JOHN
noun
Slang. (North American)
There are some other slang meanings, but today, I’m talking about toilets, specifically public ones in various countries. Speaking of various countries, each one has its unique vernacular:
TOILET
noun:
lavatory, bathroom, loo, gents or ladies, (British informal) bog (slang),
can, john (slang, mainly US & Canadian),
head (nautical, slang), throne (informal) closet, privy, cloakroom (British),
urinal, latrine, washroom, powder room, ablutions (military, informal),
crapper **(slang), dunny, bogger, brasco (Australian / New Zealand, slang),
water closet, khazi (slang), pissoir (French), outhouse, public convenience,
W.C., ladies’ room, little boy’s room, little girl’s room (informal),** Named after Thomas Crapper, a plumber, who, contrary to popular belief,
did NOT invent the flush toilet, but he did improve the design. Click HERE for details
I remember in 1960s Germany, most public bathrooms were pay toilets. Each door had a slot to put in your 10 Pfennig. If you didn’t have the coin, then what?!
There may or may not have been an attendant on duty, and if not, you had to beg from strangers. I’m not sure whether or not this practice is still in effect because we didn’t encounter any pay toilets when we were there in 2013. Hopefully not!
While touring Ephesus in Turkey (same trip), there was also a charge to use the bathrooms. The big difference was you paid a live person, and they could make change.
Women: Have you ever tried to pee, (never mind anything else!) using only a hole in the floor? One thing for sure; you will need good aim! Easy enough for men, of course.
I first encountered one of these old-fashioned toilets at the Milan, Italy train station in 1968. Thankfully, Italy has become more modern in the meantime, and those toilets are not as prevalent anymore.
We had to use another one of these during our tour of the Hanging Monasteries in Meteora, Greece. Fortunately, most Greek toilets were of the modern style, but there was a severe shortage of toilet paper at many of the public attractions. Best to take your own.
One other quirk; it seems the plumbing system isn’t up to the task because we often encountered signs warning not to flush your toilet paper. Bins were provided for that purpose, but they didn’t always have lids. Rather off-putting!
Toilets go way back to ancient times:
Toilet History with Humour 😀
Do you have any unique toilet experiences to share?
Looking forward to your comments!
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Updated June 2019 and May 2025
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Dog Mom and (retired) Canine Innkeeper in suburban Toronto, Canada, known as The Doglady. Former corporate workaholic. Writer, photographer, digital creator. Animal lover, music fanatic, inveterate traveller. Eternal hippie/rockchick. History, literature and cinema buff. Hockey and soccer fan. Dedicated night owl. German/Canadian binational, multilingual. Let me entertain you!
77 thoughts on “A JOHN BY ANY OTHER NAME 🚽”
Lol Deb, what a fun and informative (and a bit gross) post. 🙂 🙂 And yes, I had an experience once while in Ixtapa, Mexico with my husband over 20 years ago. We took a cab into town (which wasn’t yet developed) just to look around – until I had to pee. There was nowhere but a broken down bar where my hub got a beer and I could use their ‘hole’. I was in shock. It was scary and dark and gross. I straddled like a champ and ran like a fart in the wind after, lolol. Some things just stay in our memories. 🙂 🙂 xx
I know what you mean, Deb! When you gotta go, you gotta go, no matter how gross. 😆
True dat! 🙂
Not so much a unique story, but anywhere I go to a public restroom that has doors on the stalls that go all the way from ceiling to floor, providing you your own quiet little toilet room–that’s like the pinnacle of privacy. =) Weirdly, in our city’s most upscale shopping complex, some restrooms have metal panels above the stalls. They don’t offer a reflection as clear as mirrors, but WHO wants to glance ceiling-ward and see their next-stall neighbors, blurry or not?!?!
It’s rare to find a public bathroom stall with a door all the way to the floor. I wouldn’t like the metal panels either!
I remember as a kid there was one business that had paid restrooms. Thankfully, this sort of problems wasn’t encountered often growing up. When traveling from point A to point B the the only place you could go to the bathroom often times was behind a tree in my rural childhood state. I’m sure that hasn’t changed too much, either. 🙂
Haha! I guess a lack of public washrooms is common in rural areas. I didn’t think there were any pay toilets on this continent. Interesting!
Well, there was in the late 60 to mid 70s. That was the craziest thing for me to wrap my young brain around and still is.
One more memory, if you will indulge me. I thought of it as I went to log out of WP. So, you and I discussed that I had visited German at age 13 in 1969. We visited my father’s aunt and uncle who lived in Frankfurt. He had not been back to visit since leaving in 1950. I spoke no German. My grandmother stayed with my mother, so I passed three weeks’ time with no one to speak too – my father didn’t pay me much attention. So I was fascinated with the toilet paper there and brought home a roll for my mom to see. It was like the paper towels in dispensers in restrooms or at school, the triple fold and this was a dark rose color. I found it odd and one of the “souvenirs” I brought home … that and all the coasters from the biergartens we visited.
The infamous German sandpaper, er toilet paper! Last time I was there (2013), they were still using it. 😝 It’s too bad your father didn’t spend more time with you in Germany. That must have been a boring vacation. Love the beer coasters! We brought a stack of them home as well.
Sandpaper was a good name for it Debbie and dark pink?? No, he barely spoke to me and he visited his aunt and uncle – we stayed at their apartment while in Frankfurt and traveled with them to Austria and they did not speak a word of English. It was very boring. The beer coasters were very cool.
That was funny Debbie and I knew there were a lot of words to describe toilets, but didn’t know there were that many. My favorite was the “pissoir”, not only for the play on words, but the concept of having a free-standing urinal in the middle of a busy street, to kind of just dip in and dip out – can’t be too modest there.
I do remember the Turkish toilets and I think it was in Turkey that I first saw them. I was on a cruise and we docked in Kusadasi, Turkey on a very hot day. We got a flyer on the ship before our day tour explaining what a Turkish toilet was and to perhaps limit our water consumption if we didn’t feel comfortable using this archaic toilet. Our guide for the day excursion also told us that, but it was very hot and I remember I got a pineapple juice, sipping it sparingly to avoid the dreaded Turkish toilet. I had on jeans and decided to “hold it” ’til I got back to the ship.
One funny story from when I was young. My father took me to the Santa Claus Parade in Toronto and I was not a toddler, but maybe six or seven I guess. We were cold after the parade so we went into a cafe for some hot chocolate and dessert. I went into the bathroom before we went home and somehow got locked in the stall. It was not a cafe in the heart of Downtown so no one else came into the bathroom. My father kept waiting for me to come out and finally had to send someone in … I was too big to crawl out from underneath and not strong enough to force the door open. Not fun. The previous time he took me Downtown for the Parade we went on the escalator and one of my snowpants leggings came unfastened out of my boots and got caught in the escalator stairs as it was trying to pull down my snowpants. I think it had a bib, so wouldn’t have pulled them off, but I was screaming and they had to stop the escalator to get me unhooked. For the rest of my life, if I go onto an escalator, I pause and stand there forever waiting to step on. I will always take an elevator if there is one available.
Haha! I liked the term “pissoir” as well. 😀 We docked at Kusadasi on our 2013 cruise, but by then they had modern toilets and attendants in the public restrooms, thank goodness! Getting locked in a bathroom stall and also stuck on an escalator must have been really scary for you! 😲 Thanks for sharing your memories, Linda.
You lucked out then on your visit to Kusadasi and, if it was a hot day, you could enjoy a cool drink without sipping it sparingly to avoid using the unique toilets. Glad to give you some insight into my childhood Debbie. 🙂
My best memory of Kusadasi (apart from the spectacular ruins at Ephesus), is buying fresh figs from a street vendor and eating them right there. They were so good! 😀 Whenever we eat figs now, I think of that. 💖
That is a great memory and I didn’t know that was a specialty there. I may have mentioned that the last night of our Greek cruise, we were docked near Mykonos (I think it was Mykonos) and our tour guide for the entire trip had a good friend who lived there, so he asked another woman and me if we would like to spend the evening getting some authentic Greek food and seeing some night life, so we met the friend who grew figs and he brought each of us a package of them. I have to say I had never had figs before (except Fig Newtons), so I was amazed how good they were.
Yes, I remember that story! 🙂 Nothing compares with figs fresh off the tree, but we buy the imported ones here and often make a meal of them, with wine and cheese.
That looks good, all of it – Summertime in the backyard!
We practically live out there all summer. Our little Shangri La! 🙂
Better than driving to somewhere – just hightail it to the backyard. The table looked inviting.
Yeah, I got a story from long long ago when we were young teens. We were exploring Pokagon near the family cottage on Snow lake, and my young niece had the double complaint of sore feet (Wearing thongs) and having to pee, a problem my nephew and I did not share, lol. We were quite lost at the time, and up on a hill of tall grass surrounded by woods. Suddenly, we saw an old one holer at the top of the hill. My niece swung the door open with impending relief- Only to find a tree coming up thru the hole! Bright side- just around the other side of the one-holer, we saw our lake- about a mile or two away, but thankfully downhill.
That must have been quite a sight! 😆 And not much relief for your niece. At least you were able to find your way back.
Debbie, I do have a very personal story about my dad, and his obsession with toilet paper use. I wrote about it on my blog.
https://beetleypete.com/2018/02/16/thinking-about-something-on-a-friday/
Best wishes, Pete.
That’s quite a story, Pete! 😆 How stressful, to have to worry about your dad’s toilet paper obsession when you’re trying to do your business. And, I can’t imagine not having indoor plumbing. Guess I’m pretty spoiled. Thanks for sharing your memories!
Everybody poops, the video starts out.. LOL
I know we’re talking about toilettes, but I found this article to be very interesting.
Happy Thursday!
And that’s the truth! 😆 Glad you found it interesting, Kymber. Thanks for coming by.
Well, this narrows down my bucket list. Do not visit countries that don’t have proper plumbing. Ugh.
Haha! There are many, Karen. 🙂 Most times, the other aspects, like amazing history and incredible food, outweigh the inconvenience of poor plumbing.
Hi Debbie – my mother’s first husband’s parents (he was killed in the War) had a long drop in their garden backing onto Lake Windermere … I remember that … had to run down the garden and then add soil over it! When we (as a family) visited the Battle of Agincourt museum in France – that was where one of your ‘stand-over’ toilets was to be found … challenging for us ladies. I guess listening to others’ ideas on the loo back in the Roman days could be interesting?! Cheers Hilary
Hi Hilary! 🙂 I can’t imagine having to do one’s business outdoors, so I guess I’m pretty spoiled. 😆 Yes, those standing toilets are definitely challenging for women, but hopefully, they’ve been replaced by modern commodes by now. The Romans were pretty advanced for their times, having a sewer system. Thanks for coming by! I’m trying to get caught up with everyone over the next few days.
Well, I saw my old comment so I will not repeat. Here is something I saw on Pinterest last week: “I am not calling the bathroom John anymore. I am calling it Jim. It sounds better if I say I went to the Jim first thing in the morning.”
Yes, sorry I missed your previous comment the first time around. I like the idea of using Jim instead of John! 😆 Thanks, Denise!
Many thanks for the reminder Debbie, …years and years ago, …we had Penny Toilets, …(no puns about my name, 😉). One English penny into the slot and you found ‘relief’, … I’ve not visited any public toilets for years, but I remember they used to give awards for the cleanest, …So maybe just like the Oscars, someone has such a trophy,…( shaped as a Toilet Brush, doyathink?)… great work on the info, and strange how many names fit the erm…occupation or career, …Have a good productive day my friend, …I’m off to spend a penny, …(and that is a saying now!) much luv winging its way to Canada, 💙
So that’s where “spend a penny” came from! 🙂 Thanks for that excellent bit of trivia, Penny. Perfect idea, to have a toilet brush-shaped award for the cleanest stall. Or maybe a plunger? 🪠 😀
Or maybe both? … crossed like swords,…😂😂
Good one! 😆
We used to have pay toilets in Sweden too but as far as I can tell they are gone. Free public toilets is much better. When I came to the US the first time I was quite disturbed by the fact that all the toilets were birdbaths. How do you go on a birdbath? But I got used it. It’s just a lot of water. Anyway, there are many countries where you still cannot throw toilet paper in the toilet such as Greece, Turkey, parts of Eastern Europe, parts of South America, China, and Egypt. I hope that will be fixed one day.
I agree, when you have to go, the last thing you want to worry about is finding correct change for the toilet! 😬 Birdbaths? Oh, I guess because there aren’t many low flow toilets in the U.S.? I like the European ones that give you the options of low or high. We had one in our bathroom for a few years here, but it kept malfunctioning, so we went back to conventional. Yes, I experienced the toilet paper issue first-hand when visiting Greece and Turkey. Mostly, it didn’t bother me too much, unless the disposal bins didn’t have lids on them! 😝
It’s been a while I have seen you here, I hope you are doing well. You are really expert with languages, there are so much one can learn everyday. Very good pictures, I remember pretty well this time when toilets were like your post shows us. Very good post Debbie👍Have a beautiful night there I am already in the morning here😊
No worries, Jean. 🙂 I did publish a photo essay last week, but this is a busy time offline. There’s lots of yard work and spring cleaning to do, getting ready for summer. (Plus the NHL hockey playoffs, which are very important here in Canada. 😉) I will try to catch up with all my blogging friends over the next few days. Thanks for coming by and have a wonderful weekend!
I am very glad to hear that you have so much activity there and I hope your favorite one wins that hockey playoffs👍I must check out your last week post😊
Too much activity, perhaps! Not a fan of yard work OR cleaning, 😆 But the hockey games are exciting ,and thanks! We hope our team will win as well. 🤞
I see😊 I think your team wins because they have so cool supporters like you👍
I wish! They haven’t won in 58 years. 🤪
Oops now it’s time to win😊
Absolutely! 😀
At a fancy-schmancy Mexico City restaurant’s ladies’ room, a Mexican woman attendant handed me a paper towel to dry my hands. I paid her a tip and said “Gratsias” so well, she went on and on in Spanish to me, thinking I could understand her. (Besides that I knew only a few phrases).
You must have said it perfectly! 🙂 She was likely grateful for the tip.
And the most important phrase I learned was, “Donde este servicio?” (Where’s the washroom?) I’m not kidding…
For sure! That would be one of the first questions to ask. 😀
I am way behind in reading blogs. In Germany in 2013 we ran into lots of places with pay toilets. We joked that the attendants must have been former employees of the Stasi. In Liechtenstein, I saw a picture of a toilet with a man standing on it and one of those red circles with a slash over it. I asked and they said lots of orientals think you are supposed to stand on the toilet to go. Geez.
Sorry I missed this comment originally, Denise! We were only in Germany for a few days and didn’t need to use any public washrooms. Too bad they were still charging for them in 2013. That’s funny about the sign in Liechtenstein! 😆 I guess toilets in Asia were of the stand up variety?
I remember a basic hole in the ground in Nepal which my wife and I were told was ’round behind the water buffalo’.
That’s REALLY roughing it! 🙂 Nepal must be fascinating, regardless.
Aaaaannd gross. That’s all I can say and how very, very thankful I never had to experience the beginnings.
Hahaha! Yes, we are lucky to be living in a modern world, that’s for sure. Some countries still have some catching up to do, though. You need a well-developed sense of adventure to travel. 🙂
Hi Debbie,
it was interesting and funny to at same time but good one appreciated ! dapper pisser, interesting collection of words. yes i recalled my childhood what we do in our villages in those days.
I’m glad you enjoyed the stories. Thanks for coming by!
You’ve done it again! I’m starting to get freaked out that you can read the blog posts I haven’t written – you know, all the best ones that are still in our heads!? I have been planning on writing something based on a picture I took in 2014 – the year I started blogging! So here we are, 5 years later, and you have written a BRILLIANT piece on loos (that’s my usual word apart from ‘lavvy’ if the queen is in earshot which is like, NEVER). And that film! It’s hilarious – the actor is so funny with his expressions and not one word spoken. Thanks so much Debbie, I do have some toilet stories to tell but I think I will get on and do the post I was going to do 5 years ago (?) and link to this post if you don’t mind? Thanks for this entertaining interlude in my day!
That is uncanny, Gilly! 😀 And I wrote the original post in 2014. Definitely freaky! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Absolutely, feel free to link anything you like. Can’t wait to read your toilet stories. Cheers!
I recall, as a youth growing up in rural West Tennessee, when we got plumbing, then hot and cold running water, up to and including, sinks and showers and a flushing toilet. One was all we installed. So, from time to time, when there were many at the house, I would take advantage of our outdoor privy. On one occasion, I failed to properly inspect the facility, and as a result, a wasp stung me on my posterior.
…
You are laughing, aren’t you?
Ouch! That must have stung! 😮 I tried very hard NOT to laugh, but a little chuckle slipped out. 😀 Thanks for sharing your toilet story, Myke.
I remember a while back wanting to find the truth of the Crapper story and getting basically nowhere. It sure would be nice to know what he actually did (well, I mean, other than…)
Here’s the answer: Crapper did not invent the toilet, but he did develop the ballcock, an improved tank-filling mechanism still used in toilets today. Crapper’s name would become synonymous with the devices he sold (although the English word “crap” predates him by centuries), thanks in part to American servicemen stationed overseas during World War I.
https://www.history.com/news/who-invented-the-flush-toilet
These were most humorous, but ever so true. Funny how things have changed in some places and some things that haven’t changed.
Have a fabulous day and thanks for the laughs. ♥
I’m glad you enjoyed the toilet humour, Sandee. 🙂 Thanks for coming by and happy boating this weekend!
Evidently the plumbing in Mexico is so bad that they throw their toilet paper in a wastebasket (usually conveniently placed next to the toilet. If you go to Mexican restaurants (around here, anyway) you see a setup like that. A woman I knew professionally said that one day she had to negotiate a truce between American and Mexican workers at a plant, because the Americans were grossed out by the Mexicans using the the only wastebasket in the restroom to discard their TP, and the Mexicans were convinced that the Americans weren’t using it at all and getting grossed out by that.
In a lot of the Far East, squat toilets are most common, although this is rapidly changing. Another woman I worked with told me that often she’d see women standing on the toilet seat and squatting down to go, because they knew no other way. When I went to Singapore a few years ago, the men’s room at the airport had a clearly-marked stall for the more traditional (so to speak) users.
Odd sort of subject to get on, isn’t it?
Mexico and Greece have this in common, apparently! I didn’t mind the wastebaskets, as long as they had lids, but the open ones are gross! 😛 Yes, I’m glad to see the rest of the world slowly catching up to the 21st century with toilet design.
I wrote this originally for the 2014 A to Z Challenge and thought it might be amusing. 🙂 Thanks for coming by and sharing your toilet anecdotes, JOHN! I guess the title drew you in? 😉 Have a good weekend.
Some fascinating toilet stories here, Debbie D. My hubby and I were at a Porsche dealership in Georgia. The attitude there was hoity-toity, indeed. Well, the ladies room was quite a treat! You could adjust the temperature of the toilet seat using dials strategically placed right next to the toilet. You could also adjust the temperature of your room. (each stall was an enlcosed unit.). Of course, there was a bidet, which you could choose what scent you wanted to enjoy during your ladies room stay. I thought perhaps, I could get my hair and nails done while I was there! lol
It was quite the experience and a pleasant one at that!
That is the most luxurious toilet experience I’ve ever heard of, Eugenia. It must have been such a treat! And to think, most of us are deprived of such niceties. Pity! 🙂 Thanks for sharing your story.
Ewww!
My only post on the subject
https://joeh-crankyoldman.blogspot.com/2016/04/peeing-at-tao.html
Hahaha! Thanks for sharing that link. Your post was hilarious! 😀 I left a comment.
Debbie,
Paid toilets. In the small city of Welch WV when I was a kid, yes, it was in the late 60s to early 70s I recall going to the department store. I’m thinking it was a 5 and Dime where you had to drop a dime in the slot to use the bathroom. I thought that was the craziest thing and I do remember having to bang on the door on occasion. The store also had an escalator which is another first experience for me. Luckily, I did not have any unfortunate accidents but I do remember the feeling of dread every time we went shopping there. What if I had to go to the bathroom and didn’t have the money? You mentioned having to use the bathroom over a tiny hole in the floor. That’s nothing, easy peasy stuff! I remember when we used to stay at my great -grandparents’ place they did not have an indoor bathroom and in the middle of the night going to the outhouse might turn into a lively experience meeting wild animals and such not to mention it was scary. We always had an empty pop bottle, though. It worked just fine and it always amazed me that I didn’t leave a wet mess behind. I had a steadier aim when I was little, so I guess that’s why I didn’t have any trouble but I have no clue why they didn’t have a wide mouth container to use as a bedchamber but the bottle worked. Growing up in rural WV, often times when we went somewhere there weren’t many businesses which meant no public bathrooms. We did like all the folks did at the time, pulled off the road, opened the car doors on one side and the kid wee-weed between them making for an instant bathroom stall. This worked well for number one business just fine. I don’t know what we did if more urgent potting was needed. lol Speaking of public bathrooms, I recall seeing a travel documentary a few years ago and I think it was somewhere in France. They mentioned the public bathrooms which basically looked like a big room with a tile floor for women to squat and tinkle. No privacy whatsoever but it’s all in what you’re accustomed to I suppose. Your posts are always interesting and often spark a distant memory I had forgotten. Can you believe tomorrow is the first day of summer? What are your plans for the longest day of the year?
Hey, I forgot to check out the videos. We used to tease if we ran out of TP, then we can always use the Sears Roebuck catalog like dear ole grandma & grandpa. I’d say the daily newspaper served as a good recycling matter for that job, too. lol
The newspaper might be a little softer! 😀 The videos are really funny. Hope you get the chance to watch them. Have a good weekend!
My goodness, Cathy! I can’t imagine using something as small as a pop bottle to pee in. That takes real skill. 🙂 Thankfully, most of Europe has modern toilets now. That one in France sounds awful! And, what happens if they need to do more than just pee? 😮 Thanks for sharing your experiences!
P.S. The first day of summer is a little chilly here. 😛 Hopefully, it will clear up later so we can hang out on the back deck. Enjoy your day!