• Thursday-What'sUP January 16 - 06:04 am

What do you do when you're outside and you really gotta go? Well that's simple, you just use the Men's or Women's facilities, but make sure you pull down the "In Use" sign, so nobody walks in on you. I don't know for certain where Aladino Mandoli spotted the photos today, but I think we can safely assume they're somewhere in the Marquette area. That certainly is a fancy looking winter outhouse, with the signage telling you it's a unisex bathroom and the clever way of letting folks know when it's occupied. I'm not so sure I'd want to spend any length of time on the throne in there with the cold snap we're going through right now.

If this tall snowman is nearby the privy, perhaps he's in charge of monitoring the bathroom use and making sure the line moves along efficiently. He looks pretty official with his corn cob pipe and those big eyes and eyelashes. Thanks for the smiles today, Dino!

Great photo's today gave me a big smile.

Lol...Neat photos, thanks.

Speaking as a guy, it would be very hard for me to get any body functions to work properly in that outhouse.

"UP-Goldwinger"....speaking as a gal, me too!:)

That is your guest bathroom isn't it Dino? BE HONEST!

With the cold temperatures there lately, I’d hate to think of what icicles might form in that privy.

Hello from Minocqua, Wisconsin... It's a painful -20 here today but I hear we might get up to -5. All the schools are canceled but of course.. since I work in an auto repair shop.... we are as busy as ever. Cars and cold weather don't get along very well!

Gary...I know what you mean. There was a guy on the news yesterday in Minnesota who through a cup of hot water in the air outside and it froze by the time it hit the ground. If I relate that action to the outhouse, I may need the fire department to come and chisel me free.

Both photos are great! While the theme may be about the cold, look at the sunshine in them! They both gave me that awesome feeling you get on a sunny day in the woods in late winter or early spring, when the sun is reflecting off the snow and warming your face so much it feels like summer, along with the bright sounds of the little winter birds.

Very important to remember "don't eat yellow snow" That outhouse would be warmer than outside I would think.

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Other advantages are no wind & at least some privacy. I would love to see something like that near the far outbound end of some cross-country ski trails...or the traditional wooden version.

I have to say one thing, that bathroom would discourage folks from taking too long. They used to say the standard for a Readers Digest article was something you could read in one bathroom visit, well I think a business card would take too long to read in there! I love the eyes, eyebrows, and pipe on the snowman. Clever.

Here's another idea that's fun with this cold weather. Buy or dig out of the summer fun stuff that forgotten bottle of soap bubble mix. If you get the kids outside and blow bubbles they'll freeze and roll across the snow! Waving the little bubbler freezes them faster than blowing them with your warm breath but they'll freeze either way and sometimes shatter and lay in pieces. Fun! Fascinating! Makes memories.

Love the pics - I would hope for a furry seat in the ladies room!

-31 BELOW ZERO IN NORTH DAKOTA. WISCONSIN PEOPLE NEED TO STOP COMPLAINING! NOTHING SHUT DOWN HERE! ADD A LITTLE SISU TO YOUR LIFE!

The kids will freeze and roll across the snow??? Now that would be funny to watch!! Just messin' with ya! I'm going to try that...with the freezing bubbles, not the freezing kids. Maybe put some food coloring in the bubble stuff....

The kids will freeze and roll across the snow??? Now that would be funny to watch!! Just messin' with ya! I'm going to try that...with the freezing bubbles, not the freezing kids. Maybe put some food coloring in the bubble stuff....

I guess that was worth repeating....

That is so cool about the bubbles! I never knew that. How cold does it have to be for the bubbles to freeze so fast?

I don't know about the snowman image, but the winter privy is at Krook's Hill in Ishpeming. Every year Mr. Krook makes a fantastic sledding run on his property. He runs it all winter, free of charge! It's terrific fun. If you type Krook's hill on youtube, you can see a video of NMU students going down the run. It's pure ice, and quite a thrill!

Mary says: Now that you mention it, Lauren, Aladino had photos of an icy sledding hill in his gallery album, too. Here's one...Sure looks like a SCREAMING good time!

To Eugenia, we used to blow bubbles with the kids when the temp got to about 10F. To Cindy, the kids can catch the bubbles when they're frozen that way - otherwise they just disappear (the kids) sinking into the drifts while the frozen baubles drift away!

Thanks, Richard. Maybe I'll go out tomorrow night and try it -- it's supposed to be 12F. That's right -- here in the South (northeast GA, to be exact), it's supposed to be 17F tonight and 12F tomorrow night.

The pasty cammers have proven to me today that they are a classy, dignified group: Mary Drew posts an outhouse as the featured photo of the day and the comments were overwhemingly clean. The temptation to dive into the gutter was enormous given the subject material.

If I was in there with the -23 degrees I experienced this morning and heard a knock on the wall, I'd say "Who goes there, friend or enema?!"

Sorry, couldn't resist.