h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

having said that though there are occasions when the provision of loos is inadequate that i feel it is more sensible for women to use the gent as well to avoid the three hour long queues.



by the way. the reason women take forever in the loo (which no one wants to mention so i'll do it) is because it's an absolute logistical nightmare changing a tampon or sanitary towel in there when you cant touch the floor, walls or anything else because there is urnine and other interesting fluids smeared everywhere.

and the bin is full.

Not just fluids, some of the motorway service station loos I've used have made me pray that the previous visitor had very muddy hands

I have often seen men coming out of the Ladies, (sometimes I think it is because they have walked into the wrong one), and I always smile at them and they smile back with a touch of embarrassment.

In France, as a child, we often came across loos where the women queued up for the cubicles alongside the men using the urinals. My father, being very English and rather old-fashioned, always said he lost the urge to go at that point....

I used the Gents in a pub the other night. There was the usual Q for the ladies, a male friend came out of the gents, said "there's no-one in here, why dont you....?" so I asked him to stand guard (the lock was broken).

I've done it before - in emergencies.
The gents was in a marginally worse state than the ladies.

And there was no toilet seat so i didnt have to agonise over whether to leave it up or down

Surely the women don't have to change their sanitary towels every time they go to the bathroom. Yet there are huge queues. And they should not use the mens, because then we also just end up standing in line. And as said, they have urinals.

no, not every time,......but 25% of the time for a lot of people.

and it does slow things down considerably

Plus you guys can just shake, these things take somewhat longer for those with female equipment.

Men have urinals- so most of you that just want a p**s will use 'em- the cubicles are usually empty (I have no problem with using the gents if there's a queue for the ladies- blokes usually just look up in confusion, then grin when I say "sorry, the queue's huge and I really need to go".

Actually I do have to let the sisterhood down here. I often wonder why women take so long in the loo.

I can stand around sharing lippy and gossing with the best of us, but when someone is in a cubicle for what seems like hours, I do have to wonder.

Sorry, sisters.

a girl called Ben

When they're in there for ages, I tend to assume complicated underwear issues. Not something I suffer from

'complicated underwear issues'...?

...
... ...?
... ... ...?

No.
Probably best not to ask, I guess.

...?

Hmmmmmm.

B

You know, suspenders, sockings, tights, things like that, which I imagine take a while to sort out, both before and after.

Well, it can take ages for me to find somewhere just to hang my handbag.

Then I need to roll my trouser bottoms up (so they don't drag on the dirty floor when I pull them down).

Everything then needs to be 'covered' with loo roll, just in case I should happen to touch any part of it while 'hovering'.

Before leaving the cubicle all underwear needs to be suitably adjusted as no further adjustments can be made once back in the glare of the public.

(If it's the wrong time of the month, well then add a further 15 minutes - 10 minutes just for searching for the tampax at the bottom of my handbag).

It's alright for you blokes, you just unzip, whip it out, pee, shake and tuck it back in. And if it doesn't go quite according to plan, you don't give a damn anyway!!

No, I shouldn't have thought so Tube. Some women are just so damn *fusy*

No sympathy expected....I just happen to be very particular about cleanliness etc.

My Godmother always used to put loo paper on the seat because, being a rather large lady, she had to sit on it. One night in bed she discovered the loo paper still attached to her backside - YUK!! I'm not going to risk going down that route!!!!

*Hovering* over the loo is not good for you. You are actually straining the muscles around your bladder and are not emptying properly which can increase the risk of infection like cystitis. Just thought I'd let you know.

Us Brits are obviously quite fussy about toilet hygeine but do nothing about it whereas in the US they have toilet seat covers in most public loos. The best I've ever seen was at New Orleans airport...you go into the cubicle, wave your hand in front of a sensor and a fresh plastic liner whizzes around from a little device and covers the seat. When you flush it moves the liner around again (can only imagine it's like a huge sausage skin) Neat!

In parts of Europe the looseat rotates around under a bracket at the back which includes a cleaning device, so you can sit on damp disinfectant.

Sweet!

B

Hovering may not be good for you, but bearing in mind what lurks on loos seats, I'll take the risk.

I like the way the loos in shops like Harrods have light/movement activated flushing/taps/soaps/dryers so you dont' have to touch them - but you still have to use your hands to open the loo doors!!

Whereas you do get all mod cons - and the plumbing system is usually better than in the UK - you can also find the worst toilets here in Germany too. Only the most exclusive actually have hot water in the washbasins.

I have been to the gents to save time, but only with another woman. I'm not sure I could do it on my own, so some of those inhibitions are definitely still there.

However, this year in France on holiday, I noticed that it doesn't seem to be usual to have Men's and Women's sanitary blocks marked. On one camp site, I only found out through word of mouth that the women's showers and loos were the ones with the green doors and the men's were the other side. On the second camp site there was absolutely no distinction.

It didn't seem to matter - neither to me nor to anyone really.

But I also wonder what other women spend so long on the toilet for. I'm only too glad to get out as quick as I can, while maintaining as much decorum and hygiene as possible.

A big thumbs down to places where the loo roll is kept on the floor. It requires a bit of deft origami to make sure you only make contact with the middle of the paper - either that or you use a paper hanky out of your handbag, I suppose.

What I (and also my wife) never understood, is why women wear clothing that has to be unfastend at the neck and the back when going to the toilet. No wonder it takes ages.