Hacker News Reader

Comment by sheepscreek | Hacker News Reader

Washroom vs. bathroom: I’ve always found it strange to call a room a “bathroom” if it doesn’t have a shower or tub. On the other hand, most single-family homes in Canada have a “powder room” where people can wash their face and hands. Although these facilities serve similar purposes, the former is used for public spaces, while the latter is found inside homes.

View on HN

As an Australian I always find it funny going places and having to remember which dance-around word everyone uses for "toilet". Washroom, restroom, bathroom, there's so many!

'Toilet' itself is a euphemism, an archaic term for dressing/washing room and/or the act of washing up

“Toilette” is still used that way in normal everyday French. “Je fais ma toilette” - I’m washing up/getting ready/getting dressed/doing my morning hygiene routine/etc.

It was pretty surprising to be reading some old books on Project Gutenberg and seeing the word "toilet" being used meaning "outfit" or "wardrobe".

Let's call it the poop room

Don't forget water closet!

Not to be confused with Tungsten Carbide, a ceramic used for abrasives and ballpoint pen tips.

Toilet, bog or lav in the UK are some options.

The easy to remember terms and will work nearly anywhere without giving offence are: "loo" in a residential property or "gents/ladies" for a non-residential property.

and also the lavatory

That'll be the lav.

other notables include the loo, the can, the john, and of course the dunny

The pisser

Toilet is the object, not the room it's in

Only in some parts of the world. In many it's the room and the object

Soviet apartments had a separate rooms for the toilet and the area with a bath/shower/sink. The area behind the toilet was usually a hinged wall that could be opened to reveal the entry point for utilities.

I assume toilet hands were an unspoken issue, because there was no possible way to traverse from the toilet room to the washroom without touching anything.

For a complete tangent, I’ll mention that Soviet toilets had a “poop shelf” so that people could eyeball their stool to gauge their health. One flaw of this design is that there was no odour suppression offered by toilets that immediately immerse stool in water.

I guess by design since odor can inform health too. Also, a poopshelf may lack odor control, but it offers splash control.

> One flaw of this design is that there was no odour suppression offered by toilets that immediately immerse stool in water.

Still better than a Poseidon kiss.

I think their style is an import from Germany in the first place, but it stuck.

I believe German toilets have the same shelf.

Mostly in older buildings. I don't think you see it as often in more modern bathrooms anymore.

Ah yes, [a Dutch toilet](https://noplacelikeanywhere.com/destinations/dutch-toilets-a...)! A most regrettable invention.

And the last 2-bed apartment I rented was a scam, the rooms didn't even come with beds.

> Toilet is the object, not the room it's in

Meaning 1a is the object, 1b is the room. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toilet

Restroom has always puzzled me. Seems like it should be an alternate name for a bedroom instead.

This one (among others) does really fascinate me. Maybe it’s due to spending a lot of time around diverse groups of people but I’ve never really seen a huge distinction between these words. Washroom, bathroom, toilet, I and everyone I know pretty much would use interchangeably? Or at least wouldn’t blink at someone else using them.

Restroom, and a variety of others, might be slightly more usage specific but still… wouldn’t be unexpected or weird, I’d say?

> most single-family homes in Canada have a “powder room” where people can wash their face and hands.

I think only people of a very specific upbringing ever call it that here. Certainly nobody in my circles would.

yeah can't say I know of anyone with a powder room

I use washroom and bathroom interchangeably.

its been said that Canada is still mentally stuck in the Victorian age somewhat

Animal shithouse

Reply on news.ycombinator.com