Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Pet Peeve #294

I am sure we have all experienced this once before, if not several times. Though I am not sure how frequent it occurs in the women's restroom, I know that it occurs quite often in the men's, and that is the, always unpleasurable, unflushed toilet or urinal. If I am to write about such crap, I assume it has reached the level of pet-peeve, which makes it quite an appropriate discussion for a blog post.

So, let's discuss.

Why? Why would anyone not dispose of the container which they just left their bodily waste? I know some people don't take out their garbage for a while, letting it pile up, but I believe this is on a different level than that. It's one more simple task before you pretend to wash you hands in the sink. Apparently, zipping up your pants was far too much physical action for you to bear, and pushing down a level a half an inch is just too much. Maybe you simply enjoy the idea of the next user cringing when stepping up to the toilet. Why?

Is it a matter of pride? "Hehe, look what I did," yet you flee the scene before you can point it out to anyone. Maybe post-it notes should be left on the counter so that stakes can be made on your accomplishments. I understand that from time to time is proper male discussion to speak of the length of a coiled 'monster', or the duration of a post-LOTR wiz, but those are normally spoken in the past tense, not something you share in a public restroom with strangers. These such marks on a toilet should normally, and preferably to most, be kept to yourself and your own mental records.

Is it a matter of conservation? According to some crazy people, our planet Earth is going to run out of water someday. I'm not sure how exactly since ice caps are melting as we speak (read), so I don't see what they are so worried about. Anyway, I know it is common practice for some to try to conserve water, like taking baths instead of showers, filling the sink with water while shaving instead of letting it run, stuff like that. However, when it comes to discarding waste immediately, letting it sit there emitting odors throughout the restroom until someone returns, possibly hours later, is entirely unacceptable.

I experience this quite often in the building I spend a good bit of time in, Eichberg Hall, and it is my assumption that many of the Architecture, Historic Preservation, and other building majors students (aka. eager environmentalist hippies) try to conserve the water in Eichberg's toilets. I have also experienced it in other buildings on campus that should have a lower number of Earth-happy people, yet my reaction is the same. Similar to a humorous thought regarding vegitarians, I flush the toilet at least once, maybe twice for a #2, for everytime you don't flush. So, therefore you are not saving anything. Granted, you have managed to stink up the bathroom for everyone else, and that is something I can't get rid of as easily, but nonetheless, your efforts have been thwarted. I encourage everyone having similar views towards unflushed toilets to do the same. Together we can make a difference, blah, blah, blah.

If you happen to be a non-flusher, please elaborate as to why you make this your routine. Thank you.