Toilet signs: designation of letters WC and others

We often see the WC sign on the toilet door in public places and offices. Surely few people did not think about its origin and decoding. You will learn more about what these familiar letters on the doors mean in this article.

Many people think that it is more logical and more understandable to use the notation T for a toilet (from the English Toilet) and B for a bathroom (English Bathroom). There is a joke that WC stands for WelCome and translates as "welcome". The correct decoding of this sign sounds like Water closet, which means "A small closed room with running water." The English expression Water closet means toilet equipped with a hygiene device, which implies the presence of a sink or washbasin. But such rooms are not equipped with a shower. The only exception can be hotel restrooms, which are located on the beaches or by the pool.

The interesting thing is that this designation is used not only in countries where English is the official language. The WC sign is installed in almost all public places in both large and small cities.

The toilet sign may have other inscriptions. Women's rooms are often referred to as Ladys room or The ladies, while men's rooms are referred to as The gents or Men's room. There are also signs that say Facilities or Public toilet, but the first option is usually used to refer to bathrooms in apartments. Moreover, there are American variants Restroom and John. In England, you can see a sign that says loo.But in hotels, the word Lavatory is often used.

Sometimes the expression "powder closet"... The name appeared as a result of the fact that all waste is treated with a special powder made using peat or ash. Plumbers say that they "dust" the waste there, hence the name. Toilets with cesspools and forced ventilation are often called "loft bathrooms".

In Russia, a public toilet is called a restroom, a public or public bathroom, less often a waste place. Sometimes you can hear the word "toilet", but it came into our language from French. The French equivalent is spelled Sortir. When French was especially popular in tsarist Russia and was spoken by many nobles, the phrase "Je dois sortir" was used, which has the translation "I need to get out."

In 2001, the World Toilet Organization was created, which deals with the problems of bathrooms and similar rooms. Delegates from different countries gather at the organization's congresses. The first meeting took place in Singapore, because it is there that the latrines are particularly clean and tidy. The world organization was created with the aim of developing and improving legislation on the arrangement of toilets.

This is due to the fact that people in many countries often suffer from lack of toilets or poor sanitation. As a result of unsanitary conditions, various dangerous diseases are spreading in the world, which often lead to death.

Often, the WC sign is complemented simply by the image of a woman and a man or their silhouettes. Another solution is to use it without additional labels. This solution is often used in China and Japan.

You will learn more about the funny signs for the toilet later.