Whoops!

I was deep in thoughts as I meandered absentmindedly towards the sign inside the city shopping mall. It was empty. I entered a vacant cubicle.

Suddenly I heard voices. Male voices. I was outraged. What were these men doing inside the Ladies toilet?

I stepped out of the cubicle. just as a boy of about twelve walked by. The two men at the urinal on the right plastered themselves to the wall. Three other men already inside the toilet gasped in astonishment. Oh dear God! I was the one inside the wrong toilet.

Mortified by this scandalous blunder I scooted out of the Gents with as much pluck as I could muster.

In a typical household, both men and women were given free access to a common toilet. When it came to public toilets, the rules are changed. We have different washrooms designed for the boys and girls and God help the addled goose who wandered mistakenly into the wrong one.

NOTE: By the way, have you noticed how many names a toilet go by? We're talking about ... Lavatory, loo, washroom, john, water closet, urinal, outhouse, jakes, ladies, gents, restroom, bathroom, shithouse and many more. Amazing that we needed so many words to describe the place where we made just the one or two principal calls.