14 May 2010

inquiring minds want to know

sitting at a gas station, waiting for my receipt and wondering why their bathrooms are called "rest rooms". of course, it's a room. but a place of rest? really?

22 comments:

Nop said...

Maybe the gas station staffs use it as a rest room. LOL

Saradia's blogs said...

No comments Chris...i think we really need to work our mind upon it...but u know what, commode is a nice place to sit and rest your legs!!!.....ooops sorry for that...huh...!!

myletterstoemily said...

i'm not going to rest there.

Leslie, Lemon Sweet Life said...

That's funny! I have never thought about it!

Geetha Srinivasan said...

oh i had the same question in mind for a long time, but never bothered to find out. I'll check back on your comments to read what people have say :)

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

And why do we park on a driveway but drive on a parkway?

Full of Nargles said...

Well maybe some people feel rested when they feel relieved? Except that "relief room" might be taken to have other connotations. :)

Kay said...

maybe it is a room for the rest of the story..sorry I am tired and silly right now!

Pat Wahler said...

H'mmm. I don't know. I've seen people disappear into a restroom, magazine in hand, for quite a while!

Pat
www.critteralley.blogspot.com

Jeanie said...

Maybe it's a Southern thing, but "restroom" is pretty common around these parts (Texas). I am sure they did not have a bathtub in their restroom, so why call it a "bathroom"? :)

Tabor said...

Well, you don't exactly take a bath in them...so perhaps toilets?

Niki said...

may be because that's where we put our you-know-what to eternal 'rest'!! LOL.

Just Two Chicks said...

It's called a bathroom when there's a bathtub in it and a restroom when it's simply a place to ummm... refresh and such.

jgirl said...

not sure that dangling over a filth encrusted commode while holding a stall door closed that doesn't lock really counts as rest...just saying...

Anonymous said...

When I used to work it's where we vent our anger, and talk really bad. so, the reason maybe why it's called that. ha, ha, ha..

Lynne said...

Yes, restroom was a common term here in Oz for many years. And if you've ever wandered around an unknown area, desperately looking for the local convenience, it does bring a sense of rest and relief! LOL

Jenny said...

In the "olden days" we didn't alude to the fact that we were going to sit on the toilet, not polite, hence, "restrooms". A lady also went to "powder her nose" in the restroom. This is a Texan's southern point of view.

Diane said...

I have ALWAYS wondered why this is!

Rai Rai said...

Nice urge of curiosity! but definitely I wouldn't rest there. :) Even here in my country, they call it different names like... "COMFORT ROOMS... POWDER ROOMS..." whatever, right? The common thing is that these places are used for excreting stuff from our bodies... hehehe... have a good day! :)

Allison said...

I'm not sure they're really "bath"rooms either...

Anonymous said...

when I was in England many years ago, one of the school families told me of a trip they had taken to the US to Disney-world. They went back to their room each time they needed the toilet as they had no idea that rest rooms were in fact toilets!

Joan said...

according to Wikipedia "In the rest of the world (usually Africa, Middle East, and Southeast Asia) the term 'comfort room' is used."