There are many unwritten rules of life: chew with your mouth closed; don’t propose at someone else’s wedding; let people off the train before you get on. But now, there’s an unwritten etiquette for using the urinal, after one TikToker took to the app to question whether women knew about this – and the answer is likely no.
In a viral clip that has since racked up a whopping 1.9 million views, stand-up comedian Freddy Quinne (@freddyquinne) explains, “Nobody’s ever discussed this with us, nobody’s gone out and set the rules, but we all know which place to have a p*ss is acceptable and which one isn’t.”
Using a visual of five urinals to explain further, he adds, “So you’ve got five urinals in a row here and the rule is, if you go in and every single one is empty, then you take urinal number one [far left] or urinal number five [far right].”
(@freddyquinne/TikTok)
“Now, if number one or number five are both being used, then you use the one in the middle, urinal number three.
“The reason for that, is that way you leave a space in between the other two people having a p*ss because it’s weird if you just go up and p*ss next to someone, when you’ve got the option not to.
(@freddyquinne/TikTok)
“The only time you would ever use urinals two and four, is when one, three and five are occupied.
“There’s no other reason for using them…ever.”
Naturally, the TikTok clip prompted thousands of comments who seemingly related to the unwritten rule. One described it as similar to boarding a bus, “A bit like bus seats”, he said. “You’d choose the empty seat first before you’d opt to sit next to a random stranger.”
Others shared further enlightening urinal etiquette, “And you always stare at the wall”, one commented.
While another added, “If 1-3-5 are being used, you wait.”