I recently visited a bathroom in Peru. Check out the sign that I came across. Not to be rude, but do men from Peru not know where to pee in a bathroom?
After snapping my photo and pondering if Peruvian men truly need that much guidance, I left the bathroom and mentioned what I had seen to my wife and mother-in-law.
It is without a doubt true that in Peru many public bathrooms are disgusting. The threat of toilet paper and soap being stolen from bathrooms by impoverished individuals leaves many public restrooms without these highly important supplies. This fact, as well a lack of initiative to clean bathrooms, often results in unsanitary conditions.
This has a large ripple effect, from contamination of foods, to the pollution of water, to the spread of disease. It also creates a feeling of low national self-esteem that does not inspire people to cherish landscapes in both natural and urban environments (of course, this later statement comes with considerable exceptions).
But why would men pee on the floor purposely? If they are going to pee on the floor, why enter the bathroom in the first place?
I don’t know the answer, but I do know one thing. My mother-in-law summed it up defensively and concisely:
“In the U.S. I saw pee on bathroom floors too!”
Touché.
So perhaps for a future article I should ask: Do people in the U.S. know where to pee in a bathroom?
Photo Credit: © Levi T. Novey
No creo que sea un problema sea de nacionalidad (ni peruanos ni estadounidenses), creo que es un problema de punteria de las personas, tanto hombre como mujeres…mi experiencia en baños de hombres en nula… pero cuando me ha tocado entrar a algun baño unisex en USA y tambien a baños de mujeres en cualquier parte del mundo y he encontrado esas sorpresas en el piso… no he generalizado esa pregunta basándome en el origen o en el género… porque en todos lados se da…el problema ahí es que la frecuencia de limpieza no es la adecuada… y pasa en todo el mundo.. cuando la zona a la que se va no tiene los cuidados necesarios (zonas pobres, zonas olvidadas, mala administración, mal mantenimiento, etc.)
Estoy de acuerdo que muchos baños en Peru no son los de la gran realeza, pero me parece que estas generalizando demasiado mi pregunta es en que baños estuviste y viste eso???? o es que has estados en todos los baños de aqui en Peru, te lo comento porque como sabras nosotros somos un pais de muchas razas y culturas y lamentablemente notodos llegamos a pensar igual depende mucho del lugar y no slo pasa esto en Peru, recientemente anduve por Colombia y tampoco era la excepciòn no lo veo mas como un problema sino como parte de la cultura que tiene cada uno y dejame decirte que en USA existe personas que no solo orinan en los pisos sabiendo con mucho mas razon que en estados unidos exite mas de 1 culturaa metida ahi!!!…
Everywhere you’ll find this kind of things happening, even more in public services. Being in Perú or in any other country. It’s not a matter of nationality or dirty habits proper to a country. It’s true that it’s really hard to maintain certain standard levels of hygiene in places that are common to all kind of people that doesn´t respect others…or simply are careless about it. Anyway, we can at least find a laughter when we see they´re trying to generate consciousness by a direct and creative sign.
Aca no hay un tema de nacionalidad o de sexo, es un problema de educacion, porque en casa, en el trabajo o lugares privados los baños son muy bien cuidado (apuntan mejor) porque entiende el usuario que lo que uno encuentra asi lo debe dejar, en caso del baño de mujeres(no especificare la circunstancias)diria que es mucho mejor cuidado (no hay opcion a fallar) asi que aqui se analizaria el tema de como te educan en casa, los lugares publicos son accesibles a toda clase de personas, desde limpias, cochincas, al final todos somos un reflejo de la casa aca en Peru como en EEUU
Peeing on the floor is fun especially watching the look of disgust on the next person who walks in’s face
It’s a self-perpetuating problem — Person A walks in and puts forth a good-faith effort to use the toilet responsibly, but dribbles/splashes/misses a little. Person B walks in later and stands back further than he usually would so as not to stand in person A’s mess…which causes him to miss a little bit too. This goes on until there’s a disgusting puddle around the toilet and you can’t get close to it.
I love pissing on the floors and the walls, whilst laughing. But I’ve been to the pysch ward twice….
because its funny – i really like going over to my friends house and peeing in his trash can – oh good times
Wait, what was you mom doing in a mens restroom in America?
Part of the problem is with the design of urinals. I am uncut (that is, uncircumcised) and when i pee, it comes out in a large stream that has a wide spray width. Modern urinals provide a tiny little target area that simply doesn’t catch all of the stream, so some of it ends up on the floor.
I Think this guy should visit another countries.He only went to Peru and realize that only Peru is like that….nonono I think he should travel more around the world and he probably would change the way of his thought and opinions.
Why is your mother in law watching men urinate in the united states?
Why is YOUR mother-in-law in the men’s bathroom’s??? Unless she is saying women are the ones peeing on the floor…
Why is your mother-in-law observing urine in a MEN’s room?
What was your mother-in-law doing in the men’s restroom anyway?
I am George Burns, and this was a complete waste of my time (George Burns’).
~George Burns
When you pee in a public toilet, you let the rest of the bathroom know how rapidly your “stream” flows. The deeper and more powerful one’s stream is, it can be surmised that their wang is bigger. So, in order to disguise one’s treble-y and piccolo-like ween-stream, they piss on the inside of the toilet bowl, ABOVE where the toilet water sits. That way, it doesn’t sound like anything at all, but any movement at all sends the urine onto the floor.
So. people pee on the floor because they’re uncomfortable with others knowing the size of their schlongs.
I think it’s fat guys who can’t see over their gut to see what they’re doing.
YOU CAN’T EXPECT THOSE BARBARIAN SPICS TO BE AS CIVILIZED AS TEH WHITE MAN, THEY ARE FILTHY PIGS WHO LOVE TO ROLL IN THEIR OWN FILTH
I lived in Peru for 9 years and the bathrooms weren’t so bad. Public Bathrooms are disgusting no matter where you. Now I live in the US and I find pretty gross surprises in public bathrooms, and im not only taking about pee.
Because all men are stupid, and such a simple task.. and the still cant acomplish it.
Why do women’s toilets worldwide are dirtier than men’s?
Same thing in Philippines, saw a dude peeing on the floor next to the Toilet, wtf… Then on the way back on the Airbus 340 I went into the Bathroom following an elderly woman, apparently she did now want to use the toilet and peed on the floor… Dunno maybe it has something to do with not having facilities in the rural villages… Not a valid excuse to me but then again I am from Texas…
I’ve often wondered in America, how disgusting it is that so many men “miss” the urinal and pee on the floor. Has society become that lazy that they can’t be bothered to aim and deposit in the facility and not the floor. wtf?!
when you are sh*t faced drunk, it’s hard to hit the target. Maybe Peruvian people drink a lot.
Plus, they didn’t even lift the lid on the sign!
Anyway, when the floor is filthy, the next person steps back a bit to avoid the urine, so ends up missing even more, perpetuating the problem. Constant vigilance and cleanliness is key, as well as education, I suppose.
In America, I tend to only shop in stores I know to have clean restrooms: both as a reward for them doing so, and a sense they are more professional and ethical if they keep a clean restroom.
Cheers,
Doc
Haven’t you heard of contributing “one to the Pacha Mama”? Every bar in Southern Peru and Bolivia has floors awash in beer on account of the Pacha Mama. I suppose you think circumcision of perfectly healthy screaming white babies in Amerika is more civilized?
Seriously Anonymous, Mr. Uncut — let me teach you a quick lesson on using your uncut penis properly.
Grab penis mid shaft. Take hand, and pull backwards, exposing tip of penis. Aim penis at toilet. Push bladder to produce urine out of penis tip, which now, will not cause stream to bounce around your uncut tip splashing all over the place.
Are you either that seriously stupid, or just plain lazy?
I pee on the floor all the time and I live in Toronto, Canada…. I notice a lot of the time the floor is stained yellow. It is quite common here especially in malls.
RE:”I am uncut (that is, uncircumcised) and when i pee, it comes out in a large stream that has a wide spray width.” by Anonymous
Jesus dude! I hope that’s not the reason there’s pee all over men’s bathrooms! I’m sorry I have to be the one to tell you this, but all you have to fucking do is pull back the skin. My god, how do you even leave a bathroom without your pants drenched in piss?? Or maybe you’re afraid to touch your own dick?
here, I’m going to end this crisis right now…
PULL BACK THE FORESKIN WHEN YOU PEE.
also, CLEAN YOUR DICK.
I can only imagine that if you don’t know how to pee properly, you probably don’t know how to clean properly…
sick.
I notice that a lot of urinals in the U.S. splash back and then onto the floor. so even though no one has pissed on the floor it looks like people have.
I pee on floors in public bathrooms. its cuz i know i don’t have to clean it up and its not my bathroom so who cares.
I’m astounded by the people admitting to this gross practice. People are just generally selfish, meaning that they don’t care about anyone else that might come after them.
Here are a couple other questions I’d like to see asked:
1. Why do some men use the stall to pee standing up when there are urinals available?
2. Why would a man pee in a stall standing up with the seat down? Do you really think your aim is that good? Is it that much trouble to use your foot to push the seat up?
Thanks for the article.
Si no hay papel, con que se limpian el poto?
they do it for the lulz, i know i do
I think you are mistaken… The person next to you wasn’t giving you a dirty look for pissing on the floor, but the fact you were pissing on his shoes.
Just be thankful he didn’t beat the living crap out of you. =)
This just shows that Peruvians are smart enough to make a sign about it! (and *shock* it isn’t even advertising something)
‘Stream flow’ and ‘wang length’ have nothing to do with one another, just like shoe size and hand size have nothing to do with ‘wang length’ (your eloquent phrase, not mine). I’m a true 7″. I also have a small bladder and am under 6′ tall. Hell, maybe it’s to my benefit for those I do get in bed, as they’re more surprised, expecting me to have a 4″ cock!
In india we have no such problem, mens urinals are a wall with a small gutter( a ridged alley) that does not allow the pee to come where you are standing, so go ahead draw your name on the wall or play sharp shooters.
No. Men in the US do not know where to pee either, nor do they wash their hands.
One of my pet peeves is the failure of others to wash their hands after using the restrooms at the office. They may argue that they don’t “get any on their hands”, but if their touching their junk then leaving without washing they might as well walk around the office rubbing their cocks on all the door handles, elevator buttons, staplers, handsets or perhaps even whip it out the next time someone offers to shake their hand.
Disgusting people. They’d be ashamed about not washing if they knew other people knew.
but what is that drain in the floor for then huh?
The bathrooms in Cusco are disgusting. In most cases there’s no toilet paper, and in several places there’s not even a sit-down stall in the men’s room – the urinal is the only option.
But is that a reflection on the people of Peru, or all the the drunken foreign tourists in Cusco? The bathrooms I saw in Lima were cleaner, so I’m blaming the tourists for Cusco’s awful bathroom situation.
I spent a lot of time on my hostel room toilet as I got sick the first day, but for the rest of the trip I managed to avoid sitting down in any public restrooms!
This is an interesting issue; there is actually a great blog designed around issues just like this. It’s http://www.peepublic.com
Most men don’t pee right in the toilet anyways, is not only in Peru.
You are right when you say there are very few public restrooms in Peru with soap and toilet paper -that luxury is reserved for the fancy places. Sad.
What offends me of this sign is the tiny piece they drew in the man’s crotch… I don’t think that makes justice to Peruvian men (!)
Matisse painted the nude when a sculpture he was working on shattered.
Me parece muy lamentable la generalizacion al hablar de “los peruanos”, sobre todo cuando hay diversidad de culturas, niveles económicos y de educación. Para los citadinos el uso de un baño es lo más comun del mundo pero para personas que viven en el campo tanto en los andes como en los bosques amazonico el baño es un concepto exótico pues en la mayoria de casos no lo necesitan (algo tambien dificil de comprender para alguien de la ciudad que tiene gua con solo abrir el caño). La adaptacion de estas personas a las costumbres occidentales, sin un apoyo educativo es un proceso lento. Es ovio que si se vá a lugares marginales, con mayoria de poblacion de baja educación, es frecuente encontrar malas condiciones de salubridad, en Perú o en cualquier otro lugar (la mayoria de baños publicos en UUEE, supuestamente ejemplo de modernidad, son un asco). Creo que se deberias usar mejor esta ventana para analizar realidades culturales y polemizar sobre maneras de mejorar, por ejemplo, la educación. Los comentarios despectivos no contribuyen mucho.
What happens when you need to drop a log, and your piss on the roll habit is shared by others?
Notice that in Peru (and Chile, too) not only in the male toilets there is the habit of peeing on the floor. THE WOMEN toilets are mostly the same!
I happened to stay in Peru and Chile many times for work…and now i’m used their poor bathroom standard..
One of the first time I went in a restaurant-club with a peruvian friend collegue,a very nice girl..After dinner and a few drink i Had to visit the loo, you know that girls often go in pairs, and my friend came toghteter with me to the downstair bathroom….
We entered togheter the only large toilet stall, after a few minutes of queue…I find a disgusting situation: smell dirty and the floor was rally wet in pee, it was clear it wasn’t the normal “splash” from overing on the dirty toilet that happens in unclean bathroom, but that more than a woman relieved directly on the floor…I was almost felling sick in that toilet stall, but my bladder was very full…and have to relieve absolutely.. I made a step to the toilet and found it was almost filled to the rim…even more disgusting…my friend told me “no, don’t use it, it is clogged!” and to my surprise, like it was a normal thing, while spaking to me she assumed an hovering position, pulled up the short skirt, held her panties aside with an end and started to pee over the floor like it was a normal thing…I was emabrassed and very puzzled, while my friend , still peeing, said “what are you waiting, just pee like this, weren’t you bursting?” It seemed unreal but as my bladder was full, I ended doing the same squatting on the floor and peeing for a very long time (really bursting)…
The situation was so unreal that I asked my friend why it seemed so “common” for her (and many other woman, as the toilet condition proved) to go into a bathroom and pee on the floor…
she smiled and told me “sorry, I’m used at this, but I get the situation is strange for you. We do this for a reason anyway: we have mostly a poor plumbing sistem that don’t allow to flush any kind of paper in the toilets. It happens very often then a poor woman, maybe a stranger, forget it and threw tp, or worse a tissue (as tp is no tocommmon in the peruvian toilets….) or a sanitary pad in the toilet…then she flush the toilet, it get clogged and immediately overfill to the rim.
than all the other women found a toilet is not more “usable”, with water flowing on the floor..we have few public toilets and it is not so kind to go squat outdoor in the urban area, so you have no choice than pee on the floor yourself…”
“we are used to do this from childood, but i get it is very unusual for people coming from better toilet standards”
Fortunately my friend learnt me where I could find some clean and working area in the lima centre area (mostly hotels that have a better flusching standard) so I happen to use toilets that are maybe not clean like european standard, but at least working…
Anyway many other times, like in bar, clubs, public toiletsI had to go on the floor too…
I remeber that the worst situation I found was in small crowded gas station, afer a 5 min queue i entered the bathroom and found this situtation: 2 disgusting toilets stall with no door, and women and girls were peeing on the floor not just in the stall but even in the common bathroom area (i.e in front of sinks), there were almost 8-10 between girls and woman peeing over the floor, a disgusting situation..fortunately there were drain all over the floor, so the pee flowed in them quickly….I ended peeing with my sister in law directly over the drain in a corner….
I know where to pee in public bathrooms, but I never do. I get off by peeing on the floor and leaving a nice puddle when I finish. Just kind of a fetish, I guess