Toilet signs: designation of letters WC and others

We often see a WC sign on the toilet door in public places and offices. Surely few people thought about its origin and decoding. Learn more about what these familiar letters on the doors mean, you will learn from this article.

Many people think that it is more logical and understandable to use the designation T for the toilet (from the English Toilet) and B for the 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 enclosed space with running water." The English expression Water closet means lavatory equipped with a hygiene device, which implies the presence of a sink or washbasin. But these rooms are not equipped with a shower. An exception may be only hotel restrooms, which are located on the beaches or by the pool.

Interesting thing is that This designation is used not only in countries where English is official. The WC sign is installed in almost all public places of 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, and men's rooms are The gents or Men's room. There are also signs that say Facilities or Public toilet, but the first option is usually used to designate bathrooms in apartments. Moreover, there are American options Restroom and John. In England you can see a sign with the inscription 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 they “dust” the waste there, from where the name came from. Toilets with cesspools and a forced ventilation system are often called a "loft bathroom."

In Russia, a public toilet is called a restroom, a bathroom for public or public use, less often a waste place. Sometimes you can hear the word "toilet", but it came to our language from French. The French equivalent is written as Sortir. When in Tsarist Russia, the French language was especially popular and many nobles spoke it, the phrase “Je dois sortir” was used, which has the translation “I need to go out”.

In 2001, the World Toilet Organization was established, which deals with the problems of bathrooms and similar rooms. At congresses of the organization gather delegates from different countries. 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 bathrooms.

This is due to the fact that residents of many countries often suffer from lack of toilets or non-compliance with sanitary standards. As a result of unsanitary conditions, various dangerous diseases are spreading in the world, which often lead to death.

Often, the WC sign is simply supplemented with a picture of a woman and a man or their silhouettes. Another solution is to use it without additional inscriptions. This solution is often used in China and Japan.

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