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I'm sitting in the Hofbräuhaus in Munich and just noticed that the signs for the bathroom are a symbol of a man and woman with a "00".

Hofbräuhaus restroom sign, showing a woman, a man, and '00'

Why is this the case?

kapex
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Alexa
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3 Answers3

66

According to the legend this tradition was started by hotels in the 19th century. Unlike today there was a single bathroom for a whole floor. This room was at the beginning of the hallway and not a real guest room. Hoteliers therefore used the room number "00".

Other common explanations include the shape of an opened toilet seat but as far as I know that question has not been finally settled yet. The hotel explanation seems like the most likely one.

neo
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7

The German children’s show die Sendung mit der Maus once talked about that. Their explanation was:

Weil da 0 arbeiten und 0 wohnen.

Because 0 work there and 0 live there.

I am aware that the explanation is a little sketchy but it was broadcasted on national TV so …

Community
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Jan
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It's an outhouse

Flushing toilets are marked WC

Non flushing toilets like outhouses, porta pottys and shitholes in general are marked as 00

Cano64
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