A photo showing a person standing inches outside an occupied bathroom stall has drawn more than 64,000 upvotes in Reddit's r/mildlyinfuriating community.
The image has received more than 64,000 upvotes as of publication, with many users calling it an uncomfortable breach of personal space.
The photo shows a pair of feet wearing sandals that are visible beneath a bathroom stall door. The person appears to be standing immediately outside the occupied stall on a tiled floor as the stall door casts a shadow across the tiles. The photo came with a caption: "This guy stood outside the stall door like this for the duration of my use."
Many commenters agreed that standing directly outside an occupied restroom stall would make them uncomfortable, even if the person was simply waiting. One responder joked, "Open the door and let him in dude." Another quipped, "Wait like that while he goes."
Several commenters made funny suggestions to make the situation equally awkward. One reply read, "Ask him if you should wipe front to back or back to front." Another joked, "Play something on your phone that suggests the toilet will be inoperable when you leave."
Other Redditors shared similar experiences. One recalled how they were ill before a flight with: "Ugh, I had massive diarrhea at an airport because I'm afraid of flying and got sick. [Anyway, a] woman was waiting outside the door like this, and when I opened it up she said 'wow, that took a loooong time.' I told her (...) to 'SHUT (...) UP,'" they wrote.
Some, however, saw the behavior as more than inconsiderate. "This kind of behavior is creepy to me," one commenter wrote. "Standing directly outside an occupied bathroom stall will definitely make me assume your intentions are not so innocent." Another shared that a family member had a similar habit. "You'd be in the single bathroom (...) [and] open the door to leave, and he'd be standing right there… so close he could've licked the door!" The user added: "I kept telling him to stop doing that."
Some commenters said discussions like this had changed the way they handled awkward social situations. One wrote that posts on the same subreddit, r/mildlyinfuriating, had encouraged them to speak up instead of tolerating inconsiderate behavior. They suggested politely asking the person outside to "take a few steps back."
The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the events described in the Reddit post. The details above reflect the account shared in r/mildlyinfuriating by u/nojunkpeter. The identities of those involved and the location of the incident have not been confirmed.
