Stars and moons make green clovers. (mystic, America)

[Majikthise]

A friend came to visit today and wondered why our bathroom was so small and didn't seem to be part of the rest of the house.We explained that there was only an outhouse until the late 60s(my house was built in 1903.), and thats when the bathroom was added on.My wife has a picture of decorative outhouses above the toilet, and while looking at it I wondered what the cresent moons meant. Was it a mystical symbol? I googled outhouses and cresent moon and found this,;

http://www.straightdope.com/a2_382.html

It was interesting and funny so I thought I'd share.

As you can see ,I had some time to kill today.

[Majikthise]

Originally Posted by Majikthise

A friend came to visit today and wondered why our bathroom was so small and didn't seem to be part of the rest of the house.We explained that there was only an outhouse until the late 60s(my house was built in 1903.), and thats when the bathroom was added on.My wife has a picture of decorative outhouses above the toilet, and while looking at it I wondered what the cresent moons meant. Was it a mystical symbol? I googled outhouses and cresent moon and found this,;

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_382.html

It was interesting and funny so I thought I'd share.

As you can see ,I had some time to kill today.

Sorry, messed up the adress

Try this.

[Pah]

Everything you wanted to ask about outhouses - Ye Old Outhouse FAQ

Q) Why a moon on the door?.....

A) This is the most common question, and I must apologize for giving wrong information to several folks who e-mailed me. Here is the proper story from my favorite book in the world on the subject, "The Vanishing American Outhouse" by Ronald S. Barlow:

...."Vents often doubled as symbols for gender identification. Luna, the ancient crescent shaped figure, was a universal symbol for womankind. A moon, sawed into a privy door, served as the "Ladies Room" sign of early innkeeping days. Sol, a sunburst pattern, was cut into the men's rooom side of the outhouse. These symbols were necessary because in Colonial times only a fraction of our population could read or write.

...As time passed by and frontiers were pushed further westward, the gentleman's restrooms fell into disrepair and eventually were abandoned altogether. Accommodations for ladies were better maintained and this is why the moon symbol remains on many outhouse doors today. Its original meaning, however, was lost to the general population sometime in the mid 1800's."

...In my personal opinion, another reason they would of stayed with the moon over the sun is that it's a whole lot easier to cut a moon in wood than a multipointed star or sun! Especially if you don't have your Craftsman jigsaw to help...

[Majikthise]

Thanks pah! Love the TP cursor!

[Unedited]

Very interesting. We have an outhouse on our property - two actually, though one's unuseable. The other we use during the summer only since it's a good ways away from the house. It doesnt' have anything on it though, just a raised roof. Better ventalation I guess, but very dark. The one we don't use doesn't even have a door.