Wednesday, April 23, 2008

bathroom humor.

My documentation on my trip to Utah would not be complete without this story. You may not find it as humorous as Jane and I did... but I will give it a shot.


I have to start off by saying that Jane is a total trooper. I called her about two days before we left for Salt Lake... and she was totally up for a road trip. She is MY kind of gal! She has family in Utah as well, so we made the trip together but didn't actually see each other while we were there. When I asked her to come with us, I prefaced the invite with one stipulation: Shumways DON'T STOP on road trips... We fill up on gas, make a quick trip to the restroom and then we are back in the car. That is the way I drive and if she was willing to cooperate, then she could come along :) I think I was a little harsh on her because she is PREGNANT sometimes pregnant people have to pee often. But she agreed to come anyway. I told you-- she was my kind of gal. Our drive up to Utah was rather successful. We stopped once for gas and that was it. The way home was another story.....




I picked up Jane at her parents home around 6:00 am. We were good for about 100 miles and then the kids needed/wanted to stop. We got out, let them run around for a bit and then hit the road again. About an hour after that, Ben had to go to the bathroom. I told him to hold it or go in a water bottle because we just stopped.. He made the rather embarrassing announcement that he had to go #2 and a water bottle wasn't going to do the job. I agreed and we stopped at the closest rest area. Ben ran in and did his thing and that was that. About an hour later, we needed to get gas.. we let the kids play at McD's (in their pj's... because we're cool like that and don't care what other people think of us... that's right-- the kids were in their jammies and I was without a bra. we're total white trash.) After our stop for gas, the kids were sleepy and we thought we were homebound. Until Ben announces that he needs to use the bathroom again... and even more embarrassing (especially in front of Jane) that when we stopped earlier, he couldn't go... but now he really had to go.... Luke chimed in a minute later and said he wanted to join the "I have go to poo" club. We were in the canyon and had at least 10 miles to go before hitting Mesquite. At this point, I was totally eating my words about never stopping.. We were about to pull over for the 4th time in 5 hours of driving..... yikes. We finally made it to an exit. Jane stayed in the car with the toddlers, while Ben, Luke and I ran into the gas station. Low and behold BOTH bathrooms in this particular gas station were getting remodeled. Raise your hand if you think that's a bad idea for any gas station, let alone one closest to the freeway exit. But I didn't have time to talk to the gas station owner-- I was dealing with an emergency here. We ran back out to the car and drove across the street to another McDonald's and sprinted to the doors.



As soon as we were inside land of the golden arches, there was more drama. Two nice ladies were standing in line outside the women's bathroom... because it was getting cleaned. Seriously people!! I asked them how long they had been waiting and we laughed about the bathroom-less gas station next door. After a minute or so, I had the brilliant idea of heading into the men's room with my boys. I knocked on the door, opened it and said, "Is anyone in here?" No one answered. I asked the ladies if they saw anyone enter the mens bathroom and they shook their heads. So, the three of us busted through the door and found a man frantically zipping up his jeans. Oops! I turned around quickly and waited until he came out. When he passed by us, I patted him on the shoulder and said, "I am really sorry about that." Which made the other women laugh. I thought it was funny too... not because I had just walked in on him, but because I found it nessesary to acknowledge what happened after he came out. I should have looked the other way and pretended it didn't happen-- but I was sorry and wanted him to know!

After he was out, we all headed in again. There were several urinals and only one stall, (thankfully with a door.) They each took a turn on the toilet and neither of them could go! Are you kidding me? As I am lecturing them about how we are NOT stopping if they decide they have to go in 20 minutes... I hear the door open. I was quiet for a second, and then I said, "Hello?"

Man who just entered the bathroom: I was wondering if I heard a WOMAN's voice in the MEN'S bathroom.

Me: Yeah, I'm sorry. I am in here with my kids. The women's is being cleaned and they really needed to go [not exactly the truth, though..]

Man: Oh, that's funny. It's not a big deal. I have kids too.

Me: Can you wait until we leave? We're almost outta here.

Man: Sure. No problem [zipping back up]

We flushed the toilet, unlocked the stall door, washed our hands and ran outside. The cleaning lady was still in the women's bathroom and I bumped into one of the ladies who was waiting in line to tell her that a man walked in on me while we were in there. She laughed but I think after I walked away she shook her head. I personally don't care. If my kids in fact had to go (like I thought they did) I would have been a total hero-- and success or not, it makes for a good story.

Now, what is even more funny than the story is what I found online while searching for a good bathroom sign to post. I opened a can of worms while searching and just had to share my findings. These are from all over the world and are hilarious... Enjoy!



Turkey




Prague


Veitnam


Spain



Honolulu Airport



Edinburgh



Who's the wise guy who made these tricky signs?



Scotland


Some people feel more comfortable around those who share the same political party than their own sex..



Atlanta, Georgia


no fishing or pretending you're a dog peeing on a fire hydrant


Budapest


Barbie and Ken
Germany


We ALL know where a man's heart is.


Thailand
(must enter wearing only bathing suits)


Thailand



Germany
can't you just make the toilet happy?


Korea
I always knew Korean men were perves.


India
No diving off the toilet. You might crack your head open.


Oregon






France


France,
this one a little classier


Women/Men/ or Alien life forms
are welcome in this bathroom


Austrailia


Iran


Home Sliced Pizza, Autstin, TX


South Korea


A urinal for Rednecks


Science museum, Seattle


Baltimore


White Dog, Philly



And my favorites....



taken from an ad for Axe cologne


I don't know where this is from,
but my guess would be it was taken from an Indian petroglyph.
(and it was probably a nursing Indian woman.. because Dang! they are bigger than her head!)

23 comments:

Brandy-Blue said...

you are so funny... i love this entry... can't believe all the funny signs you found, and who can believe they are actually real!!

campblondie said...

UH?!

Jane said...

I love the bathroom signs...especially the pizza and the korean one. That was such a fun trip, and was fun to laugh about after it happened.

Allison said...

Hilarious! Some of those pictures had me crossing my legs (just like on the signs),I was laughing so hard!

Danalin said...

I kept scrolling and scrolling and scrolling...so many! I remember the Honolulu Airport ones from when I landed there as a very green sister missionary. I walked in on a man going to the bathroom at a rest stop one time because the womens bathroom was closed. I DID knock first...

Emily B said...

These signs are awesome. Thanks for putting them on this post. I especially love the men's signs that have a person with a little appendage.

Arah said...

those are great! I remember seeing that one in the Seattle Science Museum. You would be a person to enjoy engrish.com. it is so funny.

Wendy said...

I think I would end up in the wrong bathroom in the pizza place. Am I the only one? Janet, you should check out this blog. I think you would appreciate it. http://sillysigns.blogspot.com/

Sam said...

I'm just laughing at all of them. Not sure which is my favorite!! Sam

Sheri said...

Hey Janet! I ran into Francine last week and from her blog, I found yours. Way too fun for words! I found your blog early this week and have been coming in daily for my fix. What a fabulous little family you have! I have a blog too, though not nearly as witty. I'd tell you to check it out when you get bored, but I'm afraid it wouldn't do much to ease the boredom. So fun to catch up with your life. Tell your mom hi for me next time you talk to her. Way funny post, btw. I can't stop laughing at some of those signs.
Sheri Staten (Squire)

Brandon and Lindsay said...

Janet-I love all of the bathroom signs! How clever some are (I admit on a few I was a bit confused where I would go!). Anyway, I am so glad you got to go visit your family in Utah. It is always fun to just drop in. And I'm glad you have such a great friend to travel with! I feel your pain with the bathroom stops...unfortunately in our car it is usually me who has to stop! (especially if I am driving, because I am munching and drinking the whole time so I don't get sleepy, which means lots of potty stops!) One time when Ryan and I were driving to Utah alone from Spokane we stopped at a rest area with those automatically flushing toilets and he went to sit down and of course the thing flushed REALLY loudly (he was about 3 years old) and he ran out of the stall crying and refused to go pee in there, so we had to stop like 20 minutes later when he had calmed down and couldn't hold it any longer. You gotta love traveling with kids!

Stephanie said...

I'll road trip with you anytime if you ever want a driving partner! I am with you...I DO NOT STOP. Scott always teases me because I get so serious about it he's going to have to buy some depends...

Starnes fam said...

How fun was that to read? It was SO hilarious..and I think I learned something too! A couple of them were a little tricky to figure out!
I always take for granted that the boys can just pee in a bottle or a cup while we are driving long distances. I am always in a panic when they delare they have to go
#2!

Nat said...

LOL! those are the funniest things I've ever seen. I have spent the last 2 hours reading your blog and laughing my head off! I'll move to Vegas if that means I can take random road trips back to SLC with you!

Smelsha said...

Bah! Am I dumb if I couldn't figure some of those out?? :)

Brooke said...

Gotta love being a mom when that sudden "urgency" comes... and I love that you tried to get him to just pee in a bottle while you were driving.

Hibbard Family said...

I needed a laugh today, thank you janet!

Danielle said...

Only a mother can understand the feeling of being in the men's restroom with a kid that HAS TO GO!! I'm proud to say I've been there a few times- most of the men have been left untraumatized...

tatum said...

that is so funny, you have the best stories, i have to pee just from laughing so hard after reading it. thanks for letting me go to bed with a smile.

RaeLynn said...

Oh my gosh janet--that was hilarious. HILARIOUS.

Diane Jaggi said...

That is so funny - I would have to stop and think at some before I entered! But I have admit something also - I have used the men's room too!!! Small blatter!!

vickersfam said...

What a great post! Who knew there were so many hilarious bathroom signs in the world? When I visited England, I remember being a little confused and thinking how weird it was that not all bathrooms and signs aren't set up exactly like in the U.S. I've learned since then that the whole world isn't just like us, go figure!

The Walkers said...

I cannot believe you found all of these, you funny girl. And I love the bathroom story, the entire thing. That is something that would happen to me for sure.