Reply #48: I don't mind actual outhouses and pit toilets. [View All]

[politicat]

I don't mind squat toilets.

And I've learned a LOT of female toilet behavior - the most squeamish ones are the ones that make the biggest mess. They hover and spray all over. They fail to flush because they're too worried about getting out of the nasty restroom. And yet, they wouldn't be half as nasty if they weren't so squeamish. Duh.

Bums are bums. They're actually cleaner than hands or mouths, and my girly bits don't touch the toilet seat; my FLANKS do. If I'm really worried, I carry alcohol wipes with me everywhere (I use them for my glasses and my electronics screens) so I wipe down the seat with one of those. You can get big boxes of them at Costco, individually packed.

My mom taught me when I was little to "Flush the Toilet." If I go into a stall with an unflushed toilet, I don't back out and pretend I didn't see it; I flush the damn thing and get on with my business.

Outhouses are kind of the same thing - a properly maintained one is not smelly and pretty dang safe. There's very little chance of coming into contact with bodily fluids in a properly maintained outhouse.

Portajohns... those, I hate. I'd rather use an outhouse than a portajohn. Those things are evil and nasty.

And for when things are really filthy, or there's no place to dig, or there are no choices... there's always the travelmate.