Toilet Humor Without the Toilet

Today, I'm reading Molly's blog at a coffeeshop in my neighborhood called The Tiny Cup, which incidentally has the worst smelling bathroom I've ever been in. A bold statement, I know. But the strange part is-- it doesn't smell bad in the obvious ways that bathrooms usually smell bad. It doesn't reek of urine or feces-- or even the chemical fumes of an overpowering cleaning product. In fact, the source of the smell is far more mysterious. It's a smell within a smell within a smell. And it's the Russian nesting doll-mystery of this stench-- like the sour odor of a fat man's armpit in a wool coat in an overheated elevator-- it's the terrible mystery of the smell that makes this bathroom the worst smelling bathroom I've ever been in.

The Tiny Cup has great coffee and a great atmosphere for writing-- so I come here a lot. And I drink a lot of coffee when I come here. And I stay for a long time, especially while I'm doing my laundry(finally!). So, I visit The Worst Smelling Bathroom I've Ever Been In... a lot.

Molly's latest post ("Why is pee so funny?") raises an excellent question. Why IS it so funny when somebody unexpectedly pees all over the place?

A few days ago I was waiting for the A train with my friend Aliza, and we saw a 3 year-old boy with his pants around his ankles, peeing into a plastic cup with the help of his father. It was a classic no-bathroom-available emergency, and I felt bad for the poor guy who was responsible for the makeshift, hand-held urinal. I imagined myself in the same situation-- one hand around the kid's elbow to hold him steady, the other hand around a plastic cup, slowly filling up with hot urine. Poor guy.

And then suddenly, the kid's stream of urine shot up into the air like a fountain! The kid peed all over his dad!

In a flash, my grim sympathy for the father broke apart-- and I was just laughing hysterically. I didn't even care that the guy knew I was laughing at him.

Why is pee so funny? Good question, Molly.

I guess the humor must have something to do with the taboo of peeing in public. It's funny when little kids do it, because they're totally unashamed!

As for the adults in Western society, peeing in the privacy of the bathroom is one of those rare things that most of us can agree on most of the time. Sure, people like to pee outside once in a while-- just last night at 3am, my mildly drunk companion enjoyed peeing in the gutter about a 100 yards from the Williamsburg loft where we were partying. But getting drunk at a party and peeing on the occasional sidewalk is just one of those classic pairings of social pleasures-- like having the occasional cigarette when you go out drinking. Most of us can agree that it's OK to pee in the gutter from time to time. (Who does it hurt?) Even so, I would say our general appreciation of hygiene and privacy makes indoor plumbing one of the most popular amenities of our time!

I guess "toilet humor" is a euphemism. But how great is it that you can use toilet humor without even a casual reference to the toilet itself?

What hilarity do you have in store for us tomorrow, Molly?