r/mildyinteresting • u/Gold-Range93 • May 13 '26
humankind hiccups đ What caused this sign and how could they possibly enforce this?
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u/RealLifeAquaman May 13 '26
That's a pretty common sign at most public and hotel pools, but I also bet it has been placed there to keep kids from running into the glass wall.
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May 13 '26
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u/lidder444 May 13 '26
Itâs in all public pools
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u/Joe_Kangg May 13 '26
Public stools
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u/Tricknuts May 13 '26
Welcome to our l. We left the Poo out, we hope you do too!
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May 13 '26
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u/lidder444 May 13 '26
Itâs usually in the locker rooms.
All USA public pools have to have the sign by law.
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u/enduserfeedback May 13 '26
There are public pools in nyc that close for a few days a season because they are required to drain the pool when certain incidents occur. Usually from kiddos having a diarrhea episode.
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u/SureBlueberry4283 May 13 '26
Who tf puts glass walls up like that?
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u/Accident_Child May 13 '26
There has to be glass walls because you have to be able to observe whatâs going on in that room
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u/tragicallyohio May 13 '26
Well I am a big fucking dummy and didn't even notice the glass wall while reading the sign.
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u/N1ck1McSpears May 13 '26
I saw one of these before and took a picture. It was in California so I thought it was a California thing
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u/-Out-of-context- May 13 '26
Itâs a health code law in many states. You can still be a little leaky and even a tiny bit getting into the pool can get a lot of people sick.
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u/enduserfeedback May 13 '26
Mandatory sign when making people soup. Worse in a hot tub where the volume of water to people is much much less.
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u/racloves May 13 '26
Swear it was 24 or 48 hours when I was younger, when did they up it to 2 weeks?
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u/AhemExcuseMeSir May 13 '26
Hijacking the top comment because Iâm surprised I havenât seen it mentioned elsewhere.
Itâs a common sign because of Giardia. One sick person can basically give everyone in the pool Giardia.
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u/imperfcet May 13 '26
If there are small particles of infected poop in the water and they get in the eyes and mouth of others, chlorine has limited ability to kill the germs inside the poop particle. At my indoor pool in Norway the lufeguard stops people coming into the pool dry and the signs in the bathroom remind people to wash the area under their swimsuit before getting in. Â
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u/MaleficentWindow8972 May 13 '26
Haaaa! How many people a day do they have to tell to go wash their ass and bits? đ¤Ł
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u/feralcatshit May 13 '26
Lifeguard/pool attendant: âhello, welcome. You look like the type of person who doesnât wash their asshole, please take care of that before enteringâ
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May 13 '26
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u/phat_rat42 May 13 '26
If you've spent any time around pools with kids, diarrhea and vomiting happens on a semi-regular basis. Public health gets concerned about Cryptosporidium since its an infection that causes diarrhea that chlorine cannot kill.
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u/goddessofentropy May 13 '26
Do people really wash their buttholes in a public shower? Like I have no gripes getting water everywhere in front of strangers, naked or not, but actually getting in there sounds awkward. Or are the showers in individual cabins?Â
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u/imperfcet May 13 '26
At my pool there is no privacy and 12 or so showers. I take off my glasses and yeah i reach into my swimsuit and wash my crack with my back to the wall
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u/morganyve May 13 '26
Ah, the land where bidets are an essential part of the household. But yes this is correct, nobody wants poo poo in their eyes
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u/mnett66 May 13 '26
I worked in aquatics for 15 years. If you have a solid stool that can be removed by a net you can make sure the pool has enough chlorine and open it back up to the public within a half hour. If it's diarrhea you need to shock the pool and it has to stay closed for 24 hours.
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u/Appropriate_Top1737 May 13 '26
Random guy here. Neither if those is enough.
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u/mnett66 May 13 '26
I agree but according to WI state health code it was the practice we had to follow.
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u/chitincooties May 13 '26
how often were u fishing turds out of the water??
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u/mnett66 May 13 '26
At least once a week sometimes more.
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u/Major-Tension-674 May 13 '26
Kids and elderly or is it an all ages affair.
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u/mnett66 May 13 '26
Both. The worst part was the 18+ hot tub when old men would put their sphincter up to the jets and a little turd would slip out and most would just sit there and complain that they had to get out.
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u/Stahuap May 13 '26
I dont disagree but its also why I do not enter public pools. There are so many people who walk this earth who have never washed their buttholes with soap (never mind doing it regularly) and they would not hesitate to walk into this pool no matter how many âplease shower before enteringâ signs the staff put up.Â
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u/feralcatshit May 13 '26
People are fucking vile and I cannot understand why you wouldnât wash your asshole regularly đ
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u/oozles May 13 '26
Itâs because for solid poop you donât have to suspect cryptosporidium, with liquid poo you cant rule it out. Cryptosporidium takes much longer to kill than other pathogens. Mostly everything else from poop will be killed in that 30 minutes.
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u/pfannkuchen89 May 13 '26
Hence why I donât go swimming. Too many nasty fucks out there. Even just the number of people that willingly admit to peeing in the pool is enough.
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u/oddsowhat May 13 '26
As a child our parents told us they put specific chemicals in the pool that create a red ring around you in the water if you pee in it. We were so scared to be embarrassed so we didn't pee in the pool lol
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u/AndBoomSheSaid May 13 '26
Will you elaborate on âshock the pool,â please?
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u/mnett66 May 13 '26
Shocking the pool means we would bring the chlorine up to above 10ppm and it would kill all/most of the bacteria in the water but would also burn off all the chlorine in the water. We then need to more slowly bring the chlorine up to 3.5-5ppm to reset the pool which takes 24 hours to reset the water chemistry.
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u/SwimOk9629 May 14 '26
wait what? shocking the pool, or superchlorination probably for shit in the pool, It doesn't burn off all the chlorine, that's the whole point. you chlorinate it to a level where it kills all the bacteria and still leaves chlorine in the water, because otherwise how can you guarantee that you put enough chlorine in to kill all of the bacteria if all of the chlorine gets zapped out taking care of the bacteria in the first place? That's why people have to wait a while before getting back into a pool after it's been super chlorinated, because they have to wait for the level to drop back down to a safe ppm.
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u/LightenUpPhrancis May 13 '26
Nah, Iâm good. - everyone who frantically exited the pool thirty minutes ago
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u/sirbassist83 May 13 '26
i think i know what caused it. and its not really enforceable, but a sign that someone stops and reads MIGHT deter someone that was sick recently, while no sign has zero chance of stopping anyone.
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u/Klytus_Im-Bored May 13 '26
I mean id respect the sign is I had diarrhea in the last week. 2 weeks is pushing it.
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u/reindeermoon May 13 '26
They have the signs specifically because if you have Cryptosporidium, you're contagious for an additional two weeks AFTER your symptoms stop. It's most commonly transmitted through pools, and can be life-threatening to young children and the elderly.
If you think your diarrhea might be because of something contagious, please wait the full two weeks so you don't give it to someone else.
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u/fuelstoprolerdogfart May 13 '26
Mine is almost always a result of eating one of a few foods I know I shouldnât, but like too much.
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u/reindeermoon May 13 '26
If you know for sure it wasn't something contagious, you don't need to wait for two whole weeks.
But if you aren't sure what caused it and especially if you have other symptoms like fever, vomiting, etc., you are probably contagious with something and please stay away from pools for a while.
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u/RONIXwake May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26
No one can know this with absolute certainty. Just stay out of the pool. No reason to put others at risk for an optional recreational activity.
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u/jswens912 May 13 '26
Had crypto once when I worked as a lifeguard and it was an absoltely miserable experience. The pain was so bad that the doctor thought my appendix had burst and had to get a CT scan. Please listen to the signs if you even have a thought it could be that.
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u/Raindrop0015 May 13 '26 edited May 14 '26
Holy shit, is that what is running through my house?
It was 12-24 hours of nausea and vomiting, and multiple days of literal beige water out the ass uncomfortably
Edit: uncontrollably not uncomfortably lol
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u/reindeermoon May 13 '26
There are many things that can cause those symptoms but it sounds like it could be. I think doctors can run a test to find out.
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u/Nevergointothewoods May 13 '26
Norovirus is also going around in a lot of places right now, and can also be very, very miserable.
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u/DustierAndRustier May 13 '26
Yeah, the two weeks thing doesnât apply to people with IBS and stuff like that.
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u/Icy_Gazelle_9298 May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26
Yes!! This!! Leaves behind spores, even after youâve wiped, that are contagious to others. Especially the elderly and those with weakened immune systems.
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u/WallabyInTraining May 13 '26
pushing it.
From my experience no pushing is required..
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u/Embarrassed-Weird173 May 13 '26
I, too, have bad digestion. Although I wouldn't call it diarrhea (watery).Â
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u/buckao May 13 '26
I have Indian Food every couple of weeks, so I'm never allowed in pools.
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u/RabbitFabs May 13 '26
If no sign has zero chance of stopping someone, a sign must have some chance of stopping anyone. Such as a stop sign.
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u/distortedsymbol May 13 '26
additionally it gives cause to fine a person if an incident does occur. you can claim the person violated this rule instead of having to dispute if it's an accident.
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u/negativepositiv May 13 '26
It's not as much about enforcing it at the time. But if someone knowingly had diarrhea and caused a disease outbreak, potentially this business could limit their liability by saying they had a sign posted saying swimming with diarrhea is prohibited.
It's a sign required by the health department most likely, just like how they make restaurants post standardized signs saying what to do if someone is choking. Someone could still choke, but if the restaurant didn't have the sign, it may increase their liability for death or injury.
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u/gard3nwitch May 13 '26
Also, restaurants that have signs posted in the bathroom saying that washing your hands is required. They're not actually monitoring whether people wash their hands, it's just a CYA liability thing.
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u/jonesnori May 13 '26
It's not just a liability thing. Some people do read and obey signs. Not many, though, who weren't already going to wash their hands. sigh Never mind; you're right.
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u/reindeermoon May 13 '26
If someone is infected with Cryptosporidium, they are contagious for an additional two weeks AFTER the diarrhea has stopped. That's the reason for the signs.
The health departments require them because they don't want more people to get sick. It's not for liability. It's because they want people to not get sick. Cryptosporidium is not a fun time and can even be life-threatening for young children and the elderly.
If you had diarrhea and think it might have been caused by a contagious disease (as opposed to you know you have IBS or whatever), please wait two weeks to go swimming so you don't make other people have diarrhea too.
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u/TheTiggerMike May 13 '26
Yeah, signs saying not to to do something or not to enter a space are really not for the people themselves. They're there for legal and insurance purposes.
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u/UnsharpenedSwan May 13 '26
Yep, this is an artifact of US tort law. Anyone can sue anyone for anything, so lawyers like signage. It doesnât remove liability, but it can be a helpful piece of the puzzle.
Signs like this are pretty standard at US public pools.
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May 13 '26
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u/Wonderful_Egg5870 May 13 '26
You've never heard a lifeguard yell "hey! You there! Quit your shittin!"
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u/SueBeee May 13 '26
Cryptosporidium survives normal levels of chlorine and causes outbreaks in public pools.
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u/hey_its_a_user888888 May 13 '26
Everyone with IBS: đ
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u/MilkmanResidue May 14 '26
My friend has Chronâs and he likes to joke that he will never be able to swim again.
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May 13 '26
This is the rule across basically any public pool in the United States.
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u/punkass_book_jockey8 May 13 '26
I got very ill with a dangerous strain of ecoli and the health department asked me not to swim at all, even after showering, for several weeks. As I didnât want to kill anyone, I waited 3 solid months just to be sure I wasnât going to spread that hell to anyone else.
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u/CarloPanno May 13 '26
I think it's on the honor system. I've seen it at nudist places.
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u/Admirable-Ad7152 May 13 '26
It's less for prevention and more for ability to charge the people that shit in the pool afterwards since they were explicitly warned upon entry.
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u/PipePistoleer May 13 '26
Can someone explain âactive diarrheaâ vs its inverse, âinactive diarrheaâ?
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u/LadyLavender12 May 13 '26
you can have the shits and still have a moment of calm but you're still 'experiencing the shits' - like allergies and sneezing. You can stop for a moment and then have it continue later haha - like a butt sneeze. You are lucky to have never had diarrhea before in your life đ
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u/jamescisv May 13 '26
Diarrhea: "yeah, I used to be pretty inactive myself, but I got this fitbit doodah, and, honest to God it changed everything. Now, I'm soooooo active, man, and I've never felt better!!"
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u/TBellOHAZ May 13 '26
Says here, Inactive Diarrhea is simply the period of time between states of Active Diarrhea, which may be confirmed by ones ability to "...confidently fart without having to sit on the toilet."
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u/ThePesticle May 13 '26
I was working at a large resort 7 years ago and it was popular for adolescent boys to video each other shutting in the pool. Closed system pool would need to be closed, fully drained, fully sanitized...about a 24 hour labour intensive process. Open system pool (flow through) would need to be closed, drained and shocked...about a 6 hour process. I'm sure pool pooping is still a thing with a certain idiot mentality...
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u/gard3nwitch May 13 '26
They have that sign at most/all public pools. They can't really enforce it, but it's a liability thing.
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u/redoftheshire May 13 '26
How is uhhh diarrhea defined here? Because I may never be allowed to swim in a pool ever again
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u/Pernicious_Possum May 13 '26
Iâve seen this at every public pool Iâve been to. I think the reason is self explanatory, and have zero idea how it could be enforced
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u/cellophanesheeps May 14 '26
Cryptosporidium is commonly caught in public swimming spaces. It causes diarrhea, most people don't know what it is, and well...people are kinda gross. Especially kids. The chlorinated water kills a lot of microorganisms, but cryptosporidium has a protective capsule around it that allows it to survive in chlorinated water, and infect people who get into the water and incidentally ingest it. The sign is a polite way to attempt to mitigate passing on the infection if you potentially have or recently had it yourself.
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u/MrScrubbupple May 14 '26
My brother said his pool guy told him that after working in the pool business for years, he won't ever get in a public pool again.
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u/jessebeans May 14 '26
The sign is health code mandated and in more states than just California. I am more surprised people don't know that pool water with all its chlorine cant stop RWIs like Norovirus, Giardia and Shigella from getting you sick if someone with diarrhea swam in it and you do too.
You are also risking Pink eye, swimmers ear, Hep A, Leptospirosis, and E. coli and even dermatitis/skin rash... I dont go in public pools anymore. I learned this having an autoimmune disease. This impacts normal healthy people too, though.
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u/VirginiaLuthier May 13 '26
If someone gets sick after swimming in their pool they can say they did their due diligence when they get sued.....even though it is impossible to enforce
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u/JuicyCrunchy May 13 '26
Yeah it's been a rule for decades at public pools, never stopped us giggling at it as kids though
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u/Curious-Control-3782 May 13 '26
This is one of those signs that are there as a warning that consequences will hapen if you do something, not that someone will try to stop you from doing it.
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u/DanielSadcliff May 13 '26
They canât, which is why I realized public pools are gross and not for me
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u/Desperate_Fill_2732 May 13 '26
Well sooo many transmittable diseases and viruses in fecal matter that it would spread so fast through waterâŚ. I couldnât imagine the atrocities
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u/thetokyofiles May 13 '26
They could check to see if youâve eaten Chinese food recentlyâŚ.
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u/ware_it_is May 13 '26
the two worst things to happen to a pool are glass and poop. for both, the pool has to be drained by external pump, rinsed, scrubbed, rinsed again, sanitized, rinsed again, filled, and chemicals added. it takes days.
edit to add: i know regulations are different everywhere. this is what the CC i worked at did. it was probably above and beyond and went over better with the members than scooping it out and simply saying, âoh, the chlorine will take care of it.â
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u/That70sShop May 13 '26
The 14 day window is inclusive of today so no need to add currently experiencing
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u/luvdab3achx0x0 May 13 '26
This has always been a thing. You can easily transmit diseases that way. It was always enforced by the honor system I think which isnât really that effective.
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u/Conspicuous_Ruse May 13 '26
I don't think it's about enforcing. It's about assigning possible liability after it happens.
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u/Informal-Swing-2482 May 13 '26
Signs like this are at almost every pool everywhere. Itâs not enforceable, but itâs to limit issues.
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u/jerr_beare May 13 '26
Well, if you go in the pool and then have diarrhea everyone knows youâre a big stinky fibber.
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u/Ahlq802 May 13 '26
Simple: guests must submit a video of their anus from the moment the active diarrhea turns from active to non-active, then record their anus continuously until the moment they wish to enjoy the pool, occasionally stating aloud their full name for the record (the video must include sound.). Then, they simply submit their video to the hotel staff who makes decisions about pool use, the staff member then watches the entire video looking for active diarrhea, while a second staff member monitors the real-time anus in question for the duration of the time the first staff member watches the video. If the video shows 14 full days of no active diarrhea and only ordinary bowel movements of a solid or controlled semi-solid nature, and the guestâs real-time in-person anus remains diarrhea free, and the guestâs parents and childhood teachers report that they never once shat in a pool, then the guest may enjoy the pool. For up to 2 hours.
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u/Stealthytulip May 13 '26
Saw the same or similar sign at the Worldmark in Anaheim just outside of Disneyland. Furniture looks the same too.
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u/WonderSignificant598 May 13 '26
As a teenage lifeguard, these signs are common.
Just like the provision that people shower before they go into the pool, it wasn't enforceable.
Heck, I had a hard time keeping people from getting drunk or hitting on underage lifeguards I worked with. Asking people to shower was low on the list.
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u/Sethbrochillen May 13 '26
As a pool contractor who got this from a public school. Cryptosporidium. Thatâs your answer traced via public health
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u/No_Injury6122 May 13 '26
It's Cryptosporidium, water-borne and spreads via diarrhea. Other reasons like solid stool are close, but I'm near certain it's because of this disease specifically
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u/chrisinator9393 May 14 '26
It's crypto. I'm a CPO. (Certified pool operator).
Diarrhea can possibly carry crypto. They don't want it to spread to other people, potentially.
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u/scootersgod May 14 '26
So, I actually have a funny story about this and how it was enforced. Years ago, I was working as an educational assistant for an 18-21 program for kids with mild disabilities. I LOVED this job. We did work experiences, built resumes and cover letters, went to the gym, went out to eat, explored the townâŚtaught them how to be adults essentially. We also went to the pool twice a week. I had this kid who never showed up, unless it was pool day. This was a big kid. Probably 6â5 and easily over 350 pounds. When he did come in, he always had McDonalds with 2 burgers, 2 large fries, a large coke, and a milkshake. And he absolutely finished it all. As you can imagine, he had stomach problems.
So, the pool was just down the street from our building, which resulted in us walking there. We get to the pool and I look behind me to see this kid way down the sidewalk and just frozen. I canât leave my group, so I called him on my work phone. I asked what was happening and he said he shit his pants and was trying to get ahold of his grandma to come get him, but she wasnât answering. Now, there was a bathroom right inside the entry way, so I told him to carefully walk over and get straight to the bathroom. As he gets closer, the smell hits me. And I see little turds coming out of his shorts. I remind myself to watch my face and remain professional, but it is difficult. When we get to the door, I tell him to squeeze his cheeks as tight as he can. He takes two steps in, goes âoh noâ, and proceeds to shoot liquid turd all over the floor. He quickly runs to the bathroom (the ladies on accident) as I stand frozen. I let the workers know and start calling my boss because I literally did not know what to do. Now everyone is trying to call grandma. Finally, he gets ahold of grandma, who was not happy and so kindly reminded him that because of his diet, he is supposed to wear an adult diaper (which was not uncommon with some our young adults). We were always pretty annoyed that he only showed up to pool and not his other groups, so we reminded him of that rule the next time he came in and refused to let him swim for 2 weeks. He tried to sneak in, but since the staff there cleaned it up, they did not let him. He was pissed. And I brought the staff there fancy cupcakes.
This student finds the story funny now so heâs okay with me sharing this
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u/scottymac87 May 14 '26
This is a required sign by state law where Iâm from. Along with several other mandated notices. Itâs to help prevent serious illness caused by fecal matter and mostly directed at the parents of children and the elderly.
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u/gavinthrace May 14 '26
This is relevant because most pools have chlorine in them. And chlorine has a limited disinfectant capacity if it's too warm, or too cold. And pool water is almost always too cold.
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u/Toadsanchez316 May 14 '26
Someone shit in the pool.
Is it really that difficult to come to that conclusion?
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u/CrimsonFireWolf May 14 '26
When I went to a community center pool in missouri couple years ag. There was major incidents, one evolving around a diarrhea incident that close pool for day,the other one was some idiot bringing a glass bottle and it shattered and it took a couple day due to a hard clean because broken glass is hard to find in a pool of Water.
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u/5akul May 14 '26
It's the law in most states to have a sign to this effect displayed on each entrance. Also, diarrea causes the pool to be shut down for longer than a solid release, on the order of 12-24 hours vs 4-8 for solid. Source im a pool operator
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u/WyngspanLabs May 14 '26
the answer to your question is cryptosporidium! this is a 100% standard rule at all pools, it is self-enforced but of course some people ignore it
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u/OriginalLie9310 May 15 '26
Even if they canât check this per se, itâs making it a public policy. Someone who may not have thought of it may see the sign and realize they shouldnât go in the pool. If there is an issue caused by it they can point to this limit liability.
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u/LeavingSoonBye209 May 15 '26
> how could they possibly enforce this?
This kind of thing only works in a society where civics is important, so it won't work in places like Chicago etc.
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u/Jules_Gemini50 May 16 '26
Yeah if Iâm fresh off the toilet with diarrhea Iâm not going swimming regardless so,thx for the heads up đ
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u/Erulogos May 16 '26
It is often said regulations are written in blood. This one was written in... something else.
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