Warning--this post may be offensive to members of the female gender (and other people, too)
This seems to happen a lot. I go into a crowded public restroom and take my place against the wall. Then the guy next to me, either before he starts or after he finishes -- spits a large stream of saliva into the urinal. Now I don’t know very many guys who make a habit of spitting under any circumstances. You don’t see too many guys spitting these days when they’re in their yard or taking a hike or even out in the middle of the ocean. So why this compulsion to spit when they’re confronted with a urinal? Do they think they’re getting away with something? Is this somehow macho? Have they suddenly taken an interest in the color and viscosity of their sputum? This has happened too many times to be a coincidence. And so I ask you -- am I alone in this observation? Has this happened to you? Do you have any rationale explanation? Youth wants to know!
posted by unca | 5:44 PM
13 Comments:
This is a good observation that I have never heard raised before.
I have witnessed this several times too.
I will take a crack at solving this phenomenon. I think what is happening here is (and this might sound really bizarre to the ladies out there) but what I think is happening is that the guy is trying to spit down to see if he can make it go through his stream. So basically it’s a game you can play with your urine. Sometimes you miss it just to the right and sometimes you miss it just to the left and sometimes on a good day it will go right through the middle of the stream. Bull’s-eye!
Yeah, Um, I'm going to let the men comment on this one.
Doesn't bother me in the least bit for several reasons. I normally don't watch what other guys are doing at urinals, not for any fear or homophobia of watching another man urinate (I have purposely watched some of my friends urinate just to make them uncomfortable and cause a midstream stop, talking to them or touching them is also a great way to cause an umwanted halt to aforementioned stream). I digress. It is just that I am too self-absorbed to notice them. Secondly, I guess I would prefer someone spitting in a urinal than say a water fountain or sink. I do not normally spit in urinals, but I do spit in toilets when I am seated. And yes it is a bit of a game to see if I can spit and not hit myself which I might add while patting myself on the back that I am 100% (Jim Gruenwald fan club now adjurned). Lastly, spitting in an urinal is a rather water-efficient way of gettting rid of body waste. You can spit and then rinse it down without the use of the excess water required for a water fountain or sink. Although I suppose if a person really wanted they could pee the phlegm down either of those as well. Either way, I am for spitting in urinals if necessary; however, I am against the gratuitous use of urinals. Spit for a purpose or do not spit at all. Only spit that which you are not willing to swallow. These are the rules of spitting we should all live by.
Re: ultimate male and "I do spit in toilets when I am seated. And yes it is a bit of a game to see if I can spit and not hit myself." This is, perhaps, the most pitiful excuse for amusement that I've ever read. But, hey, if it makes you happy.....
More like a spitiful excuse
okay, a serious answer now because i am a serious person:
sometimes if step in something unpleasant, or smell something unpleasant, or i'm doing something with my hands that's messy or unpleasant (eg, cleaning a toilet, wiping a toddler's nose), i have an urge to spit.
i know the whatever-it-is that's gross isn't actually in my mouth, but i think it's some kind of subconscious way to distance myself from the process. i just don't feel like swallowing saliva while i'm staring at snot, for example -- i guess it kind of makes me think of swallowing snot, or something.
anyway, i speculate that in some cases, something like the above might be at work with the urinal spitters.
or maybe not.
It seems to me that spitting for the male is simply another way of propelling a more or less spherical object and getting satisfaction from either the distance or the accurracy (see Blogball's comment) - much like hitting a golf ball, a baseball, throwing a football, etc. which is why you probably see athletes doing this more often than science majors.
I've always wanted to be a better spitter and in group settings will often not spit for fear of not looking cool. Granted there aren't that many occasions where group spitting is called for but still...
I think all of these answers are great and I can't believe the response. It just goes to show you...something, I guess.
If you want to read even more about this (and who wouldn't?)just google urinal spitting -- apparently, I'm not the only one wondering about this.
Now, you mentioned he spits before he starts or after he finishes, which really doesn't work with the whole "game" of spitting mid-stream. Just an observation.
At any rate, I just want to let you know that women don't do this. Another way in which we're superior.
:)
Jay are is correct. I noticed this inconsistency too. I guess the lesson here is that no matter how important this issue is, we'll probably never really know the truth - or maybe there are different explanations depending on the spitter. It's deep stuff no matter how you look at it.
Wow, I can’t believe I found this post? The reason for finding it was I had the exact same question! This is a phenomenon which I have noticed as well, and after my many years (26) of urinating in public bathrooms as well as participating in this natural occurrence which I couldn’t explain, I chanced the idea of searching for my answers on the Internet! Crazy!
I don’t believe this is a sport or any sort of game that makes men do this. I think that it is deeper than that, because I admit that I do this as well, but it is not part of a thought process. I believe it’s for a reason? Like how your pet dog before it lies down, does the multiple circles or scratches before it goes to bed. It’s pre-programmed to do it.
I’m not sure why, but I have a guess. I think it may have to do with the salivary glands producing an abnormal amount of saliva for some reason in a reaction to the thought of relief?
I had to use the bathroom in the middle of this post, so I paid closer attention to what was happening and noticed that this is what was taking place. I think because there is an outlet in which to spit (the urinal), men do, and right before they relieve themselves?
My two cents anyways.
I've always wondered if it's not some evolutionary trait...
Perhaps a quick spit first, tests the waters, so to speak. If projecting liquid was going to cause something bad to happen , I'd prefer it to happen when I spit and prior to anything else...
There is a really good write up about this, I found it while researching another spitting incident, although this post shows exactly why people think this happens http://drshem.com/2011/08/25/why-men-spit-before-urinating-in-urinal-or-toilet/.
It's an interesting topic but I'm still not convinced that I've nailed the reason as to why do men spit before going to the toilet?
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