Cell phones in the bathroom

[Danismom]

no toilet flush.  no clothing rustling.  nothing

[DangerMouth]

no toilet flush.  no clothing rustling.  nothing

Wait, seven minutes and no toilet flush? She may flushed before you got there, but now I'm trying to think (well, also trying not to think) of what could have occupied her legitimately for 7 minutes in a stall, while also talking on the phone.

Adjusting her stockings? After that, I got nothing.

[Just Lori]

I'm reminded of the old story about the person who thought the person in the next stall was talking to them.  They had just sat down to do business when they heard the person next to them say, "Hey, how are you?"  So they answered, "Fine, how are you?"  Then they heard something like, "What are you doing?" and they said, "Oh, just taking a break" or something like this.  It goes on a few more lines before the person says, "Look, I have to call you back.  The idiot in the next stall keeps trying to answer my questions."

I personally don't have issues with the person in the stall next to me talking on the cell phone.  However, I don't think public restrooms are intended as personal offices.  I would put this in the same category as reading a book while long after you're done with your personal business.  I might do that at home, but in public I think you need to evacuate the stall as soon as you've taken care of your basic needs.

[TootsNYC]

I'm confused in general as to what on earth women are actually doing in the stalls.  I get so frustrated waiting ages in line because women take so long.  You can often not hear any bathroom type noises for 5-10 mins at a time from a stall before someone emerges - what is that about?  I know sometimes there's other stuff that you might want to do in a stall - adjust clothing, menstruation related things - but it feels like almost every woman takes ages and they can't all be doing this stuff.  When you know that there's a queue, I think that's really rude, whether or not it involves a phone!

Sometimes it takes a while to feel that you have completely emptied your bladder.

[DangerMouth]

I'm confused in general as to what on earth women are actually doing in the stalls.  I get so frustrated waiting ages in line because women take so long.  You can often not hear any bathroom type noises for 5-10 mins at a time from a stall before someone emerges - what is that about?  I know sometimes there's other stuff that you might want to do in a stall - adjust clothing, menstruation related things - but it feels like almost every woman takes ages and they can't all be doing this stuff.  When you know that there's a queue, I think that's really rude, whether or not it involves a phone!

Sometimes it takes a while to feel that you have completely emptied your bladder.

I get that, but it seems like a wipe and a flush is always the official end to *whatever*.

Even in those rare times when I've sat there for an unproductive 30 minutes, I'd still feel strange for leaving even my own bathroom without a wipe, flush, and a hand-wash. Does that make me weird? 

[Twik]

I'm confused in general as to what on earth women are actually doing in the stalls.  I get so frustrated waiting ages in line because women take so long.  You can often not hear any bathroom type noises for 5-10 mins at a time from a stall before someone emerges - what is that about?  I know sometimes there's other stuff that you might want to do in a stall - adjust clothing, menstruation related things - but it feels like almost every woman takes ages and they can't all be doing this stuff.  When you know that there's a queue, I think that's really rude, whether or not it involves a phone!

You too? I mean, I'm female, and I can't figure this out.

I figure it's the same phenomenon as when I'm checking in at the airport. I can get processed in about 2 minutes. Everyone ahead of me seems to be rebooking a missed connection to Outer Mongolia, with a stop in Albequerque.

[DottyG]

Just because you can't hear noises doesn't mean bathroom things aren't happening. Saying a lot more would be TMI, but I can assure you that it is possible.