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Admin
Americans don't have bowel movements?
Admin
And of course Bartek Horn's thing might be deliberate, of the "see, testing is important, and you don't want to see email subject lines like this..." type.
Admin
It is, but I don't regret posting it. More people will see the importance of testing.
Admin
We do, but it's considered a clinical term, not something you uze in everyday speech. And I've never heard the word "movement" on its own, not preceded by "bowel", uzed in that sense.
Admin
I think it's more about the light in the "toilet". Or what we in the New World would call the toilet stall, as opposed to the device itself.
Admin
Probably just that they'd be less likely to read "motion" as being a euphemism for such?
As for your comment on Bartek Horn's thing, I'm certain that's exactly what was meant by "I'm not sure if they are brilliant [...]."
Admin
@Robert Morson Agree that as a general matter US English doesn't use "movement" by itself to signify pooping. As you say it's always preceded by "bowel".
But in the context of a conversation on this topic, or in the context of signage in a lavatory, I can certainly see USAians, including myself, using "movement" as a standalone word for pooping. We're all about brevity. (Or is that laziness?)
Admin
British English doesn't either. It's possible that I intended my original post as a joke.
Admin
I can confirm that it was deliberate, I read that blog post and they specifically call out that error as an example of why testing is important, in the introduction to a tutorial on testing in Python.
Admin
In light of my nine-year stay in the New World, you should assume that I know at least a little bit about how Americans use their language, so I'm well aware that a very common US use of the word "bathroom" contains a toilet but not a bath.
Admin
Addendum: I double checked, and apparently that was an email advertising the Python testing tutorial, and not the introduction to the tutorial itself.
Admin
Yep, four or even two whole syllables is far too much to say. That's why we usually prefer single-syllable terms for that action.
Admin
Maybe Google is differentiating, and the user isn't suspicious, just that particular login attempt. (They uniquely able to offer this level of insight b/c of aggregated search history...)
Admin
For anyone who doesn't speak German and is too lazy to throw it into Google Translate, "Kostenlos" in the last photo means "free" (as in beer).
Admin
Lyle, you and I must have a beer and discuss this whole software-as-web-page thing. You have my NaN thing last week for MSFS. I'd submit WTFs for my Cricut machine's software which absolutely thinks it's a web page (despite being a free-standing app) but that would be like shooting fish in a barrel.
Admin
In Britain, does toilet refer to just the crapper, the stall, or the restroom? Having a light on the porcelain throne doesn't make sense to me (except maybe as an aid to potty training).
I wouldn't use "motion" to talk about a bowel movement. The sign would indicate a motion-activated ceiling light. If someone sits on the commode for too long without moving, the light might turn off. If the restroom goes dark, the occupant should wave their arms or feet to turn the light back on.
Admin
It's not quite accurate to say that an American bathroom contains a toilet but not a bath. That may be mostly true for places of business (which is the context, here), but most residential bathrooms contain both at toilet and a bath, as you most likely know. Just pointing it out for those that might not have your experience.
Admin
Which is why I said "a very common US use" and not "the most common US use".
It's rare but not completely unheard of for the bathroom in a British house/flat to have a toilet in it - it's more usual for the toilet to be in a separate room by itself, with the sink and bath/shower in a separate room, usually adjacent.
Admin
Yes.
Admin
If you are standing and peeing you have your arms already occupied (one holds penis, second keeps hole in trousers.
Hard to wave arms when light gets off (unless you want to pee yourself and surroundings).
Admin
I don't think too many people have developed the specific skills required to perform a Standing One-Handed Number One, in the dark, whilst simultaneously waving the other arm. The two-handed variant, trying to maintain target lock in the dark until an arm becomes free, is unlikely to be a well-developed skill in the general population either.
So the sign mostly means "expect some people who were previously in this room to have performed a routine task at a significantly lower than average level of competence."
Admin
Peeing in the dark is a skill everyone should have. Turning on lights in the middle of the night makes it a lot harder to get back to sleep. Something about melatonin I think. It is very obvious from the sound of the urine hitting the water when you are wandering off center.
Admin
The toilet sign is mildly amusing but mostly confusing - how could anyone actually read that message if the light hadn't come on yet? FWIW in Australia "toilet" likewise refers to both the bowl and the room itself.
Admin
From what I can gather the trend in nearly all countries is moving towards having a toilet bowl in the bathroom itself rather in a separate room, and the popularity of one configuration over the other is largely down to how modern the housing is. Interestingly we're about to do a renovation that will make this exact conversation, mainly because the existing bathroom feels very cramped, and knocking down the wall that separates the toilet is the only way to genuinely increase space.
Admin
You can always sit. Especially in the night during dark.
Admin
How is being patient going to turn the light on?
Admin
Yes, the Americans took the word toilet referring to the toilette room, and changed it to mean the commode.
Admin
Be patient until someone else comes in and him movement activates the light 😄
Admin
Steve - that hasn't been the case for the past 50-60 years. Wizofaus's renovation, knocking through to make them one room, is what's been done over that time to the vast majority of houses that originally had a separate toilet. It's very rare to find a house that still has them in separate adjacent rooms these days.
Admin
It's context sensitive. I need to buy a new toilet to put in the toilet because I opened the toilet door and it hit the toilet and broke it.
The WTF that gets me is that in every American sitcom I've seen the bathroom door is always left open with a full view of the bog, eg here (almost).
Admin
Stall? Where are the horses?
And I thought "bowel movement" in this sense is Sheldon Cooper's invention.
Admin
A house, perhaps, but the 1980s-build French block of apartments / flats where I live has separate rooms, one with just the weird ceramic char and one with a bath and sink. The two rooms are adjacent, but their geometry and the plumbing around them are in no way suitable for knocking them together into a single room.
Admin
That's why I have, non blinding, motion activated toilet bowl lights in my toilets.
Admin
For the toilet one, I assume the issue is that the sign is inside the toilet/bathroom. Not outside. If the lights don't come on, how do you read it?
Admin
If you are sat on the toilet for too long, then you can't see the sign.
I certainly don't read the T&C when rushing for a number 2
Admin
Yes.