Message in an Outhouse
A Singular Method of Communication
​
Back in the 1970s, the federal government started the Youth Conservation Corps to provide young people with jobs while they learned about basic concepts of environmental science. Among other things, they were supposed to learn the vocabulary of the discipline, as defined in a list of words provided by the government.
Although we on the staff made attempts to use these words during the long, hot days of piling slash and building trails, we found such activity unconducive to academic discourse. We needed a way to introduce the terms when our students were at (more or less) rest, perhaps even looking for something to occupy their minds.
So we created several short lists of words with their definitions, each of which fit on a single page. Then, each week, we posted a new list in the student dorms. To be more specific, we posted several copies of each list—one on the back of each stall door in the bathrooms.
I have no memory of whether this approach was effective, but I’ve noticed that it has become immensely popular. For many years, the only message one could contemplate while seated in many outhouses was the one shown here. This message endures, and not just as a posted paper notice anymore; it is often engraved in steel and bolted to the wall.
But there are many other communiques as well. This blog lists some of the messages I’ve had the opportunity to contemplate. I encourage outhouse-experienced readers to add their (tasteful) additions.
​
​
Motivation at Ruby Lake
An exhortation to close the door (and lower the seat lid) appears in many outhouses. Experience over the years has suggested that visitors’ compliance with this directive is mixed. But this message, from the remote Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge on the eastern slope of the Ruby Mountains in Nevada, provides significant motivation.
A Different Approach at Madera Canyon
At this favorite destination for birders high in the Santa Rita Mountains of southern Arizona, a less descriptive but more directive message is used repetitively:
​
Upon entrance:
And finally, a direct question as you depart:
While enthroned:
At this favorite destination for birders high in the Santa Rita Mountains of southern Arizona, a less descriptive but more directive message is used repetitively:
​
Upon entrance:
04
Project Name
This is your Project description. Provide a brief summary to help visitors understand the context and background of your work. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start.
