Where Do Americans Pee?

[Fred]

Where do Americans pee? The answer may surprise you
12 September 2014, 9:58 am EDT By Laura Rosenfeld Tech Times

A recent survey from YouGov found that Americans don't just urinate in the toilet. So if that is the case, where do Americans do it? 

Sometimes, you've got to go when you've got to go. While some of you may think that the only place to do your business is the bathroom, that's not the case for all Americans. Many people actually do the No.1 not in a toilet.

A recent survey by YouGov, a global market research company, found that Americans pee in the bathroom and outside of the bathroom, in private and in public. Ah, the land of the free to pee.

YouGov looked at the hygiene habits of 1,169 Americans and found that most of them have urinated in places other than a restroom. These locations include the shower (62 percent of respondents), in a bush or tree in a non-residential area (53 percent), in the ocean (41 percent) and, unfortunately, in a swimming pool (36 percent). But hey, at least in most of these locations you're in water anyway. And right or wrong, it's fairly common for people to pull over on the side of the road to pee in a shrub. Plus, when you're camping in a forest, finding a john isn't always an option.

Where the results get interesting is in the gender divide. More men are represented in each category than women, but for locations where you're in the water, such as the shower, sea, swimming pool or bath, the percentage of men and women who have ever urinated in these places is quite close. However, for places like in a bush or tree, in the yard or in the street, men overwhelmingly have done this more than women. However, with different, shall we say plumbing, for each gender, it makes it easier for men to take a leak in places where you usually have to stand to urinate.

[Brian]

The survey options seem to suggest that there's always a choice about where you pee...

[Adrian6970]

I've recently had a discussion with some friends on Peesearch about this. It was a discussion which began as one about the availability of toilets in Italy but morphed, as such discussions do, into something slightly different. Inevitably the availability of public toilets in America cropped up (something which fascinates me as a Brit) and some American members were kind enough to respond. Basically the gist of what they said was that whilst genuine public toilets were few and far between in America, it was common for larger shops and eateries to turn a blind to members of the public, who weren't strictly customers, using them. I know that's a bit of an aside though as this thread is really more to do with peeing in unconventional places.

[Fred]

In New England, where I live, most larger stores have public rest rooms, and most fast-food places offer them as well. Rarely do you find "stand-alone" municipal toilets, though town and city halls and libraries have them available. Nowadays there are very few traditional gas stations, but larger self-service places usually have an associated convenience store with rest rooms. Now, in small towns, of which we have many, there are no fast food places or convenience stores, no gas stations, and the municipal buildings are open only minimal hours. You can drive through a series of small towns without a single toilet anywhere. Fortunately, between the town centers there are woods…..

[Adrian6970]

In New England, where I live, most larger stores have public rest rooms, and most fast-food places offer them as well. Rarely do you find "stand-alone" municipal toilets, though town and city halls and libraries have them available. Nowadays there are very few traditional gas stations, but larger self-service places usually have an associated convenience store with rest rooms. Now, in small towns, of which we have many, there are no fast food places or convenience stores, no gas stations, and the municipal buildings are open only minimal hours. You can drive through a series of small towns without a single toilet anywhere. Fortunately, between the town centers there are woods…..

Thanks for your lovely description of the nature of provision in New England. I suspect that in rural areas the trees and hedges get well watered! Some years ago I heard that there was a stronger culture of going 'just in case' before leaving home in the USA than in the UK. Would that be true? I suspect you must have some people who are reluctant to go 'just in case' if they don't really need to in order to avoid breaking the seal.

[Fred]

Thanks for your lovely description of the nature of provision in New England. I suspect that in rural areas the trees and hedges get well watered! Some years ago I heard that there was a stronger culture of going 'just in case' before leaving home in the USA than in the UK. Would that be true? I suspect you must have some people who are reluctant to go 'just in case' if they don't really need to in order to avoid breaking the seal.

When I was growing up, "precautionary pees" were standard procedure when we were taking a longer trip. Traveling on major holidays there were very few places open for business - back then there were no fast-food places or roadside convenience stores - and before the Interstate highway system was built, there were very few rest areas with toilets. If the trip were to take more than three or four hours, a pee stop had to be planned carefully. In my beer-drinking days I was living an a rural area, so no one felt it was necessary to pee until they really had to go, and then there were plenty of trees to water. (That's assuming that the driver - usually me - was willing to make a stop.)

[Peecadilly]

I took a 3000 miles road trip through the US once and never had a problem finding a toilet, didn't need a bush once. The situation is drastically different here, most shops don't have one, restaurants usually only let you use it if you're a customer and aren't shy to kick you out and anywhere else you'll have to pay.

But then again, I generally found the US a lot more customer friendly.