Outhouses are common throughout history. Outhouse humor is likewise a constant, and usually involves someone either trapped in one, or falling into the hole. There is the time-honored one liner "we had a fire in the bathroom, luckily it did not spread to the house."

Called everything from necessaries to privies, toilets, loos, thrones, and crappers, they are all just outhouses. Right now, outhouses are a bit of a novelty, a fad. There are outhouse tours, outhouse jokes, outhouse races, outhouse books, and lots and lots of outhouse pictures. Many people are using both new and old outhouses on their property as garden sheds, or just decoration.

To most of us who grew up with modern bathrooms, the outhouse of old was of no comparison. The outhouses were always too cold in the winter, too hot in the summer, and too breezy when the wind was blowing. No amount of room deodorizer or lime could make the outhouse smell good. And it was dark going to and from, no yard lights were around to break up the scary shadows. Also, it seemed like every Halloween, the school's outhouse got tipped over although most of the time it was unoccupied at the time!

The outhouse was always a separate structure from the main dwelling, close enough to allow easy access, but far enough to minimize smell. There are several types of outhouses. The Economy, or the one-hole starter model was the basic no frills single hole model preferred by bachelors, elderly maiden school teachers, and small families. It consisted of a simple 4 x 4 floor plan, flat roof, which was sloped from about 7'6' in front to 5'6' in back. There was also the traditional two-holer. (Too much togetherness for my thinking!).

There are also several examples of two-story outhouses. Gays, Illinois has one, and the Hooper-Bowler-Hillstrom House in Minnesota has a two-story one connected to the house via a skyway. Encampment, Wyoming has a two-story one also but for more practical reasons, the snow gets so deep there that the bottom story is below the snow line most of the winter, so they use the top one! The waste from upstairs is directed down a chute separate from the downstairs facility.

Historically old newspapers and mail order catalogs were commonly used before toilet paper. They also served a dual purpose, giving one something to read also!

Every so often the outhouse needed to be moved. The outhouse location was of critical importance. Obviously no outhouse should be built on lowland, but on high dry ground. Old time builders were likely to seat themselves on a handy stump and study the area at length, taking into consideration many things, most of all the direction of the wind. Lilacs make a good screen, and add a pleasing aroma when they flower. Old outhouse pits are seen as fertile ground for archeological and anthropological digs. They offer up a trove of common objects from the past, a time capsule of sort, which yields historical insight into the lives of the bygone occupants. It's especially common to find old bottles, which were either secretly stashed or trashed!