Outhouse

The term outhouse, originally refers to any small structure away from a main building, used for a variety of purposes, but mainly for activities not wanted in the main house. Outhouses are used for storage, animals, and cooking, to name a few uses. Larger structures have names such as barn or stable.

Related Topics:
Outhouse - Barn - Stable

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Outhouse also now means, in North American English, a small enclosure around a pit that is used as a toilet.

Related Topics:
North American English - Toilet

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Outhouses vary in design and construction. Common features usually include:

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• A separate structure from the main dwelling, close enough to allow easy access, but far enough to minimize smell.
• Walls and a roof to shield the user from rain, wind, and thus to a small degree, cold weather.
• Having a door, sometimes decorated with a small crescent moon-shaped hole http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_382.html. The signifance of the moon has never been fully explained. In Germany, a heart-shaped hole is traditional.
• In Western societies, there is at least one seat with a hole in it, above a small pit.
• In Eastern societies, there is a hole in the floor, over which the user crouches.
• A suitable distance away from any fresh-water well, so as to minimize risk of contamination;
• Sometimes having a roll of toilet paper available. Catalogs from retailers specializing in mail order purchases, for example Montgomery Wards, were also common before toilet paper was widely available, often kept in a can or other container to protect it from mice, etc. Old corn cobs, leaves, or other paper was also used.

Outhouses are common throughout history. Outhouse humor is likewise a constant, which usually involves someone either being trapped in one, falling into the hole, or other social faux pas.

Related Topics:
Outhouse humor - Faux pas

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Outhouse: See also ►