This week Rob suffers this fate in Doctors leading to an embarrassing evening…
Oceans, providers of sustainable toilet paper subscriptions, have researched to find out how often we are using public toilets, what for, and how common our toilet practices are when it comes to going to the loo.
Vikki Makinson, head of marketing and communications at Oceans:
“Whether we want to or not, we’ve all found ourselves in a public toilet at some point in our lives. Many of us know the common debates around how you hang your toilet roll at home – with our survey finding 88.8% in favour of the beard technique – but do you know how strangers are using the public toilet before you? We aim to find out.”
You might be someone with a bit of wee anxiety who likes to know a public toilet is nearby “just in case” or you might be someone who avoids them at all costs, preferring to rush home to your private toilet than sit in the stall next to someone. Whatever your preference, we are all aware of our own opinions on using public toilets and some people have strong opinions on whether they use them or not.
The survey found that 63.6% of people will use a public toilet if they need to go. However, 36.4% of people are adamant they would rather wait until they got home than step foot inside a public toilet. Whether it is for the home luxury of your scented toilet paper or avoiding the awkwardness of sneaking out of a cubical when it blocks, some people just prefer their home throne.
Of the 36% who said they’d rather avoid public toilets, 92.3% said they avoid public toilets because they believe them to be unhygienic, dirty, or due to other people’s germs. And a further 15.4% of people avoid using public toilets due to other people – whether they’re too busy or you’re just a bit toilet shy.
With so many of our respondents concerned about the cleanliness of their toilets, we asked “How often do you wash your hands?” According to 76.6% of people, they wash their hands every time they go to the toilet. However, this means that 23.4% of people either wash their hands “most of the time” or less.
When asked “Which toilet stall do you go for?” there was a tie for the most common habit. Both, 36.4% of respondents said they’d be happy to go in any public toilet stall and another 36.4% said they tend to choose the furthest away stall. Whereas only 3.7% chose the toilet nearest the door. So, if you’re more worried about the cleanliness of your cubical than your proximity to the street, your best option might be the toilet closest to the exit.
And when respondents were asked “Do you leave the lid open when you flush?” a staggering 61.3% of people responded, “yes, it makes no difference.” So, if you’re going into the bathroom after someone else, you can expect they’ve most likely left the toilet lid open when flushing!
We all have our unusual quirks when it comes to our habits, but what are some of the most common habits for people when they use the toilet? Well, 85.1% claim to use their phone to some degree on the toilet. Whether you’re scrolling through social media, doing some last-minute shopping, or even answering messages, most people use their phones while sitting on the toilet. The distraction our phones offer might be why 67.3% of us believe we spend spending longer than an average of two minutes on the toilet when we go.
Another habit that 19.6% of people share is falling asleep on the toilet. From taking a power nap to a late-night toilet trip turning into a snooze, it isn’t all that uncommon for you to doze off on the dunny. Just remember to use some toilet roll to cushion your head while you catch some ZZZ’s.
Some of the wilder habits that the survey found out included 3.8% of people admitting to having sex in a public toilet – with 6.5% of all respondents implying something similar. Other behaviours included vaping and smoking and getting changed or ready for a party. But overall, 38.5% people either claiming they’ve done nothing weird or declined to answer – making you wonder what secrets are still hidden in the toilet world.
In BBC One’s Doctors this Thursday (December 14th) police officer, Rob reluctantly joins the police Christmas night out dressed as a turkey and proceeds to get hammered and falls asleep in the pub loo. When he comes to, he finds all his colleagues have gone home.
