'I was just on my way into my apartment when a stranger stopped me': Man off the street offers stranger $5 to use his bathroom, man refuses

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Oct 19, 2025 10:00 AM EDT

When you gotta go, you gotta go. But there isn't always a place for you. You know this if you've ever roamed a city. You spend all day bopping around from place to place, walking through different neighborhoods. And then it strikes you. You need to use the bathroom. But odds are, you're in a city where there are very few public bathrooms. You scan your brain for nearby coffee shops or restaurants, but nothing is coming up. The need is becoming more urgent. You exhaust all the options in your head. But where do you go? Do you go so far as to knock on a stranger's door? This is a city, anything can happen!

I'm gonna be honest. In all my years of roaming urban spaces, I've never asked a stranger to use their personal bathroom. It has never come up. There is always a restaurant, store, or library you can use instead. I can't imagine someone inviting a stranger into their home. I can't imagine going into a stranger's home. It's a bad idea all around. 

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  • A man in sunglasses is about to open a door.
    via Unsplash+ (Brock Wegner)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • But that's what happened to one man as he was entering his apartment one day. He was suddenly approached by a stranger, and wasn't sure quite what to do. So he reached out to the internet for second and third opinions. Read on to see what happened and decide what you would have done. 

  • AITA for not letting a stranger use my toilet?

    For context: I live in an urban area where not many public toilets are available, I'm a guy and in my late 20s I was just on my way into my apartment when a stranger stopped me and asked if he could use my bathroom. He looked like an ordinary person, roughly my age. Nothing scary or intimidating about him.
    via u/Wonderful_Jeweler621
  • I really didn't (and don't) like the idea that somebody I don't know would see and use such a private space. So I told him he can't. He tried to offer me 5$, but it didn't change my mind. I feel kind of bad about it now that I didn't help. Something like this has never happened to me before and in the moment it really caught me off guard. But now that I'm thinking about it, I am not sure if I would react differently next time. So AITA for not helping?
    via u/Wonderful_Jeweler621

  • Commenters agreed that this was strange.

    CoverCharacter8179 19h ago . Let me put it to you this way: if you were in a city and needed to use the bathroom, would you ask a total stranger to go in their house? Never in a million years, right? me neither. It's an outlandish, inappropriate request. NTA
    via u/CoverCharacter8179
  • Two people are about to open a door together.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Elegant Bluebird_... 19h ago NAH. Assuming his need to use the bathroom was genuine, he's not wrong for desperately seeking a bathroom and you are not wrong to refuse letting a stranger into your space. There is no way to judge who is safe or not, and even if there was, this is your space.
    via u/Elegant_Bluebird_460
  • The only thing I would do differently next time is let him know of a public bathroom nearby he could use.
    via u/Elegant_Bluebird_460
  • VanillaCola79 • 19h ago Apparently you're of the generation whose parents didn't watch Unsolved Mysteries with you. When these situations arise you're suppose to hear the chilling theme song and Robert Stack narrating, "that was the last time he was seen alive." NTA
    via u/VanillaCola79
  • destro23 19h ago AITA for not helping? What? No! That's fucking weird, and letting a stranger into your home is a good way to end up on the news.
    via u/destro23
  • SineQuaNon001 · 19h ago NTA. A complete stranger wanted random access to your home and regardless of anything else, you declined. I'd decline too. It's not like it was a friend or neighbor, this was an absolute stranger. It was an unreasonable ask, frankly.
    via u/SineQuaNon001
  • . Spare_Ad5009 • 19h ago NTA! Never let a stranger in. He can go find a restaurant.
    via u/Spare_Ad5009
  • slap-a-frap 19h ago . NTA - this is how home invasions happen. He didn't want to use your toilet. He just wanted to get into your place and more than likely rob you. Also, who knows who else was with him. You did good by saying no, and you would still be doing good by repeatedly saying no to people with these requests.
    via u/slap-a-frap
  • SomeoneSomewhe... . 19h ago NTA. Since you say it's an urban area, I assume there are restaurants or cafes where this person could have paid for a drink and used the bathroom. I am empathetic to someone needing to use a bathroom and having limited options available, but stopping some random
    via u/SomeoneSomewhereish
  • person on the street and seeing if you can go to their home is not the only option. This person could have gone into a store and offered the employee money to use their bathroom. They could find a fast food place or bar or cafe where they will find a bathroom.
    via u/SomeoneSomewhereish
  • Sure, the person didn't look intimidating, but neither did Ted Bundy. I'm not saying that this person was a serial killer. It's unlikely they were, but you do not need to sacrifice your feeling of personal safety for some random person who approaches you on the street by letting that person into your home.
    via u/SomeoneSomewhereish
  • Grymflyk 19h ago NTA. He could have wanted to rob you or case your home for a future burglary. No, Not under any circumstances.
    via u/Grymflyk
  • Spare-Shirt24 • 19h ago NTA Doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman... it's not unreasonable to not want to allow a perfect stranger into your home. You don't know them or their intentions. Maybe he really just needs to use the bathroom, or maybe he's casing your apartment to come back and rob you later.
    via u/Spare-Shirt24
  • Knightseason 19h ago • NTA A complete stranger asked to enter your home, you said no and that should be the end of it. Quite strange to ask something like that to begin with honestly. Him then offering to pay? Yeah, that seems even stranger.
    via u/Knightseason
  • If he was that desperate to go I'm sure there are businesses near by that he could ask. Or there's even the great outdoors.
    via u/Knightseason
  • . adam_n_eve 19h ago Have you never watched any vampire movies or read any vampire books????? You have to invite them in. You got lucky dude
    via u/adam_n_eve
  • No-Assignment5538 · 19h ago NTA. You have no obligation what so ever to let a stranger into your home for any reason, including to use the toilet. This sounds more like a scam to get in to case your home or rob you than anything. It's just weird, and suspect.
    via u/No-Assignment5538
  • Paranoid Walnut • 19h ago NTA. I wouldn't let anybody I don't know into my house. He can easily wander around or snoop in your bathroom. You also don't know if he's lying or will get violent.
    via u/ParanoidWalnut
  • Ordinary_Map_5000 • 19h ago NTA for not letting the guy into your house. I have IBS, so I am no stranger to having a sudden and desperate need to use a bathroom. I have never once asked a person to let me into their home to use a toilet. I always find a public toilet. It's a completely weird ask. You were smart to say no
    via u/Ordinary_Map_5000
  • No_Establishment... 19h ago If you were a female, I am, there would be no question that the answer would be absolutely NOT! Can you figure out why?
    via u/No_Establishment8642
  • CatDog4565 • 19h ago NTA. I feel like this is how your family ends up being interviewed on Forensic Files. That is truly bizarre behavior and I wouldn't jeopardize my safety and my property for $5. NTA x 1000
    via u/CatDog4565
  • Jerseygirl2468 • 19h ago NTA urban area, he could have gone into any store, restaurant, etc and asked, and bought something there to justify asking. A private residence? No way. And offering money was really weird too.
    via u/Jerseygirl2468
  • MorningLightTea Morning LightTea 19h ago . Somwtimes there's really no other options then someone's home. Fuck suburbia. I've been eternally grateful all 7 or so times when a stranger allowed me to use their toilet and I try to return a favor if asked. However if the guy was creepy or just didn't sit right with me, i would choose my own safety above his needs.
    via u/MorningLightTea
  • Glucose_worm • 18h ago NTA, he might not have seemed scary or intimidating, but I would still assume no good can come of letting him use your bathroom. Assuming he's being completely honest, you are still faced with the awkward situation of having a complete stranger follow you into your apartment and take the shit of their life in your bathroom.
    via u/Glucose_worm
  • I think he is probably approaching a bunch of people this way to steal from medicine cabinets and/or case apartments. You were right to trust your gut.
    via u/Glucose_worm

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