>> Speaker A: Just build one wall that sections it. >> Speaker B: Off, kind of like so that way. >> Speaker A: If somebody stumbles down. >> Speaker C: Oh, I'm going to go downstairs. >> Speaker D: Bump. >> Speaker C: Bump, um. Bump um bump. >> Speaker A: Oh, hey, dad. >> Speaker B: You're going to accidentally walk in on. >> Speaker A: Dad or somebody taking a dookie. Welcome back to privy. Privy is a podcast about bathrooms recorded.
>> Speaker D: From my home bathroom. >> Speaker A: I'm your host, hunter Hoover, and I love bathrooms. And, boy, I'll tell you what, I. >> Speaker D: Had a, uh, tray. >> Speaker B: It's been a couple weeks since this. >> Speaker D: Incident, but I wanted to share it. >> Speaker B: Um, sometimes you get a little overzealous. You order yourself a tray of nachos.
>> Speaker A: And you look at the tray, and you go, yeah, I probably shouldn't eat that whole thing. >> Speaker B: Um, but then you're also out and about with, uh, the college group, and you're like, but if I don't eat. >> Speaker D: The whole thing, they're just going to have to go in the trash because. >> Speaker A: It'S too hot to sit in the. >> Speaker D: Car and it's too delicious to throw away.
>> Speaker A: So you do eat what is essentially like, probably a pound to a pound and three quarters of a pound of nachos. >> Speaker D: Uh, everybody in the vicinity is like. >> Speaker B: Hey, man, that's not going to be good later on. >> Speaker C: Uh, and you even receive text the. >> Speaker D: Next day saying, like, hey, how are you doing? How are you doing? >> Speaker A: And the answer is good now, bad. >> Speaker D: In the middle of the night.
>> Speaker A: Um, also, uh, my buddy, he, uh, posited this. It could be an invention. Who knows? >> Speaker B: But it's much like the idea. It's kind of like if you've seen. >> Speaker D: The movie up, Pixar's up. >> Speaker A: Um, which, man, when I was in. >> Speaker D: Middle school, when that movie or high. >> Speaker C: School, I was somewhere in that area. >> Speaker B: Of life when that movie came out. And I had seen the movie in.
>> Speaker D: Theaters, but my buddy hadn't. >> Speaker A: And so one night for youth group. >> Speaker B: We had a movie night, and we. >> Speaker A: Watched up, and we're all sitting there. >> Speaker D: And jovially just, like, making a mess. >> Speaker B: With the popcorn, because we're teenagers and. >> Speaker C: We ain't got a clue that when. >> Speaker B: We miss our mouth with the popcorn, it goes all over the
floor. There's a responsible adult who is either going to have to have us clean. >> Speaker A: It up or clean it up themselves. Carefree. >> Speaker D: Couldn't care less. >> Speaker B: The only important thing in our lives. >> Speaker A: Is, like, eating the popcorn. >> Speaker D: We could care less if it's on the floor. >> Speaker A: Um, but I remember distinctly watching this movie and my buddy, as it's showing.
>> Speaker B: The montage of Carl and his wife, um. >> Speaker D: Growing up together and aging together. >> Speaker B: And my buddy leans over to a. >> Speaker D: Couple of us and he goes, man, it'd be wild if she just died. And I stare at my friend, I was like, well. >> Speaker A: You'Re getting ready to. >> Speaker D: Feel real awkward about your situation. >> Speaker A: Um, but yeah, so imagine if, you.
>> Speaker D: Know, Pixar's up, they up a house with balloons. Classic helium blunder. >> Speaker B: But his posit was when your dog. >> Speaker D: Skeets their doggy poop onto a person's yard to have a little, like, you. >> Speaker A: Got the little walking mom dog poop bag dispenser clip, but he's positing that. Attach that much like a bike pump, you fist into the bag, fist the. >> Speaker B: Dog poop reverse bag, and you tie.
>> Speaker C: It off, but you leave an air pocket. >> Speaker B: And with the little air bike pump. >> Speaker A: It'S actually a helium pump. And you helium pump into the doggy. >> Speaker D: Poop bag and then float it off into space to go chill with Jeffrey Bezos and his big blue, you know. >> Speaker B: I think it's one of those boy in the bubble, like, perfect world ideas, but it would be kind of interesting.
>> Speaker D: To be able to just float my, uh, yeah, also, I want to share my wife a, uh, few weeks to a month back now on the privy. >> Speaker A: Instagram, she sent me an image. >> Speaker B: She knows me so well, to the. >> Speaker D: Point where she's like, okay, one of. >> Speaker B: The ways that I can just keep. >> Speaker D: This dude. >> Speaker B: Focused on the goal here, just send him a picture of something.
>> Speaker D: Weird bathroom related every now and then. >> Speaker C: That'll seem to do the trick. >> Speaker B: But she sent me a picture, um, because we're repainting our front room. >> Speaker D: That's a totally different story. >> Speaker A: We went from I will shop for. >> Speaker B: Paint to a full repainting of the. >> Speaker D: Front room and kitchen in a couple days. >> Speaker B: But she sent me this picture of.
>> Speaker D: Some bathrooms, two different toilets for sale at Home Depot. >> Speaker B: And these both make some pretty impressive. >> Speaker D: And in my opinion, pretty astronomical claims about their ability. >> Speaker B: One claims to be able to flush like seven to nine billiard balls. >> Speaker D: And I think I've talked about why because I've interacted with turds that shape and size. But a billiard ball is hard.
>> Speaker B: It's not going to give and have. >> Speaker D: Any wiggle room in the s bend. >> Speaker A: Uh, these toilets, I love it when. >> Speaker B: You go into the toilet section at. >> Speaker D: A hardware store or a home improvement. >> Speaker A: Store because they always look so weird. >> Speaker B: They're just like lined up in a row. >> Speaker A: And it reminds me of a few months ago, I stumbled into a showcase.
>> Speaker D: Bathroom in the Portland mall in Portland, Oregon. Here in Oregon. >> Speaker B: And Jacuzzi, uh, was showing off their. >> Speaker A: Wares, and they had these set up. >> Speaker B: Bathrooms that you could walk up to and just kind of, like, know you. >> Speaker A: Stand in the shower. In that same mall, I had a. >> Speaker B: Dude that was so cooked on weed. >> Speaker D: He offered to polish my shoes.
>> Speaker B: Um, but I was wearing probably the. >> Speaker A: Most grungy white canvas shoes. >> Speaker B: And I'm like, you're not going to polish this. >> Speaker D: This is a wash job. >> Speaker B: And I told him, no, thanks. >> Speaker A: And then he seemed, like, kind of mad that I had turned down his offer. >> Speaker B: Uh, and then he's like, well, he asked me why, and I said, oh. >> Speaker D: I like my shoes dirty.
>> Speaker A: To which he just could not fathom. >> Speaker D: A person would opt for dirty shoes, but whatever. >> Speaker A: But, yeah, these toilets always look weird. >> Speaker B: Lined up in a row. >> Speaker A: But there's another situation, and this is a phenomenon, and this is what we're. >> Speaker D: Going to be talking about today on the show. >> Speaker A: And it's another situation in which a toilet
looks weird. And this is a very specific arrangement of a toilet. Uh, that happens more than you might think. >> Speaker D: Imagine that you're at your buddy's house. >> Speaker A: And they're giving you a tour of the home. They show you the bedrooms. Here's my bedroom. Here's my PlayStation two shout out. Oh, yeah, just put in new cupboards. >> Speaker B: Got a new sofa. It's pretty great. Mom won't let me, uh, wear my. >> Speaker C: Shoes while I sit on it.
>> Speaker B: Um, but dad talked her out of. >> Speaker D: The sofa covers, those plastic, pretty much garbage sacks that fit over a whole sofa. >> Speaker A: Yeah. Here's the bedrooms. You know what happens in here? >> Speaker C: Sleeping. >> Speaker A: And then, of course, here's the bathroom. >> Speaker B: Here's the guest bathroom. >> Speaker A: And if you need anything, let us know.
>> Speaker B: Oh, I got to show you. I got an air hockey table in the basement. >> Speaker A: You go down in the basement, and down there, just sitting all on its lonesome, seemingly in a corner, surrounded by a field of cement, is alone privy. And you're left to wonder, why does your homie Deegan. >> Speaker B: Deegan's parents were millennials who had to. >> Speaker A: Give their kid a weird name. >> Speaker C: But, uh, why does this dude got.
>> Speaker A: Just a rando toilet chilling in the middle of his basement, no walls surrounding it, no door, just a loose toilet. Well, wonder no further, because today we're talking about this weird toilet phenomenon called Pittsburgh potties. >> Speaker C: Now, lest we assume that a Pittsburgh. >> Speaker A: Potty is any toilet in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, they are that, but they're also a specific type of toilet. As noted, if you entered the basement.
>> Speaker C: Of a Pennsylvania, um, home in the. >> Speaker A: Years surrounding and following World War II. That is, houses built in the. >> Speaker B: Even sometimes up into the. >> Speaker A: Depending on where you live, there's a good chance that you have a lone standing toilet in the basement with no. >> Speaker D: Walls built around it. >> Speaker A: Now, it's a weird thing to see.
>> Speaker B: A toilet like loose leaf with no. >> Speaker A: Walls, because traditionally in our lives up to that point, we have mostly just interacted with toilets that are not loose. >> Speaker D: Leaf and are surrounded by walls which provide privacy. While we do privacy. >> Speaker B: First and first, middle of the show, I want to. >> Speaker A: Say, if you have a Pittsburgh potty in your home, or have seen one or have access to one, take a picture.
Send that in. We want to see these. Send us proof of these. Uh, yeah, um, send those in. But these toilets are in these homes of this specific time period, and they have been kind of, like, shrouded in mystery. Um, they're weird. And it's assumed that for a long time, these toilets were placed this way. >> Speaker B: In the specific part of the world. >> Speaker A: During this period, due to specific workers that existed. >> Speaker C: The Pittsburgh area was home to an.
>> Speaker A: Astronomical amount of steel production in the 1940s. It is estimated that the state of Pennsylvania produced more steel products. >> Speaker B: Uh, leading. >> Speaker C: Up to 1945, than all of the. >> Speaker B: Axis powers of World War II. >> Speaker A: Almost 100 million tons of steel products. The region is so well known for. >> Speaker B: Its steel production that correct me if. >> Speaker A: I'm wrong or don't, if you don't.
>> Speaker C: Care, but the Pittsburgh Steelers are named. >> Speaker A: For this region's production of choice. And so it is assumed, with all these high intensity labor jobs in the area, home builders began to put in plumbing in a separate toilet in the. >> Speaker D: Basement, with easy access for the outsiders. >> Speaker A: And workers to come into the home, do their duties while they are still. >> Speaker C: Dirty, and tidy up before joining the.
>> Speaker B: Rest of the modern family upstairs. >> Speaker C: Now, this makes sense on paper, and. >> Speaker D: Maybe at first in your ear holes. >> Speaker A: But just second, because I want to note these toilets in the basement, these Pennsylvania potties. >> Speaker D: Pittsburgh potties. >> Speaker C: While this makes sense at first, it. >> Speaker A: Should be noted there's not a shower or sink that goes along with these toilets.
>> Speaker B: They are really just loose leaf toilets sitting in a basement by themselves. >> Speaker A: No shower, no place to wash your hands. And so, uh, if these toilets were put in, in the middle of the home's basement to give these industry and labor workers a place to tidy up. >> Speaker B: And freshen up before they join the. >> Speaker C: Rest of the family, wouldn't there be. >> Speaker B: Like, a shower and a place to wash your hands?
>> Speaker A: Do you know what I'm saying, that would be there, too. >> Speaker C: And so it seems like they could have just put. >> Speaker A: Also, uh, just put a privacy wall up. >> Speaker B: Just build one wall that sections it off, kind of, so that way, if. >> Speaker C: Somebody stumbles down, oh, I'm going to. >> Speaker A: Go downstairs, bump bum um, bum bum. >> Speaker D: Um. >> Speaker A: Oh, hey, dad.
>> Speaker B: You're going to accidentally walk in on. >> Speaker A: Dad or somebody taking a dookie first class on this toilet. And so you're literally begging for someone. >> Speaker D: To walk in, and you pinch in a loaf. >> Speaker A: So what's the deal? Is there more to the Pittsburgh potty. >> Speaker B: Than just an easy spot for laborers. >> Speaker D: To flirt their play doh? >> Speaker A: Well, it turns out there might have.
>> Speaker B: Been much less going on with these toilets. Now, you might hear that and go, my God. There hasn't been much going on so. >> Speaker D: Far in this episode. Like, you've told me about a freestanding toilet. >> Speaker A: Well, it would turn out that in this case, less is more, because there's something interesting going on. So I want to take you back to the 1940s. We're fresh off a, uh, World War or Two, huh? With the threat of nuclear disaster on.
>> Speaker B: Everyone'S minds, people are viewing the world a little differently. >> Speaker A: Also, the advent of home television, TV and the rise in movies and media. >> Speaker C: It'S caused a change and a shift in things that. >> Speaker A: Your hair is wild, your bell bottom. >> Speaker B: Jeans are all the fad and the. >> Speaker A: Rage when you walk into your home. What's that? Wallpaper. >> Speaker D: My goodness, what? Wallpaper and carpet.
>> Speaker A: The sofas are all patterned, floral, usually, and often containing bright colors. There's specific choices being made to the. >> Speaker C: Interior of houses, but when you go. >> Speaker A: Into the basement, things are, like, pretty much left unfinished. And often the basements in these homes are just concrete floors with little to no drywall or any sort of amenities done. It's like a concrete. So, like, what's going on here?
Because surely a part of the world, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, known for the production of building materials, could have figured out how to finish a basement. >> Speaker C: Do you know what I'm saying? >> Speaker B: Like, nowadays, you walk into a basement, and sometimes these things are, like, decked out. >> Speaker A: This is where the man cave is at. This is where the game zone is. But back then, it was a concrete, just slab with little to no
walls. Or if there was a supporting wall, it had a little to no finish on it. Well, this was normal for a lot. >> Speaker D: Of parts of the world back then. >> Speaker A: And not just Pittsburgh. This is all over. And the reason is this. Sewage systems are not what they are today. >> Speaker C: They were not what they are today. >> Speaker A: Because while we can still have problems today, and I want to say real quick, uh, uh, after the release of.
>> Speaker B: This episode, I'm going to be posting. >> Speaker D: Some pictures from my former employer's bathroom. >> Speaker A: Now, I told this story on the. >> Speaker B: Show at one point where the septic system went Reverso. Uh, but now I'm going to be sharing the photos of what I walked into. Uh, and so stay tuned for that. >> Speaker A: But sometimes we can still have problems. Stay. But generally, and one goal of privy.
>> Speaker B: Is to help you have a sense. >> Speaker A: Of thankfulness and counting your blessing when it comes to the area of what. >> Speaker D: You have with bathrooms, because we have relatively few backups. >> Speaker A: But back in the day, sewer lines would be known not just to back up, but back up from the city line. So we talked in one of the last episodes about how with the great.
>> Speaker B: Stink, you would dump your refuse into the river and it will wash down river into somebody else's water. This would be like that, but you're. >> Speaker A: Doing what you're supposed to. >> Speaker D: You're flushing the little guys, and they're. >> Speaker A: Going reverso into somebody else's toilet in their home. Now, when the backup would occur, it would occur and back up into the lowest standing, lowest line in the home.
>> Speaker C: Um, and when you have spent so. >> Speaker A: Much time getting your wallpaper and your. >> Speaker C: Sweet carpet and your weird colored sofa. >> Speaker B: Just right in the upstairs part of. >> Speaker A: Your house, you don't want your sewer line going reverso into that area. >> Speaker C: It's going to ruin the vibe. >> Speaker A: How are we going to be shaggedelic if I've got hoopie doopies all over my shagadelic rugs?
That's not radical, dude. And so they would install a sewer line into a basement. But what they found is you can't just have an open, freestanding sewer line because then you have stink. So they would sometimes cap this line, but then you don't want to cap it, because if it does decide to. >> Speaker D: Go reverso, if it has a cap. >> Speaker A: On it and it can't push the cap off, then we're right back where we were. You got poo all over your duck printed wallpaper.
So they would often install a toilet equipped with the s bend curve in. >> Speaker D: The basement on top of this freestanding sewer line. >> Speaker A: They slap a household toilet on this pipe, wherever it sat in the basement. >> Speaker D: And call it a day, praying that. >> Speaker A: One day when the sewage backs up. >> Speaker C: Into the home, it would back up. >> Speaker D: Into that poor toilet, the Pittsburgh potty.
>> Speaker A: They also put a toilet instead of a drain. Because a toilet and a sewer line is one of the biggest connections to. >> Speaker D: The sewer in the home. >> Speaker A: Makes sense. It's taking care of some of the biggest friggin poo balls, apparently, some of them the size of a billiard ball. The Pittsburgh potty. These have been found all over, not just in Pittsburgh, which is the reason. >> Speaker B: This is more than an answer to.
>> Speaker D: Dirty working men coming home with their grubbies still on. >> Speaker A: Um, but it's a phenomenon, and it's a weird one. >> Speaker B: And I distinctly remember growing up, and. >> Speaker D: I've verified this with my own parents. >> Speaker A: That, uh, we had a Pittsburgh potty. >> Speaker B: In our basement, but it was just. >> Speaker A: The open sewer line, because when the.
>> Speaker B: House was built, they used the basement. >> Speaker A: For dogs, never put the toilet in. And later, my dad installed a toilet. >> Speaker D: And actually, I believe he installed, like, there was a sink and a shower and stuff in there, too. >> Speaker B: But my basement, growing up, had a. >> Speaker A: Pittsburgh potty in Montana. I've talked to other people who were. >> Speaker C: Like, yeah, I had this weird toilet.
>> Speaker D: In my basement, and it's like, yeah, it's called a Pittsburgh potty. >> Speaker A: And you could use it. >> Speaker B: I can't stress that enough. >> Speaker A: You could use this toilet, but that was not its main purpose. So if you come across a Pittsburgh potty, let us know. We want to see it. >> Speaker B: I'm pretty sure, like I said, that. >> Speaker A: These are more widespread. >> Speaker B: Um, and often, if you go into.
>> Speaker A: An unfinished basement, an unfinished basement in a house built between the, um. This is probably what's going on. >> Speaker C: It's unfinished because concrete is easier to. >> Speaker A: Get poop off of than carpet and drywall. >> Speaker D: A lesson my former employer definitely figured out. >> Speaker A: In fact, though, I don't think it was a
Pittsburgh potty. My public high school in Montana had a freestanding toilet in the boys locker room bathroom, which lent to one of the best moments in high school forever in my brain. >> Speaker B: It is seared into my brain. >> Speaker D: So specifically, um, on this segment of. >> Speaker A: Hunter'S anecdotes to keep you afloat. This hunter's anecdotes is called cupcake on the toilet. >> Speaker B: Imagine this. The bell rings.
>> Speaker D: You're a freshman in high school. >> Speaker A: The world is your oyster. Or it's the place where you're going. >> Speaker D: To get harassed a little bit. >> Speaker B: You are kind of nervous, but also excited because you have freshman pe, and. >> Speaker A: I got a note. I went to a small high school. >> Speaker D: My graduating class had 20 people. >> Speaker A: So this isn't the, like, oh, I'm.
>> Speaker B: Going to get lost in the sea of people. >> Speaker D: High school that we see today, this. >> Speaker A: Is not that, but you have freshman pe, and you're like, oh, man. >> Speaker B: And the bell rings and it's like, oh, that kind of weird moment that some people like. And some people are like, oh, I just want to get it over where. >> Speaker D: You go down in the locker room to dress out.
>> Speaker A: We all go down in there, and waiting for us in the locker room. >> Speaker B: Is a person who has been introduced. >> Speaker A: To us as our pe aide. Now, uh, the pea aide is usually. >> Speaker B: An upper classman who has shown themselves. >> Speaker A: To be responsible enough to help aid the teacher. >> Speaker B: So often this is like a really rad and upstanding student who has got it going on.
>> Speaker D: They're super mature and they're there to help you. >> Speaker A: And so we go down in the. >> Speaker B: Locker room, we start changing, and we hear a shout from the back, like, hey, everybody, hurry up, change out and. >> Speaker A: Get back out there so we can start stretches. >> Speaker D: And so we're changing out, and I. >> Speaker A: Go into the back section of the.
>> Speaker D: Locker room to do a number one p before I go out to do pe. >> Speaker A: Uh, and when I walk in, there is my pe aide, one of my classmates'older brother, sitting sprawled goat to the sky on the toilet, dropping a shaz and just eating a pink sprinkled cupcake. No door, no clothes on, just naked. >> Speaker B: Sitting there eating a cupcake. Uh, that cupcake had more clothes on. >> Speaker D: Than he did with that paper wrapper, if you know what I'm saying.
>> Speaker A: And I'm just like, what in the heck? Welcome to high school, kids. The time that my pe aide ate an open faced cupcake with his bare self and he could care less. >> Speaker B: I go out and I told my. >> Speaker D: Buddy David is his older brother, and I was like, dude, your brother's in there just sitting on, uh, the toilet, eating a cupcake. And they had a fun back and forth, but it was just like this.
>> Speaker A: Shocking combination of open faced toilet meets. >> Speaker B: Somebody eating on the toilet meets weird. >> Speaker D: First experiences in high school. >> Speaker A: And that's a brief hunter's anecdote to keep you afloat. And that brings us to the end. >> Speaker B: Of another episode of privy. >> Speaker A: Thank you so much for being here. >> Speaker B: As always, we'd love for you to. >> Speaker A: Follow us on social media.
>> Speaker B: We're at privycast. You can follow me. >> Speaker A: Hunter at owl at seven. >> Speaker B: I'm getting up to some pokemon go. >> Speaker D: And, um, I'm doing all sorts of nonsense over there. >> Speaker A: You can send us an email, privycast@gmail.com. >> Speaker B: We'd love to hear from you. Uh, leave us an email. >> Speaker A: Tell us hi. Say what's up?
>> Speaker D: Give us an episode suggestion. If you're like, oh man, I want to hear Hunter talk about like, it. >> Speaker B: Could even just be to get me to research and talk about something that. >> Speaker A: Is awkward and weird, go for it. I dare you. We would love for you to leave a rating on the show and a review. Uh, the five star options are preferred.
>> Speaker B: Uh, and that just helps people find the show. Uh, when this episode comes out, it's going to be national podcasting month. >> Speaker A: And so not just this show, but all the shows you listen to. >> Speaker B: This is a great month to go. >> Speaker A: Show us here and other shows some. >> Speaker B: Love and leave some rating and reviews. >> Speaker A: It helps people be more likely to find those shows again.
>> Speaker B: And if you write us a review. >> Speaker D: On Apple Podcasts, we will read that here and again. >> Speaker B: That might be another opportunity for you. >> Speaker D: To get me to read something specific on this show. >> Speaker B: As always, we want to thank Kevin. >> Speaker A: McLeod for the use of barroom ballet as our intro and outro music. >> Speaker B: You can find Kevin's music at ah incompetent.com and his music is licensed under.
>> Speaker A: Creative Commons license Attribution 40. Thanks, Kevin. We also want to thank Pottington Bear for the use of all the colors in the world as the Hunter's anecdotes. >> Speaker B: Intro and outro music. >> Speaker A: You can find Pottington's music@pottingtonbear.com. >> Speaker C: Thanks Pottington. >> Speaker B: This has been another episode of Privy. Thank you so much for joining us. >> Speaker A: And now, as always, don't forget to flush.