World Toilet Day

[rhunt]

I was in Nam back in 68 and the locals would just squat and go. The children never wore diapers or any underwear, I guess that way the mothers didn't have to wash them. Bob

 

[jerrybob]

The outhouse was not without its drawbacks...as I recall, wasps were ever present...and, I always kept a stick handy to make sure that the BW spiders were kept at bay. Although rare, snakes...were another matter.

Here is a little think I wrote some time back; I'm sure that I posted it here somewhere, but just for kicks I'm posting it again. It's entitled "Lanny and the Snake". Lanny was my brother, four years younger.

Back in the olden days, my Dad was the supervisor of a sand pit, that
shipped sand by rail all over the Southwest, and our house was on the same
property. It was so sandy, that nothing would grow except maybe a few sand
burrs. Out little "house beyond the house" was close by, and surrounded by
ankle deep sand. We also were blessed with an abundance of rattle snakes,
which tended to hang out in the outbuildings. We found quite a few that
didn't quite make it across the RR tracks that serviced the sand pit. My
younger brother, who was deathly afraid of snakes, had the experience of
entering the facility, shutting the door, only to find a hog nosed snake
behind the door. Having had this experience, he was always on the alert, and
very, very cautious.

One morning before school, I saw him enter the privy. After he shut the
door, I sneaked up behind, waited until he got settled and all was quiet,
and then I made a "snake hissing sound" as loudly as I could. He yelled at
the top of his voice: " AWWWWWWWWWW", I heard the door bang open and he came
running, best he could, in the ankle deep sand with his jeans down around
his ankles. Of course I laughed my butt off, but he wasn't amused. When he
turned around all red faced, he made some remark akin to "I'll get you for
that you SOB, if it's the last thing I do". I still think it was funny. He
never got over his fear of snakes, and dispatched quite a few in his
lifetime. He died a couple years ago and I really miss the little ****.

At his funeral, I met his boss and some of the folks he worked for (this
company recovered explosives from old ordinance). They told me that when he
went into the field, he always took his shootin' iron and shot every snake
he saw. His boss asked me why he was so afraid of snakes...

Great story!:thumbsup:

 

[crash325]

Was there really a two story out house?? Did it work??

I have updated my outdoor facilities.


OH NO
-

 

[Wagtail]

The socks, during winter, is a bloody good idea!

 

[turnkey4099]

After a Google search, I conclude that the folks in the area where I grew up were way ahead of the times -- all of the outhouses I saw were "gender neutral."


Steve

Same including the 2-holers, except for the country school houses. There is was boys one side, girls the other. No markings that I recall.

 

[turnkey4099]

The socks, during winter, is a bloody good idea!

I could have used a 'donut' cushion back in 1955. Stationed St. Lawrence Island Alaska, Facitility was a shack with the seat over 50gal barrels. Needless to say the shack was not only not insulated it was far from being sealed. Barrels sat on a floor, flap door to drag them out (hauled to the scrap heap and burned). 40 below with even a slight breeze the air movement was straight up! One did not 'cogitate' long.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Same including the 2-holers, except for the country school houses. There is was boys one side, girls the other. No markings that I recall.

I have seen the school privies both ways...last school I went to had two separate facilities, about 20 feet apart.

 

[buickanddeere]

Iirc Elvis was found dead , face first on the floor with his pants around his ankles . After he fell off the toilet.

 

[buickanddeere]

View attachment 529159

Common in Japan and Asia are indoor squat toilets which need a little balance act to use, but common. Some are little more than a whole with the concrete pitched toward the hole.

Have to wonder how people with wrecked knees manage a full squat?

 

[/pine]

The best creature comfort for an outhouse in the cold is a styrofoam ring...feels like a heated seat...!

 

[crash325]

In Japan they use to have what were called Bengi ditches. Smell was not very good. the purpose was to fertilize their gardens.

Good Idea ???

 

[k0ua]

Same here.

We had the moons and stars here.

 

[k0ua]

I haven't thought about or remembered how cold the old outdoor toilets were in the winter, and how much they stunk in the summer in well over 50 years. Thanks for bringing back all those old "wonderful" memories. I guess... And yes the dang wasps and spiders too. No snakes that I remember.

My Grandfather was something of a "little chit" when he was a teenager, and outhouse humor was his favorite thing to do. He and others would often pick up and set back an outhouse about 3 foot from the hole in the middle of the nite. Just as the homeowner sleepily reached for the door he fell into the chit pit. Pretty funny huh? Like I said, he was a pretty rotten kid.

 

[Wagtail]

I haven't thought about or remembered how cold the old outdoor toilets were in the winter, and how much they stunk in the summer in well over 50 years. Thanks for bringing back all those old "wonderful" memories. I guess... And yes the dang wasps and spiders too. No snakes that I remember.

My Grandfather was something of a "little chit" when he was a teenager, and outhouse humor was his favorite thing to do. He and others would often pick up and set back an outhouse about 3 foot from the hole in the middle of the nite. Just as the homeowner sleepily reached for the door he fell into the chit pit. Pretty funny huh? Like I said, he was a pretty rotten kid.

Hence the colloquial Aussie name: The Long Drop.

 

[crash325]

Lets not forget built like a brick chit house.
and don't know chit from Shinola.

 

[Wagtail]

Let's not forget that the dunny/outhouse was not exclusive to country living.

This photo is from the 1950's, a suburban development in Brisbane... but the Dunnyman still plied his 'trade' (collecting night-soil) in all the major cities well into the '70's.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I can't recall having such an excrementicial discussion since my Grand sons were here last time...:laughing:

 

[k0ua]

I can't recall having such an excrementicial discussion since my Grand sons were here last time...:laughing:

Yeah, its kind of a "chitty" thread.

 

[k0ua]

Let's not forget that the dunny/outhouse was not exclusive to country living.

This photo is from the 1950's, a suburban development in Brisbane... but the Dunnyman still plied his 'trade' (collecting night-soil) in all the major cities well into the '70's.

Hm.. we were pretty poor, but by about 1960 we had indoor plumbing in the house, and the school I attended got it a couple years later. It was a very rural area. Everyone in town had indoor plumbing for decades. So you downunder guys were worse off than we were. My memories of the outdoor facilities were relegated to my "formative years".

 

[turnkey4099]

The best creature comfort for an outhouse in the cold is a styrofoam ring...feels like a heated seat...!

Or a warm sibling that you outlasted going first.