To pee or not to pee...that is the question!

I saw this cartoon recently posted on Facebook. 

It is funny, but it raises the question - Who has worse bathroom etiquette - men or women? When it comes to public restrooms, I'd say women and this blog is focused on that subject. So, men, you may want to skip this one unless you're curious about one particularly nasty female habit

I'm referring to the habit of "hovering" (a term I learned recently from a southern lady ....she says that's what her mama called it).  What is hovering?  It is essentially straddling a toilet to avoid having to actually sit on the toilet seat.  Why do women do this?  Because they believe that sitting on a toilet may result in them catching some type of disease (usually they are thinking some type of STD).

I have no issue with this process EXCEPT for the fact that I've NEVER seen a women lift the toilet seat PRIOR to her "hover".  What's the end result?  A toilet seat splattered with urine...which the hoverers NEVER seem compelled to clean up.  That means that the person entering a stall after a hoverer, ends up sitting on a urine splattered toilet seat, unless you're like me and have run into this situation enough that you always check the toilet seat BEFORE sitting.

I'd put money on this....I'll bet all those inconsiderate hoverers are the same women who take issue with the  men in their households who fail to raise (and lower) the toilet seats.   So how can they just walk away leaving such a mess?  (and in case you're wondering, yes, I have no problem pointing out a wet seat to a hoverer...that's because this is probably my #1 pet peeve in life!!!)

Some women are not hoverers, but they've chosen to be almost as inconsiderate, as highlighted in the picture below.  I took this picture in the Ladies room at a Harley Davidson shop a week or so ago.  No joke  - this is for real....and I could take several similar photos just like this on any given travel day. 

Again, I ask, how can a women walk out leaving a bathroom looking like this and not realize how inconsiderate she's being?  Someone, either the next woman who actually wants to use the toilet or the cleaning person, has to deal with this mess.

So, are these women on to something.....can you really catch a disease on a toilet seat?  I once heard an Infectious Disease physician tell someone that, yes, you could catch an STD on a toilet seat....provided you and your partner at the time were agile and therefore able to achieve "intimate contact" while sitting on the toilet seat.  Otherwise, he said, odds are highly unlikely.  I checked several online sites prior to writing this and they all said the same thing - highly unlikely.  Two reasons:  1.  skin is a great barrier and 2.  viruses and bacteria don't live very long once they leave the body, especially not on a cool/hard surface like a toilet seat. 

A few references went on to say that you're much more likely to be exposed to bacteria and viruses by:
1.  touching contaminated surfaces....like the door handle on the bathroom door or the lever that dispenses paper towels (usually still wet from prior users) ...and then touching your mouth (think putting gum into your mouth, picking a piece of food out of your teeth etc).
2.  eating food prepared by someone who didn't wash their hands after using the bathroom (think contaminated hands)...again the risk of getting the contaminant into your mouth
3.  shaking hands  - do you ever wonder when was the last time that person washed their hands?  One site noted that kissing results in less exposure than shaking hands (see link below to their funny video solution)

http://voshy.com/videos/view.php?id=shake-hands-more-germs_6ma03

Fortunately, one place where I spend a lot of time - O'Hare airport - has installed toilets with plastic seat covers.  Simply wave your hand above the back of the seat and a fresh liner covers the seat.  So no worries about whether or not the prior user "hovered'.

Europeans have solved (or prevented) the wet toilet seat issue by not installing seats.  I found myself wondering how elderly women manage the process.  I've often heard it said that European women are in better shape than American women...maybe its not the food.  Maybe its the great thigh exercise they get everytime they use a seatless toilet. (photo below taken at Paris airport). Notice the flush mechanism is foot-activated...much more hygenic than the hand levers (ever try to flush a hand lever using your foot?)

Some businesses have installed other options.  Here's a dispenser that contains disposable/paper toilet seat covers.  Guess what?  Similar to the Harley shop restroom, women tend to use these and leave them on the toilet seat rather than disposing of them (and I think its pretty simple as these are meant to be flushed).

I saw this dispenser inside a bathroom stall at a restaurant in Florida...I'd love to know if hoverers would consider this an acceptable way to clean the seat prior to sitting, thus avoiding the hover altogether.  My guess is if they are so germaphobic, chances are they'd consider the act of cleaning the toilet seat unacceptable.  (thoughts, ladies?)

Why can't it be as simple as the solution that originated about 20 years ago in Amsterdam in an effort to clean up men's bathrooms?  "Spillage" (I'm guessing that's a PC way of saying "urine all over the floor") was reduced 80% when they engraved a picture of a fly (the bug) on a specific location inside urinals.  Men are apparently pre-programmed to "take aim" and without fail (well, ok 20% failure) will use the fly as a target.

So ladies, what's it going to take?  What's your "fly"?  I'm tired of cleaning up your wet toilet seats!!  Please, relax and sit.  As long as you wash your hands when you're finished and avoid touching the wet handles on paper towel dispensers and wet door handles as you exit, you won't catch anything!!