[ ARC forum 2 ]

Re: Peeing outdoors

Written by Gar at 17 Dec 2002 01:25:01:

As an answer to: Re: Peeing outdoors written by Rood at 16 Dec 2002 20:48:57:

>And I don't believe the question of foreskin or sans foreskin is thought about, unless, perhaps, one is ballooning for fun when alone?

I was more thinking about whether those with their glans constantly exposed did not get that pleasant cool air rush that comes with pulling back the skin - kind of like the cooling rush you get in your mouth with a strong mint.

>It seems only natural and appropriate to go outdoors when one is hiking, or jogging...it would be absurd to do otherwise, only an environmentally sensitive person is rather careful where he goes, seeing how abused are our streams and lakes and how important their waters are to our health and safety. So it's not always "good" for the environment, flush or not. I often take hikers on expeditions and it is always necessary to warn them about these things. Anyone disregarding my advice is never asked on another trip. I also recall seeing photographs of loggers working with horses in the protected watersheds of New York City. The horses were fitted with catchment devices to prevent their wastes from sullying the environment.

Surely the flow of any stream so completely dilutes the urine so completely as to be untraceable in a few feet if the pee goes right into the stream. After all, a person will rarely pee more than 1-2 cups, and a horse rarely more than 1-2 gallons (I've never measured, but I have watched) And if it goes into plants or soil, the filtration must be just about total, especially since the only stuff in urine which is not water is a mild fertilizer. Besides urine is not dangerous if not infected. Many cultures have drunk urine for various ritual and health purposes - the ancient Romans believed it was a very effective mouthwash for preventing tooth decay ( - is that the sound of retching I'm hearing over the Net? - ), particularly the first urine of the day from little boys. I'm not making this up: there's a book on the history of dentistry which came out a few years ago which I checked out from the library that covers this, and I can assure you that compared to some of the other details in there, this is no big deal at all. My point is that this seems more a psychological reaction to our distaste over body fluids than a protection against an actual threat to the quality of the environment. After all, animals have been peeing wherever they want for billions of years.

>Sometimes it is impossible not to "go" around other people. Driving across country several years ago with two passengers...a young man and a woman...we stopped somewhere in the wilds of Colorado to adjust the load in back of the pickup. Returning to the cab, we two males discovered that the woman had disappeared. As there was nowhere for anyone to hide, it being open country, we sat there completely puzzled until suddenly her head bobbed up in front of the cab, sly creature she.

Good thing you hadn't decided to drive around a bit to find her.


Answers: