History Main / MaleRestroomEtiquette

* In ''Fanfic/{{Empire}}'', a ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' AU CrackFic, to Lucius's annoyance one of his spies meets with him in the men's room.

* Mentioned repeatedly in Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/TheCavesOfSteel'' and its sequels. In the society of the future Earth, the women's "Personals" are social centers, but the men adhere strictly to the no-interaction rule. It's presented as being a much stronger taboo there, as the protagonist nearly has a panic attack at the idea of being spoken to in the Personal, and can barely bring himself to do it when it's absolutely necessary and the only other "person" is a robot. It is stated the last time he spoke, he was about nine, and cursed at stubbing a toe. A severe spanking followed.

* In the first ''Literature/{{Remnants}}'' book, Jobs is washing his hands in the bathroom when Billy comes in. The narration specifically says "Jobs gave him a civil, neutral nod; after all, guys didn’t chat in the rest room," which is so on-the-nose that it kind of gives away that the author is a woman. Incidentally, Billy is currently in some sort of psychic trance, so he winds up freaking Jobs out by a.) staring into space, b.) talking in his native Chechen and then c.) uttering vague yet ominous {{Foreshadowing}}.

** In another sketch, Tim, Jim and Lee are all standing next to each other in front of the urinals. One of them is drinking a beer, another needs to light and smoke a cigarette, and another is minding his own business. Inevitably, at least two of them are no longer holding their own old fellas after the exchange.

* In ''Webcomic/StickyDillyBuns'', the disguised and very naive female character Ruby [[http://www.stickydillybuns.com/strips-sdb/just_take_your_sweet_time shows her ignorance here.]] Fortunately, the other guy present is the Matt, who's quite a smooth operator.

* One ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' skit has two men carrying on a conversation at the urinals, followed by an annoucer showing up and stating:

* Surprisingly, ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' averts this in the cold open to "The Yada Yada," which shows [[HeterosexualLifePartners Jerry and George]] having a typical SeinfeldianConversation while using side-by-side urinals.

* Surprisingly, ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' averts this in the cold open to "The Yada Yada," which shows Jerry and George having a typical SeinfeldianConversation while using side-by-side urinals.

''(Later)''\\

-->-- ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' - [[https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/03/11 "Protocol"]]

[[folder: Fan Works ]]

* In ''FanFic/{{Empire}}'', a ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' AU CrackFic, to Lucius's annoyance one of his spies meets with him in the men's room.

[[folder: Film ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* Mentioned repeatedly in Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/TheCavesOfSteel'' and its sequels. In the society of the future Earth, the women's "Personals" are social centers, but the men adhere strictly to the no-interaction rule.
** It's presented as being a much stronger taboo there, as the protagonist nearly has a panic attack at the idea of being spoken to in the Personal, and can barely bring himself to do it when it's absolutely necessary and the only other "person" is a robot. It is stated the last time he spoke, he was about nine, and cursed at stubbing a toe. A severe spanking followed.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Radio ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* In the animated short, Webcomic/WelcomeToHell, Sock annoys Jonathan in the male urinals, causing Jon to yell, "Dude, I'm peeing!" HilarityEnsues, due to Sock being invisible to everyone but Jon.

* One WebVideo/LoadingReadyRun skit had a guy in a university bathroom freak-out when not only does a guy break the "no talking" rule, but specifically starts chatting him up. Turns out that its the designated Gay Cruising place on campus, and its just assumed that everyone knows it. Turns out, they don't.
--> '''Graham''': ''[sighs]'' Peeing or gay sex?\\
'''Jeremey''': Uh...peeing?\\
'''Paul''': See, was that so hard?
* Toji and Kensuke actually discuss and manage to break every single rule in ''[[WebVideo/EvAbridged Evabridged 2.0: Shinji Is (Not) a Pussy]]''. Toji is not happy at all.
-->'''Toji:''' Hey Kensuke. Remember when I told you I was pretty desperate for the toilet?
-->'''Kensuke:''' Mm-hmm.
-->'''Toji:''' I told you once that I get pee-shy around people?
-->'''Kensuke:''' Mm-hmm.
-->'''Toji:''' SO WHY THE HELL ARE YOU STANDING ''RIGHT'' NEXT TO ME WHEN I'M TRYING TO TAKE A PISS?!
-->'''Kensuke:''' Because it's easier to talk?
-->'''Toji:''' ...Don't look at me. Don't speak to me. Don't breathe my air. Not. A. Fucking. Word.
-->'''Kensuke:''' ...I can see your weiner~!
-->'''Toji:''' ''OH MY GOD!!!''
* The "[[http://memedocumentation.tumblr.com/post/131239073165/explained-urinal-meme urinal meme]]" that was popular in late 2015 plays on the assumption that anyone annoying enough to ''deliberately'' violate restroom etiquette is probably intrusively obnoxious in some other fashion.
* Entry #19 of the ''Cracked'' article [[https://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_2574_annoying-unwritten-rules-everybody-seems-to-follow/ Annoying Unwritten Rules Everyone Seems to Follow]] references the urinal rule.
* A number of websites have articles (mostly comedic, but a few serious) referencing this trope and laying out the rules of it, including:
** ''[[https://961theeagle.com/the-six-rules-of-mens-bathroom-etiquette/ 961theeagle]]''
** ''[[https://www.mensroomlive.com/article-i-bathroom-etiquette Mensroomlive]]''
** ''[[https://www.collegetimes.com/life/male-bathroom-etiquette-101-77422 Collegetimes]]''
** ''[[https://goodmenproject.com/good-feed-blog/7-rules-of-mens-bathroom-etiquette/ The Good Men Project]]''

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'', Homer references the "more than three shakes" rule.

-->'''Announcer''': Two ordinary men having an ordinary conversation. But what's amiss here? ''Their dicks are out!''

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* Restroom etiquette is so ingrained in male culture that there are situations where long lines will form because men will adamantly maintain a one urinal gap between each other no matter how bladder-busting the wait can get. Some establishments solve this problem by installing dividers between urinals to make men more comfortable standing next to one another.
** One of the few situations in which the "no adjacent urinal usage" rule is relaxed is during half-time at football matches, etiquette being at least partially overruled by the necessity of reliving yourself and getting back in your seat before the second half starts.

* Violated by U.S. President UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson, who would discuss business with people while he was on the john (note, in person, not on the phone, with the door open). It is uncertain whether he did this because he was genuinely uncaring about the whole thing, or as part of a power trip showing off that he was the boss and you had to deal with him even while he was on the toilet. However, considering [[http://www.afterimagegallery.com/nytjohnson.htm he was known for invading his colleagues' "personal space" ]] specifically to unsettle them into compliance with his wishes (a maneuver known as "The Johnson Treatment"), it is likely the latter. It is possible he was inspired by the Biblical story if Ehud (See Judges 3:12-30) which described a king who demonstrated his superiority by receiving messengers while "at stool."

* Toji and Kensuke actually discuss and manage to break every single rule in Evabridged 2.0: Shinji Is (Not) a Pussy. Toji is not happy at all.

-->-- ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' - "[[https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/03/11 Protocol]]"

* A number of websites have articles (mostly comedic) referencing this trope and laying out the rules of it, including:

* Entry #19 of the ''Website/Cracked'' article [[https://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_2574_annoying-unwritten-rules-everybody-seems-to-follow/ Annoying Unwritten Rules Everyone Seems to Follow]] references the urinal rule.

* Entry #19 of the ''{{Cracked}}'' article [[https://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_2574_annoying-unwritten-rules-everybody-seems-to-follow/ Annoying Unwritten Rules Everyone Seems to Follow]] references the urinal rule.

* Entry #19 of the ''Website/Cracked'' article [[https://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_2574_annoying-unwritten-rules-everybody-seems-to-follow/ Annoying Unwritten Rules Everyone Seems to Follow]] references the urinal rule.

** --> '''Announcer''': Two ordinary men having an ordinary conversation. But what's amiss here? ''Their dicks are out!''

* ---> '''Announcer''': Two ordinary men having an ordinary conversation. But what's amiss here? ''Their dicks are out!''

* ---> '''Announcer'': Two ordinary men having an ordinary conversation. But what's amiss here? ''Their dicks are out!''

* --> '''Announcer'': Two ordinary men having an ordinary conversation. But what's amiss here? ''Their dicks are out!''

* Invoked in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': an employee at the brewery is trying to talk to the new boss, Bert, about something while they're both at the urinal, only to be told that he doesn't talk to people at the urinals. The scene then flips to them at the sinks with the conversation starting again and Bert thanking the employee for waiting. Ironically, Bert's aversion to talking at the urinal doesn't stop him fro talking to Peter while he's on the toilet a minute later.

** In another sketch, Tim, Jim and Lee are all standing next to each other in front of the urinals. One of them is smoking a cigarette, so he asks the guy on his right to him to give him a hand so he can finish. Then that guy asks the guy on his right to give him a hand too since he's one short as well.

* ''Creator/DaveBarry's Complete Guide to Guys'' illustrates the urinal selection problem, and shows that five urinals can accommodate three guys using them by keeping a buffer urinal in between Guy C and Guys A and B (B will ''always'' take the far one even if it's located a mile away). Problems arise, however, if Guy D should happen to walk in at the same time.
** Possible outcomes include D waiting despite there being two open spots, going for an empty spot causing ''every'' male to stare resolutely at the wall as if the formula for Grape Nuts to platinum was engraved there, or go against the wall.

* There's one ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' [[http://questionablecontent.net./view.php?comic=222 strip]] where Marten describes Steve trying to talk to and look at him while they're peeing as "the creepiest thing a dude can do to another guy at the urinals".

* Averted in ''Series/YesMinister'' by proxy. Dorothy Wainwright insists that her office must be next to the men's bathroom so she can overhear ministers plotting while they answer the call of nature.

** It's presented as being a much stronger taboo there, as the protagonist nearly has a panic attack at the idea of being spoken to in the Personal, and can barely bring himself to do it when it's absolutely necessary and the only other "person" is a robot. It is stated the last time he spoke, he was about nine, and cursed at stubbing a toe. [[SocietyMarchesOn A severe spanking followed.]]

-->-- ''Webcomics/PennyArcade'' - "[[https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/03/11 Protocol]]"