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Reuters

Friday September 22 11:56 AM ET Invention Breaks Down Sex Barrier

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - A South African invention soon to go on sale breaks down a barrier between the sexes by enabling women to urinate standing up.

The ``Eezeewee,'' a reusable device with a shaped plastic cup and a length of pipe, has taken six years to develop and is already patented in 106 countries. It will be in shops around the world by the end of the year.

``It will be invaluable for women who are traveling, hiking, camping, fishing, sailing, skiing or bed-ridden. Having a wee has never been so easy,'' Stephan Odendaal, managing director of Mouldmed, the company that invented the device, said Friday.

``It even has a handy, discreet carrying pouch so it can be taken everywhere,'' he added. ``One of these can last a woman a lifetime.''

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000922/od/women_dc_1.html

-- oui oui (peeing@in.breeze), September 26, 2000

Answers

What's wrong with squating?

-- (nemesis@awol.com), September 26, 2000.

nemesis, picture camping.....in the winter.....with LOTS and LOTS of snow around.....then picture losing one's balance while squatting.

It's not a fun thing.

Frankly, I'd like to know why it took six years to develop this. I remember seeing something similar in a catalogue many years ago.....Harriet Carter or one of those. As I remember, it had an appropriately-shaped "cup" that drained through a spout into a watering-pitcher-looking thingy (one-piece construction). I believe it was being marketed for those long drives where there were no facilities; ostensibly, one was supposed to be able to do this IN THE CAR.

Uh, yeah; whatever.

-- Patricia (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), September 26, 2000.

Patricia,

In my lifetime, I've done a lot of things in cars..heh...peeing wasn't one of them.

The problem of squating is...the double or triple streamer gets me wet somewhere every time...damnit..(even if you're straddling two or more feet wide)... LOL!

Just a plumbing thingee!

-- Peg (too@much.spam), September 26, 2000.

Squatting in the snow and getting a buttfreeze is bad enough, but squatting in prickly bushes is even worse.

Hey gals imagine, now we can compete with men for who can shoot the furthest!

-- (Wonder@women.everywhere), September 26, 2000.

Ouch. That's gonna leave a mark.

So, do we get to "write our names in the snow", too?

-- Patricia (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), September 26, 2000.

no way it could work without leaking

-- (believe.it@when.i.see.it), September 26, 2000.

Patricia, I saw that same gizmo in the Carter catalog too and thought hmmm, boy, this could really come in handy while stuck in L.A. freeway traffic on a bad day... 'specially now that current recommendations for optimal health have us drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day.

But with the complete lack of privacy in a freeway traffic jam, I figured I'd have to "install" the thing ahead of time. So I turned the page. :-)

-- Debbie (dbspence@usa.net), September 26, 2000.

I fall over backward into the mess every time. That's before I start drinking. B-b-but a garden hose thingy ... I mean, waving it around or ... eeeewww! If you had a longer attachment hose, you could hang it out the car window in traffic and...would women develop EZWee envy...?

-- helen (b@q.a), September 27, 2000.

Penis envy is a terrible thing to waste.

-- (nemesis@awol.com), September 27, 2000.

LOL Helen

-- (nemesis@awol.com), September 27, 2000.

Helen.... Have you heard of the Law of Gravity?..... the window "thing" won't work... unless you're into really showing it :-)

Ladies... please !!!!... just look at the slope of the ground , and piss accordingly....

-- Netghost (ng@no.yr), September 27, 2000.

Netghost, while you offer sage advice, I must inform you that the "gentle sloping of the land beneath one's feet" isn't always apparent.....

.....until it's too late.

-- Patricia (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), September 27, 2000.

I'm with nem on this one, a lil bit of 'squat' never hurt any gal...

I mean um, what the hell, we do anyways in public restrooms...Ah ha, another thread perhaps? Entitled "why do woman squat over instead of sitting upon public toilets?"

I can pee/opps see it now. :-0

-- consumer (shh@aol.com), September 27, 2000.

For a million years, female hominids have squatted to pee. Most women in the world still do. There will soon be a paper published in JAMA that identifies the health benefits of this technique. Kohler Corp is sponsoring alternative research.

-- (Paracelsus@Pb.Au), September 27, 2000.

My daughter complained that her stomache REALLY hurt once while traveling through Belize in one of those old Blue Bird buses. I kept asking questions on what may be the problem until I finally arrived at "When was the last time you emptied your bladder?" She couldn't remember. The only thing I had available was an empty bread wrapper [as in from a loaf of bread]. I was in the aisle seat, with her by the window, and I held the bag open after she'd she pulled her pants down and scooted forward in the seat. She filled up the whole bag!

My son was sitting in the seat ahead of us and kept turning around to see what we were doing. I just kept saying, "Keep your eyes to the front of the bus." She never got a drop out of the bag, but the bus broke down about 10 miles up the road and we had to get off and wait for another. Um...I forgot the bag on the bus. I hope that twisty held.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), September 27, 2000.

Anita:

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, ROFL..

But, it DOES remind me of the time when we went to the drive-inn with mom, she hated it because we Always had to go to the potty. So she made us go in the big popcorn bucket when we got done eating the corn.

Double eeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwww...but, hey, it WORKED

-- consumer (shh@aol.com), September 27, 2000.

I came across a web site once (sorry can't find it now) that demonstrated how women can pee standing up. It gave helpful hint and showed a picture of a gal with her pants still up and a steady stream falling into a urinal. One helpful hint told us to practice in the shower. Yes, I did. And... it works! I'll keep trying to look for the site.

-- Maria (anon@ymous.com), September 27, 2000.

And I KNOW you cleaned up the shower, right? :-)

and the eeeeeewwwwww'S keep coming.

-- consumer (shh@aol.com), September 27, 2000.

This reminds me of a trip a group of us took several years ago,there were two car loads of us and we decided to have a race to see who got to the motel in Florida 1st.Those of us in car A decided we could save much time forgoing bathroom stops by drilling a hole in the floorboard and running a hose with a funnel attatched out the bottom of the car.

It worked great,even for the gals (we used an extra large funnel that I modified to help the gals out)

BTW,we won the contest.

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), September 27, 2000.

Capn,

I remember reading of an incident that may be related. A school bus in FL was trailing a car full of boistrous young people. The car was leaking some kind of fluid. The school bus skidded on the wet spot left by the car. It did a donut in the middle of the highway. No one was hurt but many kids wet their pants.

-- (Paracelsus@Pb.Au), September 27, 2000.

Maria (and y'all), I just KNEW my research skills would be needed sooner or later...:)

A Woman's Guide on How to Pee Standing Up

-- eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), September 27, 2000.

Depending on whether your pants zipper goes down far enough, you may be able to pee through the fly with the top button fastened. If the zipper is too short, unbutton the top and lower the pants an inch or two. Rather than pull the panties down at the waist, try pulling the fabic at the crotch of the underwear to one side, and slip the TravelMate in place. If youre wearing loose outer shorts with wide leg openings, you can pee through one of them easily

^^^^^Taken directly from the link provided most graciously by Eve...

Applause and crowd shouts {{{thnks EVE}}}

Wow, I never knew they sold stuff like that....hmmmm. Very informative post we got going on here.

Sick minds ALWAYS think alike. tee hee

-- VERY INTERESTED CONSUMER, TEE HEE (shh@aol.com), September 27, 2000.

Wow Eve, thanks! Your skills are much better than mine. I started searching and only came up with porn sites!

-- Maria (anon@ymous.com), September 27, 2000.

Kinda brings a whole new visual to the term 'pissing contest'.

-- flora (***@__._), September 27, 2000.

Eve:

I was particularly impressed with the comments from one Anchorage woman and one other on the Travel Mate about the "vacuum." None of us will ever again see vacuuming as housework.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), September 27, 2000.

"Sick minds ALWAYS think alike."

Aw shucks, 'Sumer. (blush) Thank you. :)

Maria (and 'Sumer), you're quite welcome. I guess you could say I'm a "whizz" at this, eh? (ba-da-boom) Actually I'd found it a while back and was trying to gather up the courage to post it somewhere! Thank YOU (and "oui oui") for reminding me about the site and giving me a good excuse for quitting my "piddling" around (ba-da-bam) and gettin' the word out!

-- eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), September 27, 2000.

Freaking website has had 750,000+ visitors? Can this subject be that interesting? Geesh talk about niche markets.

anyhow carry-on, and remember to put the seat down gals after you be done and all.

-- Doc Paulie (fannybubbles@usa.net), September 27, 2000.

This woman can write her name in the snow!!

"Gabrielle writes more... regarding drips: I dont really have any problems with drips, as I said, I can often get away without even having to wipe when I go standing up. I always seem to need a wipe when I go sitting down, however. Perhaps the lack of drips is due to 1)the fact that I give a hard push to get the last of the flow out as I stop, or 2) the fact that women simply have less length of plumbing between the bladder and urethra to contain urine, making it easier to drain completely. Regarding aim: It wasnt great when I started peeing while standing on a regular basis (probably 10 years ago), but it has improved over time. I am now precise enough that I can go through the fly in a pair of jeans. Aiming and stream control are accomplished mostly with the hips. When learning, a good technique is to place your hands against your lower abdomen, on the pubic hair triangle. By pressing with either hand your stream can be angled. By pulling up or pressing with both hands you can point the stream upward. Try this in the shower where it doesnt matter if you are sloppy the first few times. Eventually you may become good enough to be able to write your name in the snow. (yes Ive done this!) Hope this insight helps."

And another women said that in Texas they're installing urinals in women's bathrooms because the line is too long. Wow, I guess those Texan women knew all along how to pee standing up and kept if from us! Damn, all these years wasted sitting and squatting...

Gotta go practice, see ya!

-- (smarty@wannabe.one), September 27, 2000.

Geez Smarty pants, um, i mean wannabe....tell me you are not seriously practicing the technique? :-0

Eve: toooo funny.

For the REST: WHO'd of THUNK??? this topic w/sooo much more.

-- consumer (shh@aol.com), September 27, 2000.

I'm sorry, I just can't picture this contraption. Are there schematics? Is there a video demo? Will it be on "Stupid Human Tricks"? How is a "length of pipe" portable? Does one size fit all? What stores will sell it? I want to buy one for a friend but I only shop Abercrombie and Fitch.

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), September 27, 2000.

Lars:

Check out their camping section. They're a quality store, so they should allow you to "try before you buy."

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), September 27, 2000.

Sumer, you bet I'm serious. I have a leg up on this technique anyhow. I already pee standing up in public stalls, but I stand with my pants down and OVER the toilet.

Don't take me wrong guys, I love being a women and showing it to men. But all my life I strived to show them I was as worthy to breath the same air as them. So I practiced skills that were supposed to be boys things, like whistling. I practiced that until I could beat any guys. But damnit, I never felt quiet equal because of this damn pissing thing. I'd beat my male cousins in holding my breath under water the longest, but then they'd just jump out of the pool, pee on the fence and jump right back in. Something wasn't quite right for me, I realized then. Budding penis envy? Well in hindsight, yes it was. I can finally admit it! Ahh...feels so good to empty that out. Especially now that I know I can beat them at shooting the furthest if I practice hard enough, damnit!

-- (smarty@wannabe.one), September 27, 2000.

We've established that I'm not the brightest light on the Christmas tree...but why would women want to pee standing up just because that's the way men can do it? What difference does the difference in urinary anatomy make socially?

-- helen (b@q.b), September 27, 2000.

Helen:

I think for most women, avoiding exposure would be the reason more than wanting to do something just because someone else does. The site Eve presented told the story of one woman on an arctic mountain- climbing trip, for example. [I could have that wrong, but it's a cold, cold environment]. She's as bundled up in the thermal underwear and the snowsuits as everyone else, and doesn't want to expose more of her body than necessary to the cold.

I'm more curious as to why some women don't sit on public toilet seats. I can understand the squatting or lining procedure if the toilet is obviously disgusting-looking, but it's not like butt-cheeks are more prone to picking up bacteria than say the elbow.

While I'm querying female habits, if anyone carries a large purse, please let me know what you put in it, and WHY.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), September 27, 2000.

Ah, the LARGE PURSE conundrum. Up until a few years ago, I carried a large purse. (A shoulder bag.) They kept getting larger, and larger, and larger until people joked about it. When I got a bad shoulder pain that didn't disappear, I went back to square one.

I started with the smallest purse I could manage (about 8" x 4", a glorified wallet with a shoulder strap) and put only necessities in. ID, checkbook, credit cards, coin pocket, note pad, pen, contact lens case and cleaner. Ah freedom! Then I found I sometimes needed more room for office things so I acquired a briefcase which I slipped the tiny purse inside of. The briefcase goes from car to office and back. During the day I just carried around the small purse.

Then I discovered the small purse was really too small, so I went up to a normal-small size. It still fits in the briefcase. Same system.

I do not miss the large purse one single bit. What-all did I put in it? Well god only knows, but I think that we need some Corollary to that law about work: As the quantity of Work expands to fill the quantity of Time available for it, the quantity of Purse Contents expands to fill the size Purse available.

As I recall... books, pads of paper, huge day-timer (I now have a very small one), tampons, sunglasses, hand lotion, extra keys, makeup, diskette caddy, pens and pencils, container with bobby pins, safety pins, barrettes, needle and thread, nail polish for repair pantyhose, extra pair of pantyhose. (Pager, cell phone now both fit in my small purse.) Plus accumulated other junk that you just stuff in there and forget about. LOL I really should have kept an inventory on cleaning it out, for laughs.

Now I am disciplined. As soon as there starts to accumulate extra stuff in my small purse now (not that there is much extra room) I show no mercy! Out it goes. And I put rarely-needed "extras" like some of those above, in my car trunk. I am always near enough to my car to just go get them.

As they say, ve get too soon oldt, und too late schmart! ... Not too late actually. It's just funny how long it takes to figure some things out.

-- Debbie (dbspence@usa.net), September 27, 2000.

My "purse" is approximately 6" x 9". I carry a small pill case for Tylenol/Advil, lip balm, hair clip, ID-card-type wallet, cell phone (which I do NOT use WHILE driving [g]), pen, reading glasses, house and car keys, small pad of paper (hotel size), access card for the office, feminine accessories as needed. I carry a regular-size (4" x 9") appointment book in my hand.

I will do the small- or medium-sized backpack thing if I'm out and about for the entire day (e.g., sightseeing).

Makeup goes on in the AM, comes off in the PM. I don't bother with it in between.

I used to carry a briefcase when I had a job that meant something. I'm now unencumbered by such nonsense :-)

-- Patricia (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), September 28, 2000.

Anita, the bacteria on a toilet seat probably wouldn't be found close to your elbow (well... maybe, I don't know where your elbow has been). I'm a real nut around bathrooms; I clean mine every day. If the toilet seat has one hair, I need to clean it. One can catch many things from a dirty toilet, including crabs.

I don't carry a big purse. As a matter of fact, I don't carry any most of the time. My licenses is always in the car, keys and change in my pocket. I carry a small purse to the store and that's it.

-- Maria (anon@ymous.com), September 28, 2000.

Maria! My potty soul mate! I would rather squat outside (with a something to hold onto so I don't fall backward) in full view of a busload of jeering convicts to avoid a nasty toilet.

The purse...graduated to a backpack. Diapers in all sizes (always run into a mother who desperately needs to borrow one), books for all ages (waiting for appointments all the time), toys, sanitary supplies (always some desperate girl/woman who needs one), change for the pay phone for when the car breaks down, change for vending machines when the waiting for appointments goes beyond a meal time and there are several tummies growling, KI for those pesky nuclear wars always about to break out, first aid supplies for more mundane injuries, book of phone numbers for more serious emergencies, and light snacks in case we're stranded with no vending machine.

I fantasize about being an old lady in a small RV in some far away location where no one needs me. Then my purse will contain a credit card. Maybe some lipstick...just for me.

-- helen (b@r.c), September 28, 2000.

{helen hon,

you mean now it's called a purse, not a 'bug out bag' anymore?

I gotta git up on the new lingo.}

-- flora (***@__._), September 28, 2000.

ROFL

I am a wee bit paranoid bout the toilet seat things....you CAN get crabs from the seat, I've seen human feces on seats as well a time or two, it completely grosses me out. I am alot like Maria, I HAVE to clean my own seat everyday. Excessive/compulsive? Perhaps. Hey, sometimes I'm even afraid to touch door knobs. Expecially during flu season. I use lysol @ work, if someone is ill I am right behind them:-), I guess I'm a pain in the ass?

As for the purse? GREAT point anita, I have an extra large one and I'm only 5'2 so it looks funny as hell. What IS inside? Paper. I dont understand why I am soooo concerned w/toilet seats and this damn piece of luggage I carry is a WRECK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-- consumer (shh@aol.com), September 28, 2000.

flora -- apparently I was carrying a bug out bag for several years before it became hot doomer fashion. I was also a neurotic hoarder of food and interested in non-electric technology. I loved y2k...sniff...sniff...

-- helen (b@q.d), September 28, 2000.

You're not paranoid Sumer and Maria, just plain common sense and healthy habits. BTW, I don't touch the flush handle with my hands either on public toilets, I use my shoe covered foot. And after I wash my hands, I use the paper to turn off spickets and open the exit door. Doing anything less will leave whatever nasty bugs you might have had on your hands before washing them. The flu, staph, strep, e- coli to name a few.

-- (smarty@wannabe.one), September 28, 2000.

I wonder why I never worried about this stuff. Most parasites can't live very long without a host, although I DO think my kids picked up pin-worms at the bathroom of a local recreational center. Then again, kids put their hands on the seat to support themselves, and the cysts from E-Vermiculara are airborne anyway.

I carried small purses when I was younger. Then I saw a movie about a woman whose purse was stolen and she had EVERYTHING in there. The thief was a stalker-type, made appointments [using her date book], cancelled appointments using same, called friends [using her phone book], cancelled her credit cards, withdrew money from her bank...the whole enchilada. I have a friend whose wife had her purse stolen as well...same deal...carrying the checkbook, every credit-card she had...yada yada. After that, I began carrying only my keys [all two of them], my drivers' license, and auto insurance paper, a small amount of money, a chapstick, and a few tissues. If I'm just running up to the store nearby, I just put some money and keys in my pocket. One of these days I'll get stopped without a drivers' license, but haven't yet.

I remember those days when the kids were young, Helen. That could also contribute to why I like to "travel light." My daughters do pretty much the same thing. They have a 2x3" little folder in which they carry ATM card, drivers' license, insurance paper, and stick it in a pocket.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), September 28, 2000.

Y'all are way funny.

Hey -- can we retitle this thread to something like, "Peeing and Purses"?

I always line toilet seats; I've done this for decades. I take the time to do a double-covering, too. I know little about the medical ramifications, but -- what the hey -- it makes me feel cleaner, anyway.

One fine day, though, I snatched up my britches too quick and went home with a TP "comet" waving in the wind behind me.

Purses? Actually not very often; roughly just a few days a month or so. Most of the time you'd see me lugging a briefcase and a small sports bag every day.

What stuff? Books I mostly never get to, newspaper, take-home work (at times), Franklin Planner (mostly kid-related stuff ends up in it), dental floss (I floss at least three times a day -- seriously), cans of food from my Y2K stash (but of course), keys, lipstick (usually no other makeup), feminine stuff -- as needed, maybe one of them pee-vacuums (that WAS pretty cool, 'Nita), coupla hair bands, glasses, cell phone, pocket knife, pepper spray, kleenex, mini- flashlight, pens, pencil, small notebook, and miscellaneous other things, as mostly my mood dictates. In cold weather, add gloves, stocking hat and a pair of wool socks.

Ohmygod...having to look at this is kinda scary. This is the first time I've seen this all listed out. Maybe I'm a little obsessive. Hmmm...maybe I'd better cancel out the spare roll of TP I'd been considering...but, you know, what's wrong with that? It'd just be to insure I'd always have enough to get that double-covering...

:)

-- eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), September 28, 2000.

Anita, this is YOUR fault. My washing machine is churning and I'm sitting here freshly bathed. You were fooling poor Pawnee with that peeing standing up stuff. Grace the fainting goat has gone into a coma, and Mike Mule has gone blind. The rest of the animals died laughing.

-- helen (b@q.d), September 28, 2000.

I think I am going to submit this thread to the Women's Television Network. (It's one of those cable channels on the nosebleed end of the dial; do you get it in the States?)

I think I should start a thread entitled "What was the best Mustang engine ever?", just so that us guys can have something to yak about...

-- Johnny Canuck (j_canuck@hotmail.com), September 28, 2000.

Johnny,

1968

Looks like a good one to me...heh;)

-- Peg (too@much.spam), September 28, 2000.

err...the 428 of course..lol

-- Peg (too@much.spam), September 28, 2000.

OUCH...what I really meant was the 427...

I think I'll practice peeing in my way to large pocketbook[g].

-- Peg (standing@of.course), September 28, 2000.