At school, how did you ask to go to the toilet?
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (361313)
Rockingham, Australia
August 19, 2025 3:31am CST
I don’t know what made me think of it but what was the acceptable of asking to go to the toilet when you were at school?
We would wave our hand in the air and say ‘may I be excused’ or sometimes ‘may I leave the room’? There was a tacit understanding that this meant you needed to go to the loo.
So what was the go when you were at school? Did you have any variations on this?
The photo shows a very old ‘thunderbox’ which I grew up with before we advanced to a flush toilet. What a luxury that was – the flush toilet, not the thunderbox. 
22 people like this
26 responses
@DaddyEvil (157285)
• United States
19 Aug
In grade school, we'd hold up our hand with one finger up for going to pee and two fingers up to go poo. The teacher would call our name and say "Excused".
In the upper grades, we'd go to the teacher's desk and ask to be excused for a bathroom break.
6 people like this
@DaddyEvil (157285)
• United States
19 Aug
@sjvg1976 Once kids aren't loud all the time, going to the teacher and asking quietly is the preferred method.
2 people like this
@xFiacre (14173)
• Ireland
19 Aug
@judyev A worthy question. I never used my school lavatory. I held on till lunch time and went home. It was the epitome of squalor, and during break or lunch was a dangerous place to be. Furthermore, the paper provided was like greaseproof paper for lining cake tins. I do remember one boy who earned the nickname Peewee asking an irate teacher if he could go to the toilet. His request was roughly denied so he wet himself - not a good look for a 13 year old.
4 people like this
@allknowing (152043)
• India
1h
@JudyEv Those days there was no elestic on our panties . I was stuck and could not open the string and the teacher helpled me
@JudyEv (361313)
• Rockingham, Australia
1h
I don't know how we knew how best to ask. Perhaps we were told at the start of the year.
@Beestring (15757)
• Hong Kong
19 Aug
I usually went straight to the teacher and told him/her that I needed to go to the toilet.
4 people like this
@Kusumakrishna (135)
•
19 Aug
The way of asking underwent many innovations 
as I grow up...
In primary school level ,
We ask our teacher without any shame by showing little fingure.
In higher classes,
We almost go to the teacher's face and ask them personally.
After schooling,
No truth.we ask for water break and go for toilets.
Thanks for reminding those beautiful days.3 people like this
@Kusumakrishna (135)
•
1h
@JudyEv
Yeah.that is the symbolic representation for going to pee those days.We also used to call it as london, Restaurant ( code language for going to a place where we supposed to pee)
. That is after raising our hands.
@snowy22315 (194689)
• United States
19 Aug
We just raised our hand. Always had a flush toilet fortunately, but my mom had an outhouse part of the time when she was young. My dad lived in the city and they always had a flush toilet.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (361313)
• Rockingham, Australia
1h
At school, we had toilets that flushed when you pulled a chain. On the farm we went straight from a pan system which Dad had to bury to a push-button flushing system.
@JudyEv (361313)
• Rockingham, Australia
1h
I remember hands waving in the air hoping to be picked to answer a question too.
@wolfgirl569 (121068)
• Marion, Ohio
19 Aug
Wave our hand and say we needed to go to the bathroom
2 people like this
@Marilynda1225 (85941)
• United States
19 Aug
We also raised our hands and asked to be excused. It was understood that it meant a trip to the bathroom.
Your thunderbox reminded me of a vacation we had when I was a kid. My dad had a friend who had a summer house and asked if we would like to use it for a week. My parents jumped on the offer and off we went. The only thing I remember about that vacation house was no inside toilet. Since I've always had to use the bathroom more frequently than others I made many a trip to that outhouse while we were there. Not fun 
2 people like this
@JudyEv (361313)
• Rockingham, Australia
1h
Such outhouses certainly weren't the best. There were often spiders in Australian ones too.
@JESSY3236 (20929)
• United States
19 Aug
I remember we raised our hands asked to be excused, or that we needed to use the bathroom.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (361313)
• Rockingham, Australia
1h
Asking to be excused was taken for granted that you needed to go to the toilet.
@aninditasen (17550)
• Raurkela, India
19 Aug
We would straight away ask " May I go to the toilet? by going close to the teacher.
2 people like this
@LindaOHio (198303)
• United States
19 Aug
I actually don't remember what we did.
3 people like this
@sjvg1976 (42444)
• Delhi, India
19 Aug
Same like @daddyevil we used point out a finger of a hand and say "May I go to washroom Mam/Sir"
2 people like this
@JudyEv (361313)
• Rockingham, Australia
1h
We don't use 'restroom' too much over here but everyone would know what it meant.
@Traceyjayne (4455)
• United Kingdom
19 Aug
When we needed the toilet we either went up to the teacher and asked to go or we would put our hand up and then ask.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (361313)
• Rockingham, Australia
1h
I think that's acceptable. At least no-one is in any doubt about what they want.
@ardeliaputri2 (126)
•
19 Aug
When I was in kindergarten, I told my teacher that I wanted to go to the toilet and she took me and even cleaned me up... Oh, god..
Being a kindergarten teacher is really a challenge for someone who doesn't like kids like me..
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (361313)
• Rockingham, Australia
1h
So are you a kindergarden teacher? I hope not. I always feel sorry for those who hate the career they are in.
