toilets all my life and never got a disease.

The worst public toilets, as a class, are those French "Turkish" toilets, where you're supposed to plant your feet at the indicated spot and squat. The best public toilets are in Tokyo hotels, although I always found the button array a bit intimidating.



My favorite public toilet is at a bar in Helsinki called "Zetor" which means "tractor." I couldn't find a picture, but I remember it being made almost entirely of galvanized steel, and papered with pinup girl pictures. Here's a shot from the bar:

[tippy]

Um, dave, that’s not a toilet. That’s a tractor.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Here's a toilet similar to the one I used in Ferrara, Italy. No need for seat covers.

[tippy]

Geez louise.

[Brian Olewnick]

Tip, but the squatting has a tendency to induce urinary infections as often not all the urine is expelled. Not a good thing to do.

[tippy]

Brian, are you accusing me of being a squatter?

Geez louise.

Mostly what I meant to imply is that it sounds like there are cleaner seats in the men’s room.

[Brian Olewnick]

Brian, are you accusing me of being a squatter?

Heaven forfend.

But you might want to pass the word along to your boothmates.

[tippy]

Cool. I needed a new idea for bathroom graffiti. Even “So’n’so is a slut” gets old after awhile.

[Brian Olewnick]

Cool. I needed a new idea for bathroom graffiti. Even “So’n’so is a slut” gets old after awhile.

Is it me, or has the whole art of bathroom graffiti been in serious decline for a while now? Once tip mentioned it, I realized it's been a long time since I've whiled away a few minutes parsing words on a stall wall. Why, when I was a kid....

[tippy]

You’re right. There is like NO reading material anymore. A literary society in decline.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

I bring my own reading material and after reading some of the posts on this thread I'm going to start bringing my own toilet seat as well.

[Mike Schwartz]

I've noticed a trend in mens washrooms of having some kind of a pull out 'U' shaped paper thing that I presume is placed on the toilet seat to protect ones bottom from the hellishness that is left on a toilet seat. I've noticed this at work in a really clean bathroom. I never use them. I glance, if there is something I don't want to sit on I wipe it off.

Is my ass going to fall off from some horrendous plague that I've not been properly informed.

Do you subscribe to the "U" Shaped Germ Barrier?

It's called a Texas 'T' Shirt!

[clinthopson]

Out our way, we called them "ass gaskets."

[A. Kingstone]

I'll bet they're just placebos for butts.