Archived comment by Gretchynn:
I'm a band geek. On band trips, when we'll stop at the school where our competition's going to be, I see girls -running- to the building, hoping to beat the line. Occasionally, when we're in larger, more public buildings (or on road trips taking rest stops), band parents will make sure all the guys are through, then let the girls use the guys' restroom, standing guard outside the door. When they did this on our Arizona trip, I marveled at the way band parents so non-challantly take over the world, breaking rules and not caring.

Archived comment by Jon:
I am glad I am not the only with bathroom, ah, peeves.

The not-washing thing bothers me, too. Then there is the strange "crumpling" phenomenon. I haven't had an opportunity to check this in ladies' bathrooms since school, when bathrooms were unisex... and I didn't care then.
Here it is: If guy washes his hands, he then takes 3+ paper towels in hand. To dry his hands, he proceeds to crumple them together into a tight wad(much as I must seem right now).

Two questions arise: 1)Why waste the paper? [I ask this because I have wasted the time necessary to see the inner towels remain completely dry.] 2) Does this dry one's hands more effectively than actually using one paper towel? If so, maybe I should try it... [Admittedly, I have skinny hands, but probably not 1/3 or less the area of other people's hands.]

Yours truly, CompulsiveMan

Archived comment by boB:
In case anyone (LG?) is confused and not merely bemused by the term, an ass-gasket is that bit of tissue/kraft paper that is, and I quote, "provided by the management for your sanitary protection."
Now, ladies, we men do have the same problem of others using the toilet in a not fully seated position (that would be standing for most gents) and having the seat, erm, wet.
Grrrrr.
Using the seat cover in this case is of course useless, as any ickiness in the wetness will soak right through and onto the sitting portions of one's anatomy.
The irony here, of course, is that if the seat is dry the cover is pointless/redundant - there's nothing to be protected against! [see _Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise?_ by David Feldman]

Good thing urine is sterile... or so I have been told. [I hope reliably!]

Archived comment by The Laughing God:
"Ass gasketry?"

Archived comment by Malo918:
So....I recently went to a concert, and not only did I have to wait in line for like 15 minutes to get to the bathroom, but I then find out that the girl in front of me broke one of the 3 toilets!

How pissed was I?????

Oh, and everybody saying "What is taking so long" when they are the ones in there taking like 5 minute pee-a-thons! Geez!

You go in, you unzip, you squat, you wipe, you rezip, you flush!

How long does that take??

Archived comment by Matt:
I read an interesting article in New Scientist recently. Apparently, according to queue theory if women take twice as long in the bathroom then there have to be four times the number of cubicles in order to keep the waiting time the same as for the mens.

Archived comment by Mike:
Women telling women to leave the seat up . . . Oh, the irony.
The "equal time" idea sounds fair, but don't hold your breath. I believe that public restrooms are legally obligated to offer facilities exactly equal in number, without regard to any sexual differences-- one of those sounds-good-on-paper ideas that becomes a silly law; you know, like the low-flow toilet.

Archived comment by Toni:
I've been waiting a long time to vent my bathroom pet peeves! (pardon the quasi-pun) First of all, I totally agree with the proportional use theory mentioned in the last comment. Second, this is for all of the ditzy, inconsiderate little airheads out there who insist on squatting to pee, even if there is an ass gasket dispenser right there! Maybe they are too stupid to know how to use one, but the least they can do if they're going to squat anyway is to lift the rim so they don't pee all over it! That way, those of us who have mastered the art of ass gasketry can have a dry seat on which to place the ass gasket. I feel so much better now! Thanks!

Archived comment by Kate:
To be e\honest, I don't know which is worse, having to pee so bad your bladder feels like it is going to burst, and standing in line for 15 minutes while watching men zip in and out of their bathroom, or the conditions you describe. I used to be amazed that the boys rooms in my school didn't have doors on the stalls. Now that is animalistic.
I think proprtional restrooms should be based on number of people served in 15 minbutes, not stall numbers. That would make the women's restroom about 4 times as large as the men's room, but able to handle the same number of customers on average. That would make me very happy.

Archived comment by First Hand Witness:
Women may have to deal with lines outside their restrooms, but the problems with men's restrooms begin once you get inside. a poorly-kept men's restroom (and most of them are) can end up smelling like the primate house at the zoo; you have to hold your breath, run in, do your business, and run out. there are usually puddles on the floor that you definitely do *not* want to step in, and the things you do touch are always suspiciously wet. At least women don't have to deal with urinals. The things are just open sinks that you pee in! My favorite pet peeve about restrooms concerns the urinals; the first person to use the urinal in the morning misfires a little, so he drips a little on the floor; the next person sees this, and stands back a little further, which causes *him* to miss; until, at the end of the day, you're basically playing target practice from across a moat. Not very hygenic.
Speaking of hygeine, there's the whole hand-washing thing to be dealt with. I can tell you from direct observation that only about one-third of all men passing through the restroom stop to wash their hands on the way out. There's nothing worse than being at the sink when some other guy barges in, does his business, and then goes out ahead of you, leaving a visible handprint on the door handle you now have to touch. Sometimes you have to consider yourself lucky if you just get out with the same germs you went in with, no more, no less.
Uh...
Sorry to have gone on like that. I hope I don't sound too squeamish or anything, but I don't think that any guy relishes the thought of dodging through "friendly fire" everytime they walk through a restroom door. It's just plain revolting. I haven't been in too many women's restrooms (except for that once, when I was kinda drunk: What are all these women *doing* in here, I remember thinking--my brothers thought it was hysterical), but I'm pretty sure I could stand a little waiting if it meant avoiding the dank stinking pit which most men's public restrooms turn into by day's end.