February 1, 2010 at 10:29 am
It’s been almost seven months since I left my last job, so I’m finally going to post a photo I’ve been itching to post for over two years. Here is a peak peek into a corner of the ladies’ room* at my old corporate office place:
Behold, a scale! In the ladies’ room! Not in the ladies’ room of a gym or a health club, in the ladies’ room of a regular corporate workplace. When I saw this standing against the wall on my first day, I was sort of offended. What was this scale meant to imply? I asked the guys in my office if there was a scale in the men’s room and they told me there wasn’t. They also told me about the horrors that could be found in the men’s room, which I will not terrorize you with, but did make me very glad that I had lady parts.
So, why was this rickety old scale placed in the ladies’ room? Did management think their female employees were fat and needed to watch their weight? Did they think women are all weight obsessed? I have no idea. I doubt the scale was placed in the ladies’ room as part of a nefarious agenda. I doubt much thought was put into it at all. Regardless, it always pissed me off a little when I went to take a piss.
* Grammar police: I tried to determine whether it’s the ladies’ room, ladies room, or lady’s room, but Google wasn’t much help on the issue. If I used the wrong form, I apologize. Please take that into account at my trial. Thanks.
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Curvy Jones • February 1, 2010 at 10:49 am
I kind of wish we had one. Because, I have two at home, and when one is being mean to me, I use the other one. MMHMMM. I am crazy. I’d need a third, and then average out the three, and if I didn’t like THAT number…………
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Amy • February 1, 2010 at 10:50 am
LOL.
My Sr. VP just issued a challenge for my work group. Let’s all lose 5 lbs. It’s just 5 lbs. We can do it together.
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KeithW • February 1, 2010 at 11:06 am
It looks like it was installed a long time ago, and in a different world. The women who asked for it to be installed are probably long gone, but their legacy lives on in a scale that nobody thinks about long enough to bother removing it.
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Tyler • February 1, 2010 at 11:54 am
I think it should be ladies’. The room belongs to more than one lady, which makes it a possessive plural if I remember my grammar classes well enough. :-) Though if it’s a room for just one woman, it could be the lady’s room, as well.
The scale actually looks like a scale leftover from the Russian’s training room in Rocky IV or something. Nice to see they invested so much money into their corporate wellness program. :-)
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Sarah • February 1, 2010 at 12:22 pm
My guess is that once upon a time, some ladies in the office started a weight loss club of some kind and had weigh-in’s at work. The club died off, but the scale remained.
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Lauren @ Eater not a runner • February 1, 2010 at 1:34 pm
I like Sarah’s guess. I would not want that in my ladies room, that’s for sure!
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TOWR • February 1, 2010 at 2:02 pm
What the WHAT?! I’d be offended too!
Congrats on seven months of freedom!
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Sara • February 1, 2010 at 3:12 pm
We have Tanita scales in all the breakrooms at my office–and you’d be surprised how often you find a shoeless coworker stepping onto one at any given time of the day.
I tend to view an unexpected scale sighting with the same kind of jolt that I might if there was a discarded handgun or pile of dog poo in the middle of an inappropriate venue, so I’d probably make a wide circle around that bad boy too…
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JEM • February 1, 2010 at 3:52 pm
We have one in my office too. (Not in the bathroom but in the little sitting room outside the one stall bathroom.) I always wonder about it and have never seen anyone use it.
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victoria • February 1, 2010 at 4:01 pm
It’s ladies’ room.
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Monster Soprano • February 1, 2010 at 4:23 pm
We have a scale in our kitchen at work (it is not really a sit down place). Men and women use it. Not sure how it got there. We also have posters of healthy living, nutrition, mental wellness etc ….
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Rahim • February 1, 2010 at 4:59 pm
That is something to be offended about. You’d think they would invest a little more consideration into the employer/employee relationship other than a scale. An outdated scale at that!
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SLF • February 1, 2010 at 5:10 pm
It looks like it gets a lot of use and I think most women will appreciate having it there. Otherwise it would have been gone long ago.
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Stinky • February 1, 2010 at 5:28 pm
It’s “ladies’ room” because it’s a possessive plural. You did write “men’s room” and not “man’s room” or “men room”, so the same rules apply. I’d say something else, but I’m afraid that it would violate one of your posting rules.
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Quix • February 1, 2010 at 5:47 pm
Considering that I weigh in at home, nekkid, I don’t think I’d ever be tempted to step on a scale at work fully clothed, considering that each shoe weighs about 2 lbs and my clothes weigh at least 3, right? That’s the only possible explanation?
I guess I’m just not easily offended, but I’d guess that maybe someone was getting rid of it, and just brought it to the office? Probably some lady person – I doubt a guy would take the time and effort to procure an ancient scale and drag it to the ladies room…
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Rebecca • February 1, 2010 at 6:07 pm
If I had had one of those at work (back in the day when I worked in the office) I am positive I would have done gross things like weigh myself before and after certain bathroom activities.
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PastaQueen • February 1, 2010 at 7:09 pm
@SLF – Ha! You’d laugh to if you saw all the trash that filled up empty offices in our building that no one ever bothered to haul off.
@Rebecca – I mentioned something about that in my first draft and then took it out for fear of grossing anyone out. Thanks for doing it for me :)
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Elizabeth • February 1, 2010 at 9:08 pm
An even older looking scale randomly appeared in our woman’s bathroom about a week ago. I don’t know what to think either…but I’m sure it makes more sense than the (I kid you not) USED, um, female products.
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Deanna - The Unnatural Mother • February 1, 2010 at 9:21 pm
Interesting, I think I would of asked everyone why it was there, ’cause I’m a nosey little bugger. I think I would of been pissed off everytime I took a piss too, and I certainly would of hopped on and off like Rebecca mentioned, w/out doubt!
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Amy • February 1, 2010 at 10:44 pm
I don’t know about ladies versus ladies’ versus lady’s, but I do know “peak” should be “peek.” Too nitpicky? :)
In any case… gah! We have a scale in our unisex bathroom at work, and I am somehow okay with that. Only for the women, though? That seems fishy.
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Kim • February 2, 2010 at 12:26 am
I can be a contradictory person, so while I would be offended at the sight of the scale on my first trip to the restroom, I would immediately jump up on it and then weigh myself on it at least once a week.
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Peg • February 2, 2010 at 2:08 am
I think I would have been tempted to organize a secret commando mission and sneak it into the men’s bathroom. If any male happened to ask why it was there, I would just raise my eyebrows with one of those mysterious knowing looks.
Aren’t office games fun?!
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PastaQueen • February 2, 2010 at 5:49 pm
@Amy – Oh, man, I think I’ve made the peak/peek error before. Maybe I’ll learn on the third time :)
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Betsy • February 3, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Did you also work in the 1950s? It totally sounds like something that would be in there in that era. I wonder if I’ve ever seen a scale in the ladies room on Mad Men. Hmmm….
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Budicca • February 3, 2010 at 3:30 pm
@Peg – I have to agree with this one. PQ, I would love to hear that you will call one of your former co-workers, and convince him or her to move the scale to the Men’s Room. I think it would be funny. Plus, aren’t men more likely than women to weigh themselves in public, because they are less likely to have purchased their own scale? At gyms, the men were the only ones I ever saw weighing themselves. Plus, it’s the men’s turn to have the scale, anyway.
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Cindi Braasch • February 4, 2010 at 5:41 pm
We have one in our ladies’ room too!!! Amazing!
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caryn • February 5, 2010 at 12:20 am
The last few places I have worked there have been scales in the ladies room. I never really questioned who put them there though. I always figured someone wanted to keep track. Then again, the places I’ve worked at there’s always food around. Cake, bagels, lunch, candy. Maybe its a good idea.
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Mom Taxi Julie • February 6, 2010 at 2:46 pm
I like the idea of sneaking it into the male’s bathroom!
If one showed up at work I’d be talking about it for sure. I’m not really known for keeping my thoughts to myself though lol.
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Pseudonymous Former Colleague • February 6, 2010 at 3:19 pm
The women’s rooms also have full-length mirrors that are not present in any of the men’s rooms.
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Pseudonymous Former Colleague • February 6, 2010 at 3:58 pm
Also, this: “I doubt much thought was put into it at all.”
…is *precisely* the problem, in my opinion.
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littlem • February 7, 2010 at 8:06 am
@Amy –
You know, I don’t know about this.
What if there are people – particularly women – in the work group trying, for whatever reason, to keep/put weight on?
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ida • February 7, 2010 at 10:22 pm
there was a scale like that in the cafeteria where i used to work! it was really weird to watch people weigh in at lunch!
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Cari • February 14, 2010 at 4:31 pm
We have one in my workplace lounge. I really have never been able to figure out why… but I have seen people get on it before. If I ever dare to get on it, it would be when people are not there!
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