Ask Soleiyu some shit

[odeon]

Five years is not long enough to eliminate conventions supported by several generations.

[Untermensch]

Yes, over here we get to use the wonderful name dunny.

 

[SleepyDragon]

Some explanations for the origin of the term "loo" are given HERE and HERE. I think the one that is closest to being correct is this one:

When people flung their potty waste out of the window, they would shout "Gardez l'eau" [gar-day low]. That's French for "watch out for the water".

... except that I think they might have been saying "Gardez lieu!" [Gardy-loo, i.e. "Don't move, stay put!"] as they merrily tossed the contents of the chamber pot out the window. That's my theory, anyway.

[Phlexor]

Some explanations for the origin of the term "loo" are given HERE and HERE. I think the one that is closest to being correct is this one:

When people flung their potty waste out of the window, they would shout "Gardez l'eau" [gar-day low]. That's French for "watch out for the water".

... except that I think they might have been saying "Gardez lieu!" [Gardy-loo, i.e. "Don't move, stay put!"] as they merrily tossed the contents of the chamber pot out the window. That's my theory, anyway.

People back then were no better than monkeys, flinging their poop.

[Peter]

The word 'toilet' is often used in some form on public signs here, and common alternatives are 'ladies'/'gents', or male and female pictograms, with the latter two being more common in more up-market environments.  Toilet is also commonly used in the names of and advertising for toilet cleaner, toilet brushes, toilet paper etc, and is considered perfectly acceptable for use in day-time TV adverts.  There's also eau du toilette (toilet water), which is a weak perfume that I think is supposed to be applied over the course of an evening as the original, stronger application of perfume wears off.  

Lavatory might be a preferred alternative to toilet among certain elite social groups, and the usage of lavatory vs toilet between social groups might have been what Vivi was referring to, but toilet has a very high degree of public acceptance, and using it wouldn't mark someone as filth unless you take 'filth' as encompassing >99% of the population.

[Christopher McCandless]

Five years is not long enough to eliminate conventions supported by several generations.

It is in this country.

[Frolic_Fun]

Loo, shitter, toilet, lavatory... does it really matter?

Poor Irish spud farmers used to call them "lavatories" before turning to the more modern "bog".

[odeon]

Five years is not long enough to eliminate conventions supported by several generations.

It is in this country.

You're kidding,. right?! Your country is still a strict class hierarchy. Ask any sociologist. Takes a lot longer than five years to change that (and a lot more than the desire to change the facts).

Lavatory might be a preferred alternative to toilet among certain elite social groups, and the usage of lavatory vs toilet between social groups might have been what Vivi was referring to, but toilet has a very high degree of public acceptance, and using it wouldn't mark someone as filth unless you take 'filth' as encompassing >99% of the population.

Acceptance is one thing, actual usage is another. Vivi was specifically talking about the word "loo" as opposed to "toilet", an considering what she does for a living, her words carry a lot of weight.

Loo, shitter, toilet, lavatory... does it really matter?

No, of course not.

[Blasted]

I act posh according to friends   Also, apparently I have a posh voice   Just cause I don't say stuff like "safe blud" or "wag 1".

[Christopher McCandless]

Five years is not long enough to eliminate conventions supported by several generations.

It is in this country.

You're kidding,. right?! Your country is still a strict class hierarchy. Ask any sociologist. Takes a lot longer than five years to change that (and a lot more than the desire to change the facts).

The upper class frequently ditch terms, for the simple reason if the lower classes copy something, they have to ditch it. It can happen very quickly on occasion.

[odeon]

Five years is not long enough to eliminate conventions supported by several generations.

It is in this country.

You're kidding,. right?! Your country is still a strict class hierarchy. Ask any sociologist. Takes a lot longer than five years to change that (and a lot more than the desire to change the facts).

The upper class frequently ditch terms, for the simple reason if the lower classes copy something, they have to ditch it. It can happen very quickly on occasion.

Doesn't happen that fast; a sociological change takes longer than that for such a group because they are, in fact, not one group in that they can act as a group on a single issue.

[ProfessorFarnsworth]

But it makes you wonder though, can social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter, be powerful enough to exert faster sociological change once most of the population is using it?

[Christopher McCandless]

Five years is not long enough to eliminate conventions supported by several generations.

It is in this country.

You're kidding,. right?! Your country is still a strict class hierarchy. Ask any sociologist. Takes a lot longer than five years to change that (and a lot more than the desire to change the facts).

The upper class frequently ditch terms, for the simple reason if the lower classes copy something, they have to ditch it. It can happen very quickly on occasion.

Doesn't happen that fast; a sociological change takes longer than that for such a group because they are, in fact, not one group in that they can act as a group on a single issue.

Its not a sociological change, its a linguistic change. Remember in the UK, most people aspire to be a higher class.

[Callaway]

Some explanations for the origin of the term "loo" are given HERE and HERE. I think the one that is closest to being correct is this one:

When people flung their potty waste out of the window, they would shout "Gardez l'eau" [gar-day low]. That's French for "watch out for the water".

... except that I think they might have been saying "Gardez lieu!" [Gardy-loo, i.e. "Don't move, stay put!"] as they merrily tossed the contents of the chamber pot out the window. That's my theory, anyway.

These are very interesting links, SleepyDragon.

[odeon]

But it makes you wonder though, can social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter, be powerful enough to exert faster sociological change once most of the population is using it?

Probably if a big enough part is using it.