Outhouse - Definition and Overview

The term outhouse, originally referring to any small structure away from a main building, now means a small enclosure around a pit that is used as a toilet.

Outhouses vary in design and construction. Typical features include:

• Being separated from a dwelling or other structure so as to minimize smells, but not being so far away as to make a walk in snow or cold weather uncomfortably long;
• Having walls and a roof attached so as to shield the user from rain, wind, and thus to a small degree, cold weather;

• Having a door, sometimes decorated with a crescent moon [1] (http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_382.html);
• In western societies, having at least one seat with a hole in it, below which is a pit into which the excrement falls;
• In eastern societies, having a pit in the floor, over which the user crouches, and into which the excrement falls;
• Being a suitable distance away from any fresh-water well from which drinking water is drawn, so as to minimize risk of contamination;
• Sometimes having a roll of toilet paper available (catalogs from retailers specializing in mail order purchases, for example Montgomery Wards, were also common, often kept in a can or other container to protect it from mice, etc.; alternatively, in the days before toilet paper, old corn cobs, leaves, or other paper was used).

Outhouses are common throughout history. Outhouse humor is likewise a constant, which usually involves someone either being trapped in one, falling into the hole, or other social faux pas.

See also

• Compost toilet