TIL "WC" is an initialism for "water closet"

9 days ago by EfreetSK to c/til

I'm from non-english speaking country but we use "WC" for toilet and I just found out the meaning behind it

HamsterRage 30 points 9 days ago

There's a old joke about this from Jack Parr, told on the Tonight Show:

An English lady, while visiting Germany, was looking for a room to rent. She found a suitable one owned by a local schoolmaster. After returning home, she remembered she hadn’t seen a "W.C." (water closet/bathroom) on the property. She wrote a letter to the schoolmaster asking where the W.C. was located.

The schoolmaster, not knowing much English, was puzzled by the initials "W.C." He took the letter to the parish priest, and together they concluded that the lady must be asking about the local Wayside Chapel.

The schoolmaster wrote the following reply:

Dear Madam,

I take great pleasure in informing you that the W.C. is situated nine miles from the house, in the center of a beautiful grove of pine trees. It is capable of holding 250 people and is open to the public on Sundays and Thursdays.

As a large crowd is expected during the summer months, I advise you to arrive early. This may prove an unfortunate inconvenience to you if you are in the habit of going regularly. Rest assured, however, that there is plenty of standing room.

Many people bring their lunch and make a day of it, while others arrive at the last minute and can only find standing room. A special feature is the organ music, which accompanies all proceedings. The acoustics are excellent, and even the most delicate sounds can be heard by everyone.

It may also interest you to know that my daughter was married in the W.C., as it was there that she met her husband. I can still remember the rush for seats. There were ten people in every seat that day!

My wife is very delicate, so she cannot go regularly. It has been over six months since she last went, which is naturally a great trial for her.

I shall be delighted to reserve the best seat for you, where you can be seen by everyone.

Yours faithfully,

The Schoolmaster

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Speiser0 10 points 9 days ago

We use the abbreviation WC in german as well though. And chapel is Kapelle in german, so K not C. Also, according to wikipedia, the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayside_Chapel is located in australia. (In the joke it also sounds like a huge chapel. Most chapels can only hold like 5 persons.)

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schnurrito 2 points 9 days ago

We use the abbreviation WC in german as well though.

Yes, but has that always been the case? The joke might be old enough that this may not have been true in the time it is set in.

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CosmoNova 3 points 8 days ago

Germans use WC since the mid to late 1800s as far as I found out. I sort of doubt the joke is older than that but I could be wrong.

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one_old_coder 23 points 9 days ago

Pronounced like "vayssay" in French because the English double-U is actually a double-V.

Toilet paper can be referred to as "PQ," for "papier cul" (translation of "ass paper").

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kescusay 16 points 9 days ago

I love how the French casually use so many "dirty" words in everyday speech without batting an eye.

We're so prudish over here.

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Dozzi92 7 points 9 days ago

It's funny, because head up to French Canada and all the curses are religious. Tabernac! Calisse!

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kescusay 3 points 9 days ago

That is hilarious! I've been learning French, but not Canadian French. Maybe I should give it a shot.

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victorz 2 points 9 days ago

Same in Swedish. Not all, but a lot.

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Malica 2 points 9 days ago

French Canadians are a special lot, they've perfected the snark

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CybranM 4 points 9 days ago

If you look at W its clearly VV and not UU. Silly English

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Kenny2999 21 points 9 days ago

Another word for toilet is john, which is also a presidential middle name.

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SnoopSqueak 13 points 9 days ago

I refer to my father as "John, like the toilet"

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Klear 4 points 9 days ago

My headcanon is that the former president called himself Bill to avoid the WC initials.

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AI_toothbrush 14 points 9 days ago

Thats why colloquially we call toilets "vécé" in hungarian which is basically VC(wc) pronounced as a word.

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desmosthenes 6 points 9 days ago

same in croatian

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victorz 4 points 9 days ago

Same in Swedish.

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Binette 2 points 9 days ago

Strangely enough, same in french.

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Glitterkoe 13 points 9 days ago

The more you drink the more double-you see

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ImWaitingForRetcons 12 points 9 days ago

In India, WC is the Western Commode, as opposed to the Indian Commode (squat toilet)

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saimen 1 point 8 days ago

When I visited India it was always called "western style toilet" or something like that.

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brem 3 points 7 days ago

I didn't even see this post before I started my "Uncle John's Facts From A Closed Toilet", but consider this my pearls in the alley in front of a Young Bruce.

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undefined 2 points 9 days ago

This always confused the hell out of me in Mexico.

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brem 1 point 7 days ago

Wash Closet sounds like a small room for washing clothes or a person, however I was previously aware of the term.

If I remember correctly, some Asian countries call it WC. I hope this translates well, because the next part is really dumb.

Imagine if we were all forced to go into a tiny room and swing from clothing hangers while water blasted our buttholes!

Yippee!

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anon_8675309 1 point 8 days ago
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Akasazh -4 points 9 days ago

And 'crapper' is from Thomas Crapper, who was one lauded as the inventor of the toilet, but that is s bit overblown.

Still the name stuck

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TrickDacy 18 points 9 days ago path: 0 26139760 26141026, hotness: undefined, score: 18, children: 0
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