Monday, August 11, 2008

Dandy Dunnies

Aren't these the neatest school toilets you have ever seen? I took this photo outside Goroka when I was there a couple of months ago.


In Australia outside toilets are called dunnies. In PNG I have heard them called smolhaus (small house) and haus pekpek (use your imagination and work out what pekpek is!).


What are toilets affectionately known as where you are??

35 comments:

Jilly said...

How adorable - if loos can be adorable, that is. These are tho. Interesting the word smolhaus - that sounds very German to me. Is there a connection in the language?

Les toilettes - that's what they are called here. Not sure I know another word but a real French speaker will doubtless tell us. Le WC aussi.

Anonymous said...

These are about the size of our old outside toilets we had at school. Nice photo

edward said...

these are so cute! my toilet is called the box. it has a roof on it and it's in the garage.

we call the human' toilets "the Loo"

Marcel said...

I had a good chuckle at Edward’s comment. No special name for toilets here. Like Abe I can remember many outhouses but they sure were not as cute as a Dandy Dunnies.

Thanks for visiting my blog and thanks for your extra kind words.

Steve Buser said...

Around here there are no outside toilets. All porcelain and indside with fans to whisk away any offending odors.

Although it is true and interesting to note that the flushing toilet was invented by Thomas Crapper.

Jules said...

Jilly - yes there is German in the Pidgin language as well as English and a few Indonesian words as well. It was dev in this area by planters who needed a common language. There are only about 1300words so some explanations can be quite lengthy to get out in its round-about-way!!

Edward - i hope you wash your hands after you've finished in the box!!!!

Abe & Macel - we had one in our hen house and it used to scare the hell out of me when I had to go down there in the dark!!!

Steve - aaahhh well that explains a thing or "two"

CaBaCuRl said...

What great dunnies....silly question Jules, but are they flushing or long-drops?

Unknown said...

You made me laugh with the pekepek thing! :-)
Those toilets are a beauty!

CaBaCuRl said...

Me again,Jules. I posted 'sister' photos today on my blog. Couldn't resist the connection.

willywagtail said...

I love these. As a child I always thought it funny that pekpek was so close to pukpuk and even dukduk. Cherrie

Katie said...

So much more attractive than a row of Port-o-Lets. Reminds me of the Steve Martin routine where he's trying to speak Spanish and asks: "Donde esta la casa de pipi?"

Marie said...

Effectivement, they are great compared to the plastic ones I can see here everywhere there are construction works :-))

Oman said...

uhm, toilet in the philippines is known as kubeta. it is also known as comfort rooms or C.R.

one other thing, i know it may sound funny but pekpek in the philippines is a street word for the female genetalia.

dive said...

Woah! I have GOT to get these installed on our building sites. So much more elegant (and biodegradable) than the plastic portaloo!

Jules said...

Cabacurl - the only time they flush is in a heavy downpour!!!

Lawstude - hmmmm very interestng - i will be very careful how I use the term from now on!!!!

Dive & katie & marie - i agree they are much more environmentally friendly and "green" - the only trouble is who the hell is going to dig all the holes you'd need????

Willywagtail - gosh pekpek bilong dukduk - or pukpuk - wouldn't be pleasant!!!!

Anonymous said...

We usually call them"les toilettes"
(we say"je vais aux toilettes").
We can call them"le petit coin"
(we say"je vais au petit coin").

Jules said...

anon - sounds like what we say in Aust when we "spend a penny"

Julie said...

Good post, Jules. And I enjoyed each and every one of the comments, too.

Tom said...

Hi Jules...
these are stunners.... we have many names for these... some nicer than others but most have been said, and I'm far to shy to say the others... ha!..

Daniel J Santos said...

these things are toilets ?????

alicesg said...

At least they are covered. Interesting photos.

M.Benaut said...

My German friends go to the Schmidt Haus.

At least they wouldn't catch fire if you smoked in them. Not like your flammable versions !!!

Apart from that, Crapper is still in popular use in Oz, in memory of the great man, of course !

Hilda said...

Are they just holes in the ground or real toilets? In really remote areas of the Philippines, holes in the ground are still common.

Does pekpek there mean the same as ours? It means vagina in Tagalog.

Most people in Metro Manila call it "CR," short for comfort room. In Tagalog, it's "banyo," though the word's root is Spanish. We have lots of Spanish words in our languages and dialects because the Philippines was a Spanish colony for more than 300 years.

photowannabe said...

These are certainly more attractive than our plastic port-a-potties that can be seen at construction sites.
Sometimes a crude saying calls the toilet the "John". I'm not exactly sure why though.

Jane Hards Photography said...

These are wondeful. f you had posed the question what are they I would not have guessed at toilets.

Alternate names here. Lav,lavatory, crapper(from thomas),smallest room in the house,loo and bog.

Bobby D. said...

outdoor toilettes are often temporary here--at construction sites and concerts in the park--these portable loos are called "port-a-sans" (portable and sanitary I guess) "Johnny-on-the-spot" "Pit Stops" and "Port-a- Potties"

Bobby D. said...

Sailors call it "The Head" that's what a sailor told me anyway

Neva said...

Do you mean toliets or outhouses? Because that is what I would call what you showed...outhouses! We call them toliets or commodes , I suppose ....or just the bathroom....regardless if there is a bath in it or not! nice shot.

Jules said...

Hi All - thanks for all these interesting comments - what a hoot!!!!

d chedwick - the head - hmmmm - not sure how that fits in seeing it is actually the other end we are talking about????

Neva - yeah the American term "going to the bathroom" is interesting as in Aust most toilets were separate from the bathroom until ensuites came upon the scene. But the main bathroom still usually doesn't have a toilet in it.

photwannabe - poor John whoever he might have been - maybe a John locked himself in the loo one day and the name stuck????!!!!

hilda- they are definitely holes in the ground!!! Lawstude also mentioned the pekpek word - funny how the word is here as well but for something quite different!!!!

M B - so love that name Schmidt Haus. And yes VERY flammable - I reckon a well-positioned fart would light these up!!!

tom - you shy - never!!!!

Jules~ said...

Never knew and out house could be cute...but these are. It is not often around here that one would find a permanent out house type of building. But we have portable ones that get trucked in and out of places for events like concerts and state fairs. There are also some along the 40 mile local walking trail. Those are called porta-potties. They usually have a company logo name on them that says "Honey Bucket". I guess they are trying to make the smell go away by inprinting a sweet picture in your mind.

Anonymous said...

There's something about the word "dunny" that always makes me laugh.

Great picture!

edward said...

sailors call it the head because of it's location on old ships--where sea spray would constantly hit it and help keep it clean.

edward, the junior historian

edward said...

american ladies sometimes say they're "going to powder their nose' or freshen up or going to the ladies rooms or to the restroom...... . some men say going to take a dump or leak. not gentlemen, though.

Ann (MobayDP) said...

I don't think toilets are affectionately anything where I come from! LOL.
Whether or not it has a bath or is in a room, it's called a bathroom here, so long as there's a toilet in there.

Anonymous said...

Here in France a vulgar word for it is CHIOTTE. A more genteel one, a trifle old-fashioned, is CABINETS D'AISANCE.

We used to say TO SPEND A PENNY but what with the introduction of the Euro, it is now: TO EURONATE.

Nic Mens
67140 Andlau.