My friend was recently talking about how she was once locked in her room unable to get out for an exam and the drastic measures she took to get herself out in time. Her story reminded me of the time I was stuck in a toilet in a shared house.
The day started out as usual with my landlady leaving the house early around 7.30 am to walk to the bus station to get to work. Not long after, my other housemate that I shared the bathroom and separate toilet with said bye to me cheerfully as I was having my breakfast. I washed my dishes and thought I should go to the toilet before I drive to work since the rush hour traffic usually meant I would be on the road for a while. As soon as the door of the toilet closed, I knew something was wrong! I couldn't open the door no matter how hard I tried to turn the door knob. It was no use trying to bang on the door since the neighbors wouldn't be able to hear me and they probably already left for work as well.
I am a bit claustrophobic so I couldn't imagine waiting for 7 or 8 hours for my housemates to get back from work to rescue me. There was no window in that tiny toilet so I couldn't try to squeeze out through any openings. I didn't have my cell phone with me, so I couldn't call for help. What was I going to do?? I was going to be so dehydrated and hungry and I had work to do!!
As the panic was about to set in, I suddenly thought, perhaps I can use the toilet brush! The toilet brush was made of twisted wire and bristles, not like the cheaper ones with just plastic bristles. Even though I thought it was really gross having to touch the toilet brush with my bare hands but desperate times call for desperate measures. I tried washing it the best I could with the toilet bowl water first. Then I yanked at the curved part of the brush as hard as I could to get the wire to detach from the base. I straightened it the best I could and inserted the wire between the door crack to try to get the latch to retract. To my relief it worked after I moved the wire up and down a few times and I was able to get out! What a relief! I even made it to work on time.
I guess all my years of watching Macgyver came in handy!
That night, when I told my housemate about the drama of being stuck in the toilet, her response was "That's why I always bring my phone with me to the toilet! You never know when you might need your phone..."
Are you convinced? Should we all carry our phones to the toilet at all times?
Since my story was about a toilet I think I need to provide a fresh flower photo I took recently to end my post.
