Hofbrauhaus

The Hofbrauhaus was one of the first beer halls in Munich.  It was originally a brewery but became a beer hall.  Because of this it was built without a bathroom inside.  If you needed to go to the bathroom you just had to go outside and pee in one of the gutters in the street.  The biggest problem with this was that by the time you got back you might have lost your seat and your beer to someone else. 

Because of this one “smart” Bavarian man decided that what they needed to do was put these same gutters in the floor inside of the Hofbrauhaus under all of the tables.  Then when you needed to pee you could just unbutton your lederhosen and go.  The problem with this is all the guys on the other side of the table would be the victims of “splash back” and no one wanted that.  

 So another “smart” Bavarian man decided that if everyone had a cane you could just hit everyone on the leg under the table and then they would pull there legs back to avoid being splashed.  The problem with this solution was this was around the time of the black plague.  Men who were getting hit in the legs with canes all day developed bruises that looked like the plague.

 So another “smart” Bavarian man decided the canes needed a channel.  This way as long as everything was lined up there were no problems.  Well all of this urinating caused quite a smell so at the end of each night there were two bells.  The first one signaled last call for drinks and the second meant that you had one minute to get out before the large barrels filled with water at the back of the hall were going to be tipped.  This washed the floors and was known conveniently as “The Wash”. 

Today there are bathrooms in the Hofbrauhaus for both males and females!