‘Pay attention’: Person issues warning to people who use public bathrooms at malls and restaurants

A person is issuing a warning to people who use public bathrooms at malls, restaurants, and department stores. The reason might disturb you.

TikToker @phxlank posted a video with the warning on Jan. 6 and it has since amassed 259,000 views. “I hate to start Mondays off on this, but I got a PSA, [and] you’re going to want to pay attention, especially if you use public restrooms. You ready? Let’s get into it.”

“If you go into a public restroom stall and the toilet paper dispenser is broken and you can see the toilet paper like this, you’re going to want to look at the toilet paper," she said. "You’re looking for spots. You’re looking for brown spots, yellow spots, black spots, red spots.”

Should you check the toilet paper in public restrooms?

According to @phxlank, the rise of intravenous drug use in the United States is leading to an increase in people using public restrooms for this purpose. “Users have been taking to some of these public restrooms and they stick their needle in between the layers here to clean off their needle,” @phxlank says.

So, if you go into a bathroom and see a scene like this, you might want to consider moving on, @phxlank says. “I didn’t want to believe it either, but then I started doing a little bit of digging around and there have been some people that have been trying to bring some light to this for a little while,” the TikToker says. 

@phxlank adds, “Anywho, just wanted to get people to know this, and employees are trying to let people know, but corporations, profits, all that stuff. Be safe out there.”

Is this true or just a hoax?

An August 2019 Snopes fact-check article calls this an “unproven” claim that stems from a viral Facebook post by user Gavin Aubert. “The post racked up hundreds of thousands of shares, but was ultimately deleted after it attracted bots that flooded the comments section with spammy links,” the article states.

When Snopes contacted Aubert’s wife, she confirmed that he wrote the viral text and took the photo of a toilet paper roll with a red spot on it at a KFC in Washington State. According to Snopes, Aubert was simply sharing a potential scenario he heard about during a Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response class. 

“That does not mean that this practice is widespread,” the Snopes article states. “A spokesperson for [The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)] told us that the organization had not heard of this practice.”

@phxlank Pay attention and be safe out there #psa #tolietpaper #publicrestroom ♬ original sound - Phxlank

Viewers respond

In the comments section, viewers said they’ve been skeptical of public restrooms for a long time.

“I’ve always been terrified of public restroom toilet paper and this has just done me in,” wrote one viewer.

“Amazon has toilet covers and toilet paper that can fit in your pocket. You’re welcome. I carry it in my purse,” wrote a second viewer.

One viewer, however, didn’t buy into the hype. “This is a common urban legend that resurfaces almost yearly.”

The Daily Dot reached out to @phxlank via TikTok comment and direct message for comment.

Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.

Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.

The post ‘Pay attention’: Person issues warning to people who use public bathrooms at malls and restaurants appeared first on The Daily Dot.