Bathroom Humor

Sunday 1/21/07
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No, it’s not what you think. Just a couple of things that have to do with bathrooms, that’s all. Or latrines, as they are called in the Army.

Bathroom nomenclature is different in each service. In the Navy (and by extension, the Marines) it’s called a “head”. Presumably this has something to do with the plumbing aboard a ship. In the Army it’s called a “latrine”, which is a French word. Many terms specific to the Army are French in origin, reflecting the early and long-lasting relationship between our Armies, which dates from the American Revolution and Lafayette (bivouac, revetment, and reveille are a few which come immediately to mind). After all, they weren’t *always* cheese-eating surrender monkeys (Or were they? Caesar didn’t have very complimentary things to say about their ancestors the Gauls). Anyway, back to bathrooms. I don’t know what the Air Force calls theirs - probably “bathrooms”.

We got a call yesterday that there was a leak in one of the latrines. Then another call, and another one. It began to dawn on us that this was not an ordinary leak, so we beat feet up there. As soon as we entered the building, we heard a roaring noise. At first I thought it was the ventilation or the laundry room, but as we approached the latrine, it became clear that the sound was coming from there. When we went in, this is what we found:


Leak in Latrine
Originally uploaded by hkp7fan.

A pipe was broken off in the wall behind one of the urinals, and it was gushing out like a fire hose under full pressure. It was hitting the opposite wall like a water cannon, splashing off the mirrors on the opposite side and going in every direction, overflowing the sinks and floor drains, and running everywhere. What a mess!

We poked around in the ceiling and found the shutoff valve. Then we spent awhile cleaning up the mess and talking to DPW, who sent someone out for an emergency repair.

Naturally it was an upstairs latrine so we had a mess downstairs too, as it had leaked through the floors. But hey – what else are you going to do on a Saturday night?

Finally, here’s a little bathroom-related humor from my South Park Calendar:


I wasn’t saying anything about their culture. I was only saying their city smells!
Originally uploaded by hkp7fan.

So despite our occasional plumbing travails, it’s worth it.