Why Do Public Toilets Have Horseshoe-Shaped Seats?

While most private toilet seats are a straightforward oval excogitation , many public bath in the US have a rummy horseshoe shape with an open - end front ( along with an offputting orotund gap around the door ) . Bathroom connoisseurs may have find it ’s a common lineament of plane toilets too .

funnily enough , horseshoe toilet seats in public throne are limn in industriousness - stock regulations from the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials ( IAPMO ) . As per theirUniform Plumbing Code : “ Seats , for public use , shall be of stretch type and either of the open front eccentric or have an automatic seat cover dispenser . ”

This is n’t written into law , but most public buildings in the US run to abide by this counseling .

The reason behind the atomic number 92 - shape seats of American toilets hasplenty of theory . One mind is that they are more pliant to deal out with the variety of ass sizes they must support . Another intimate it makes it ’s to reduce the amount of surface that ’s subjected to pee spattering .

Hygiene certainly does come along to play a use in this design selection , but it come out to have more to do with fend off contact between the dirty potty tail and a user ’s hand and/or junk , accord to Lynne Simnick , the senior vice Chief Executive of computer code development at the IAPMO .

Speaking toSlate magazine in 2013 , she excuse that it “ eliminates an expanse that could be foul with urine ” and “ eliminate the user ’s genital contact with the seat . ”

She also suggested it was design with women in mind , explicate it was designed to easily grant women “ to pass over the perineal country after using the piddle closet ” .

Of of course , pee - wiping professionals among you will be prompt to point out that hoi polloi with a vulva shouldavoid wipingfrom back to front as this will importantly enkindle your risk of picking up a urinary tract infection ( UTI ) .

However , it does look like the secret shape tooshie can let users to subjugate contact with the potentially germy surface if , for example , they require to put some toilet paper in the trough before they get down to business .