Have you ever visited a
public restroom and been treated to listening to a cell phone conversation from
the stall next to yours? Or while waiting on the inevitable line that snakes
into the Women’s restroom watched patrons emerging from the stalls with phone
in hand, texting away.
At the risk of sounding
terribly old-fashioned and proper, I admit this disturbs me. Frankly, I don’t
want to carry on a conversation with you, verbally or textually, while you’re
sitting on a toilet.
And until recently I thought
the practice of calling or texting from a restroom was a new phenomenon, part
of a modern day craze to stay in touch constantly. Then I found a relic from 80
years ago that proved that theory wrong.
In a little envelope dating from the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, I found a letter pre-printed on toilet paper. This apparently was sold as a novelty item to be sent to friends and family. The letter begins:
In a little envelope dating from the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, I found a letter pre-printed on toilet paper. This apparently was sold as a novelty item to be sent to friends and family. The letter begins:
GREETINGS FROM THE FAIR. Just sittin’ here restin’ the
dogs after trampin’ up and down the shore of Lake Michigan all day takin’ in
this Century of Progress Af”FAIR.” So, while this COMFORT STATIONery is handy
thought I’d drop you a few sheets which will make sure of my gettin’ full value
for the nickel it cost me to get in this writing booth.
The “letter” goes on for 17 sheets describing attractions at the Fair and includes cartoon sketches. It ends with the writer saying that his foot is going to sleep and he’s getting hungry so he’s going to sign off to get some food and see the exotic dancer “Little Egypt” perform.
I don’t know how many of
these gag items were sold and actually sent; the one I obtained was never
mailed. But it debunked my belief that the idea of communicating from the
toilet only came about with the arrival of the cell phone. And next time I’m in
a public restroom and hear a conversation in the next booth, I will wonder for
just a second if the speaker is a descendant of the writer of this gag toilet
paper postcard.
Stretch says for once he agrees with my old-fashioned ideas. In fact, he approves of the 1950s code that wouldn’t allow a toilet to be seen in television shows, so he won’t allow his entire bathroom to appear in the blog either. And he wants his fans to know you’ll never get a letter written on his toilet paper either.
4 comments:
I agree! God forbid I actually hear the toilet flush while I'm talking to someone!
Thanks Jann! It's good to know I'm not alone in this pet peeve. And you made me laugh with your comment about the toilet flushing--I so agree, it's not what I ever want to hear during a phone conversation.
uh oh, I'm guilty of that. But you'll never hear the toilet flush ... I know where the mute button is on the phone.
However, I must agree, the bathroom is not the best place to carry on a conversation. And while the bathroom sometimes is referred to as the "Library," I've never heard it called a phone booth.
Besides, if you happen to be a "scatter-brain" you never know when you may get the TP and the phone mixed up, and that could be a real problem.
Now I'm glad I don't have Skype when you call Paul! LOL
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