Conference thebay::joyoflex

    I once read about a lavatory in a British newspaper office;
    it was known as "The Editorial Wee."
    
    					Andrew

And what about the U.S. Military's practice of calling it a "head?"
I've always been particularly amused by rooms labelled "Officer's Head."

Is "bathroom" any weirder than "water closet?"  And exactly what is
a "loo?"  Why do they call it that?

JP

    Loo is a contraction of Waterloo, a polite (if invented) form of
    Water Closet.
    
    Our military use "latrines" - presumably from Latin (?)

Not what I had heard, Jeff (or should that really be Geoff?).

In Edinburgh (and other comparatively ancient cities) in the days before modern
plumbing, there were open sewers running down the middle of streets.
Householders used to empty chamberpots into the open sewers, in many cases
by throwing the contents of said pot out of an upstairs window. To warn
passers-by, the householder would shout "gardez l'eau" (look out for the water)
which through common usage devolved into "gardyloo". 

After the invention of the toilet (thus removing such endearing customs as
emptying chamberpots in the street !), the word "loo" was used to refer to
the new device.

So, to sum up:

"Loo" is a contraction or derivation of the french word "l'eau" 
(the water).  


Nigel
(why does this feel like 'Call My Bluff'?

In upstate New York, I saw "Comfort Stations" signposted from the
Interstate. I was told that "comfort station" was a euphenism for
"restroom"!!!

    And I thought that "loo" was short for "Louis" (as in XIV -- as in
    throne).
    
    	Jon 

    I was just in a Mexican restaurant where the rest rooms were identified
    by this sign: LOS BANOS.
    
    I don't know a word of Spanish -- do self-respecting Spaniards 
    normally relieve themselves in "los banos"? 
    
    					Val

    And a friend's young daughter recently headed for the men's room in a
    Papa Gino's pizza parlor. Why? She could read just well enough to know
    that MEN starts with an M. The doors were labeled MAMAS and PAPAS... 
    
    What are visitors to this country supposed to do? (Okay, Mama and Papa
    are multilingual, but what about fish restaurants that have toilets for
    BUOYS and GULLS?) 
    
    
    					Val

    Re: .2:
                                                        
>   And what about the U.S. Military's practice of calling it a "head?"
>   I've always been particularly amused by rooms labelled "Officer's Head."

    In olden days, toilet facilities aboard ship were traditionally
    located at the "head," of the ship, that is, in the forward point
    of the vessel (next to the [anchor] chain locker).  
    
    Does anyone know _why_ the ship's head was chosen as the place for the
    old-time toilet?  I don't imagine the old ones flushed; maybe the extra
    ventilation made cleaning less unpleasant? 

    
    
    	The British armed forces being notoriously 'class-conscious',
    	it always made me smile to read the signs on two adjacent
    	mens toilet doors ..
    	
    	one was marked 'OFFICERS', and the other, 'GENTLEMEN'.
   
    	Andy.
    

re: .9, "head"

Crew's quarters on sailing ships were forward (rougher ride up front,
officers aft, where it was somewhat calmer).  The "head" was just 
a hole in the hull beneath the bowsprit (well above the waterline, 
and presumably with a hatch), so yes, cleaning was easy, and 
ventilation was automatic.

- tom]

    There's a bar in Denver, Col.  (I was in it but forget the name)
    where the two loo's are labeled:
    
    	MEN --->			<--- WOMEN
    
    That is, each door was labeled with an arrow pointing to the
    other one.  GHAK !
    
    /Eric

    Americans may not be aware that Thomas Crapper (an Englishman) invented
    the indoor toilet.  Those of you across the pond may not be aware
    of the W.H.John company, of Boston, which manufactured toilets for
    years.  Hence "crap" and "john".
    
    As was mentioned earlier, the stern of a sailing vessel is the most
    comfortable spot; so the Captain's cabin was placed there, as well
    as the most senior officers' quarters.  After these cabins are in
    place, there's no spot to put a toilet that isn't directly over
    someone's cabin.  Also, as was mentioned, there's very little wind
    astern because of the bulk of the vessel, so things could get messy.
    Wind and waves cleaned the head, up near the bow.

    The Smithsonian Institution, in an article in their magazine, stated
    that the story about there being a "Thomas Crapper" who invented
    the indoor toilet is a fabrication.  Does anyone over the pond have
    reliable bibliographic evidence to refute that charge?  
    
    Or was Reply .13 supposed to come with a :-)?

RE: .7

BA�O (tilde over the 'n') is the Spanish word for rest room, comfort station,
whatever.  It is derived from the verb BA�AR, meaning 'to bathe.'  Thus, its
direct translation is 'bathroom.'

--PSW

    re .15 Thanks -- I was a little worried. No, it didn't have a tilde
    in the restaurant.
    
    					Val

    I don't remember anyone mentioning this, but the aft deck of a sailing
    ship where the captain's cabin was, was called the "poop deck".
    
    (If memory serves).

    I believe the story about Thomas Crapper (see .12) was a put-on.
    You can, however, buy a copy of his biography; it's in the humor
    section of bookstores (I saw it at WordsWorth in Cambrige, MA).
    
    It's called "Flushed with Pride".

Re. 12   There's a bar in Denver, Col.  (I was in it but forget the name)
	    where the two loo's are labeled:
		MEN --->			<--- WOMEN

I think that's hilariously clever. Less clever, but amusing in retrospect,
is an experience I once had. I had wandered ignorantly into a bar in Boston 
and found the 2 bathrooms both labeled "WOMEN". Further investigation led me 
to believe it was a gay bar. The 'women' who were using the facilities behind
Door #1 did it standing up, and so did the ladies (or is that laddies?) behind
Door #2. I left, and found a nearby service station with pictograms on the 
doors. (Hey, there's a solution to the dilemma in this note!).

	Sue

Then there's the Marx Brothers' movie (sorry, I forget which one) in which 
the WOMEN's room is identified by two-foot-high letters painted on the wall 
next to the door.  Harpo stands in front of the first two letters, with 
amusing results.

According to Dave Barry in _The_Taming_of_the_Screw_, the inventor of the
toilet was Sir Robert Toilet.  :-) 

    re: .3
    
    "Latrins" comes from latin "lavatrina", which comes from "lavare"
    (to wash) -  along with "lavabo" etc..
     The same word _"latrines"_ is used in the french army.
    
    

    	Of course the "head" of a sailing ship is the part that is
    downwind, unlike on a mechanically powered one where it tends to
    be upwind of the rest.

    As a relatively new DECcie and after reading this note I can never
    say that DEC employees don't know shit.  They do!

    There was one movie I've seen in which a scene takes place in a
    diner with its restrooms marked "Pointers" and "Setters".
    
    --- jerry

    This past weekend I stopped (again) in a restaurant in Connecticut
    whose restrooms are collectively referenced as "Flushing", and
    individually as "Manhattan" and "Queens".
    							Ann B.

But isn't there some confusion as to who should use "Queens"?  There
certainly would be if this restaurant were in, say, Provincetown, Ma... 

-- Sam

      Re .25
      
      Rein's Deli, as I recall, has bathrooms labelled "Menhattan"
      and "Queens".                                      =
      
      I always wear my tan hat when I go there.  :-)
      
      Dave C.

    Re .19 - A long time ago I heard of a place (holiday camp in Scotland?)
    where they labelled them "laddies" and "lasses". I believe the practice
    was discontinued after much confusion.

    In England, there is (or used to be) a manufacturer of 'sanitary
    chinaware', to wit, urinals, whose trademark was an artistic picture
    of a bee rendered in blue pigment under the clear glaze.
    
    The owner of this company must have been a literate visual punster
    since the Latin for 'bee' is

    'Apis' ...

    The topic brings to mind a sign in a local restaurant...a sign directs
    patrons to a short hallwall....
    
    
                               REST ROOMS
    
                             (Deposits Only)

    
    I guess someone must have the place confused with a bank :^).
    

Re:

	>  REST ROOMS
	> (Deposits only)

No, I don't think that restaurant was confusing rest rooms with a bank.

I think that restaurant was trying to say:

	"Employees must was hands before returning to work"

    MLNOIS::HARBIG
                  Many years ago in Spain I was in a public pay
                  lavatory where the WC cubicles were labeled:
    
                        Caballeros
                        Signores
                        Ombres
    
                  They were in fact in descending order as regards
                  price, facilities and cleanliness.
                                    Max

    
    re .14 and Mr Thomas Crapper.
    No, THE inventor of the WC lived in 16th century England, and his
    name was...uhhh..mmmmm...Sh*t, I can't remember his name just now,
    but he published his findings in a book with the apt title "The
    Transformation of a Jax.
    I'll look up his name and come back tomorrow. Till the you can guess
    what a Jax is ; >.
    
    Bo

    
    Well, here follow the FACTS: The WC was invented by Sir John Harington,
    a godson to Elizabeth I (!), who published his findings (grin) 1596
    in a book called The Metamorphosis of Ajax: A Cloacinean Satire.
    (The pun will escape those who do not know what "a jakes" was.)
    This according to the book Clean and Decent: The Fascinating History
    of the Bathroom & the Water Closet and of Sundry Habits, Fashions
    & Accessories of the Toilet principally in Great Britain, France,
    & America, London 1960, and written by Lawrence Wright. Highly
    recommended for all interested in cultural history!
    Bo

    Peter Sellers coined a phrase for the WC in "I'm All Right Jack" --
    
    the Thunder Box !
    
    /Ed