Remembering an Old Study

[Fred]

Years ago, back when my only Internet connection was dial-up, I remember encountering a study that was commissioned by the US military for the purpose of determining what toilet facilities, if any, would be necessary in planes that carry military personnel for various lengths of time. It was motivated because toilets would not only take up space but would require regular maintenance.

As I recall it, they herded groups of male recruits into a room, regulated their food and fluid intake, and then recorded the elapsed times of when they requested permission to urinate and also when they absolutely needed to urinate. They then recorded the output of each man. I'm sure it involved a thousand men or more.

I recall a pretty detailed analysis of the data. Sadly, this was before I was in the habit of saving such things on my hard drive. A week or two later when I went to revisit the report, it was gone. I suppose it threatens our national security if our enemies know how long we hold our bladders.

I'll bet that studies like this still take place but are not allowed to be revealed to the public.

[neodreamwaters]

I would love to be one of the people conducting the study and gathering the data, especially the recording the output part. It would be absolutely hot being near so many men squirming desperate for a piss while they relieve themselves into a measuring cup one by one!

[BottleBlaze]

Oh yes!! That would have been incredibly hot. Pushing the limits of men's bladders for research! Would be interesting to record the time to empty too. Some guys have much thicker streams, some guys have thin streams but high pressure. Would be quite the sight to see.

[Brian]

Another factor which they should have taken into account (I wonder if they did...) was the consequences of one of their aviators having an accident and wetting himself in the plane if they didn't include a toilet, and how often this would be likely to occur. It's all relevant, isn't it?

[Tytn]

Army Study Guide - Field Sanitation & Facilities for Human Waste

A Female Urinary Diversion Device for Military Women in the Deployed Environment

Whist not related to the quest, it was something that came up and I thought some might like to look into the sort of reports the US Military would do and follow for such things. I think that device has been approved for active use in the military. If the women use those, I'm sure some squaddies would be a bit more shy about their own needs and... the consequences

[Tytn]

Latrine Evaluation for Military Use

There are over 3000 articles with 'toilet' as keyword but a lot of them dodge the issue. Some gems can be found there, that don't interfere with General Order Number One.

[burstingguys]

An epic find! The description of the "Daily Restroom Kit" particularly caught my eye as it left soldiers with just two opportunities to empty their bladder per day