Why Do Men Stand Up to Wee?

All warm-blooded males out there, here is the question:

Do you sit or stand to have a wee?

As I get older, the prostate is not doing as well as it could. That means, despite two operations, public toilets have become my best friends.

When I go for my run now, my route is planned with a pit stop roughly halfway. The other day, I took my life into my own hands.

Normally, exceptionally clean, on this day, it was disgusting. I didn’t venture into the stalls, but the smell from the urinal would have sent a dog into a manic state. This invention is efficient, but it also feels somewhat unappetizing.

Any mother or patient wife will say that men often miss the toilet bowl. It’s bad at home, but public restrooms can be worse. Male carelessness often increases there, especially when standing on that small grate. I remember boys getting into a trance. They would see how high they could squirt. It often ended badly.

Back to my question – do you sit or stand?

A survey was conducted of approximately 7,000 men worldwide. In Japan, the number of men who sit is as high as 70%. In Germany, 40% of men admitted to sitting. In Australia, it was only 20%, and the lowest was in the United States, where it was just 10%.

The survey also found that younger men are more likely to sit down than older men. Some 36% of younger men sit down most or every time, while only 20% of men aged 55 and older report doing so. Personally, I think the results may have been reversed, but that was how it was recorded.

In Germany, they even have a word for a guy who sits down to wee. If someone calls you a Sitzpinkler, apart from an insult, it is also used to describe a man who sits too wee. Many men would view standing as superior and sitting as inferior.

Women sit, men stand. That's just how it's done!

Is it pride or biology?

There is no real biological reason for either sitting or standing. Men often pee standing up due to a combination of factors. Anatomically, the urethra is located farther from the body. This makes it easier to control the urine stream when standing. Habit and cultural norms also play a part. Additionally, some men find it more convenient or hygienic to stand.

Other men find sitting more preferable to help increase the flow and empty the bladder. These include problems like a weak stream, such as dribbling instead of a steady flow. You might also strain while urinating or feel like your bladder isn’t fully empty after you’re done. These are all symptoms of an enlarged prostate.

When did this dilemma start?

Right back in the sixth century, some texts claim: All men are those who 'pisseth against the wall.’

Non-human male primates do not sit, so it is something that has been learned more recently. Early humans likely stood up to reduce the risk of attacks from predators.

As young boys, we start off sitting on the potty just like girls. As boys mature, they are taught to stand.

In 2015, a German court ruled in favor of a man’s right to stand up and wee. Since he was not a Sitzpinkler, the man was not required to pay for the damage to the marble bathroom floor.

Are all men really sharpshooters?

One of the most frustrating things for women at home is that many men believe they can hit a target from ten paces. The truth is, they often can't. Even if you are a sharpshooter and hit the bullseye every time, it still doesn’t cut it.

Tadd Truscott, a scientist, was frustrated by claims of missed targets. So, he used a urination simulator and high-speed cameras to investigate. He researched splashback from urination. He shared his findings at the 66th annual meeting of the American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics in 2013.

He showed that urine is voided in a stream for about six inches. After that, it breaks into tiny droplets. These droplets start to play Space Invaders and head off in all directions. (Note to self: do not put the toothbrush on the bench near the toilet.)

Just picture a public urinal. Twenty guys stand in line, all using the stainless steel wall in front of them. Urinal designers have long focused on solving the problem of 'splashback.' Specially designed screens, rubber mats, concave walls—you name it.

What’s with the fly in the urinal?

Men often can’t help but pee on things in urinals, especially if it seems like they’ll get washed away. If you have never visited a urinal, there is sometimes a fly printed on the wall. This is what I mean:

Stainless steel trough urinals often have deodorant blocks at the bottom, partly for this reason.

It is also a conscious thing. If you don’t like it, you are more likely to pee on it. Butterflies, for example, would not work. If something scares you, like a spider or a cockroach, you might avoid it. Men may not even use the urinal.

Subsequent research has found it doesn’t even have to have a defined form. Even a nondescript blob is enough incentive for men to pee on it. We are strange creatures, aren’t we?

So, who would have thought that men preferring to pee standing up could be so complicated?

So, here is the question: time to confess:

Men – “Do you prefer to stand or sit?”

Ladies: “Would you prefer your men to stand or sit when visiting the toilet at home?”

Let me know your thoughts.

I must confess that as I have grown older, I have become more of a Sitzpinkler these days when I am at home. Two reasons. One, it gives me a brief moment to sit and think, and two, as I live alone, I have to clean the floors. 😊

Till next time,

Calvin