History Main / TheDreadedToiletDuty

* One of the labors of Hercules had him cleaning out some ''extremely'' filthy stables. He made it less disgusting by having two rivers do it for him.

Mucking out stables, kennels, or zoo exhibits can merit similar treatment, although the disgust factor may be slightly less extreme when it's not ''other humans''' wastes being cleaned up.

** Zig-zagged in "Marge Gets A Job": when Mr. Burns appoints Marge as his new personal assistant, Smithers is assigned to "where the action is": cleaning the nuclear plant's toilets. Being [[ProfessionalButtKisser Smithers]], he's actually [[TrueCraftsman proud of his work]]... until [[BigEater Homer]] enters one of the toilets five seconds after he finished cleaning, prompting a despairing BigNo and instantly trying to make things right with Burns.

-->'''Krusty''': Right in here, boy: it -- ew! I don't know ''what'' I was thinking last night. This'll take you a couple hours.

* Zig-zagged in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' in one episode: as a consequence of ticking off Mr. Burns, Smithers is ordered to clean the nuclear plant's toilets. Being [[ProfessionalButtKisser Smithers]], he's actually proud of his work... until [[BigEater Homer]] enters one of the toilets five seconds after he finished cleaning, prompting a despairing BigNo and instantly trying to make things right with Burns.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'', Gen. Rogard threatens to make Kent Mansley "superintendent of subway toilets" after he brings out the army for what they thought was a false lead on the giant robot (which was actually disguised as one of Dean's art installations).

* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'' features a sci-fi equivalent when Mariner is punished for her attitude by having to clean [BLEEP] out of the holodeck's [BLEEP] filter.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/HulkAndTheAgentsOfSMASH https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/leaderstoiletduty.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Series/Titus}} “IS THERE NO GOD?”]]]]

* In the parody BreakUpSong "One More Minute" by Music/WeirdAlYankovic, the narrator sings that he's rather clean all the toilets in Grand Central Station than spend one more minute with the girl he broke up with.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[Series/Titus “IS THERE NO GOD?”]]]]

* ''WesternAnimation/HulkAndTheAgentsOfSMASH'': For the first half of the second season, [[BigBad the Leader]] is being held prisoner by Hulk and his team inside his own ship on the way back to Earth. Among other things, they force him to clean toilets.

* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'': At the end of "Gaz, Taster of Pork", Dib falsely assumes Gaz failed Shadowhog's test to undo her curse and begs to be punished instead as it's his fault she was cursed. Shadowhog agrees at Gaz's request and decides that Dib must clean his toilet. Dib doesn't think it's so bad... [[OhCrap until he looks inside]].
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': Inverted when Candace and Stacy were tasked by the Betties to do various chores for them. The only one that makes Stacy happy is cleaning the toilets. Played straight with Candace, who is not happy with the way the Betties treated them and the toilet cleaning chore was the last straw for her.
* ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'': At the end of "Temp Check", Benson shafts Rigby with three months of toilet duty for hiring Doug as a temp so that he didn't have to do any work. We don't get to see any toilet cleaning, but Rigby offers Mordecai a way to make an easy ten bucks, implying that he's trying to foist the job onto him.

A character who has to do this usually isn't high on the authority ladder. In fact, they're often seen as the lowest of the low, the one who gets to be demeaned and given the worst jobs. Maybe they're just TheUnfavorite, or the BosssUnfavoriteEmployee, and everyone else gets the better chores- if they even get chores at all. Or, maybe this is a punishment, a way to keep people in line while also keeping the toilets clean. The bottom line? It's not something the people with ''power'' are going to be doing, and that's what this trope signifies.

TruthInTelevision, as anyone who's had to scrub toilets can attest. However, as this is such a common job in real life, '''No Real Life Examples, Please!'''

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventuresHowISpentMyVacation'' when Hamton Pig and his family take a long car trip to Happyworldland, and stop at a gas station for relief. Papa, Mama, Uncle Stinky and Hamton all don full-body hazmat suits, each with a tank of sanitizer on the back, and charge into the restrooms. There, the Pigs are so fervent about their cleaning that soap suds ooze around the door frames.

* ''Film/LettersFromIwoJima'' has private Saigo chosen by his commander to dump out the "poop pail" that his squad has been using while hunkered in their bunkers on the island. The commander urges Saigo not to lose the pail, "or you will carry out our poop with your hands." As Saigo emerges from the bunker, he sees the enormous American fleet poised to invade, and drops the pail in astonishment. Poor Saigo then has to fish the pail out of a ditch as the naval shelling starts. Viewable here at the 1:00 minute mark: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UgOm3n8nnM]].

* ''Literature/BigNate'': In the first book, Nate says he's heard that students are forced to clean the toilets in the men's room in summer school. He then says he hopes this isn't true, because the toilets are "totally disgusting".

* Zigzagged in Viktor Suvorov's ''Literature/TheLiberators''. When a soldier undergoing punishment in the glasshouse is sent to do work during the day, the worst thing is considered going to some general's estate and clean out all the sewage. When he is sent to clean the glasshouse's toilets during the night, it is likewise a punishment; for one thing, he loses sleep, and for another, once he returns to the cell, all the people wanting to go to the toilet might beat him up out of envy. However, if he is sent to clean them during the day, it is considered the best reward, because he doesn't lose the sleep, it's a relatively easy work compared to things like unloading tank shells, and it only takes a few fours; the rest of the time he can merely pretend to work.

* In the parody BreakUpSong "One More Minute" by Music/WeirdAlYankovic, the narrator sings that he's rather clean all the toilets in Grand Central Station that spend one more minute with the girl he broke up with.

* ''WesternAnimation/BikerMiceFromMars'' has Lawrence Limburger fail to secure all of Chicago as a Plutarch mining colony. The Plutarch regent declares YouHaveFailedMe, and sets Lawrence to cleaning the Plutarch spacecraft's bathrooms, which are huge and filthy, as a punishment detail.

-->'''Stewie:''' No! No! It was literally only on the floor. All right? There was no attempt to get near the toilet. It's like they just... Pressed their buttocks against the wall.The only part of the floor that didn't have poo on it was the part that had baby on it.

* Zig-zagged in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' in one episode: as a consequence of ticking off Mr. Burns, Smithers is ordered to clean the nuclear plant?s toilets. Being [[ProfessionalButtKisser Smithers]], he's actually proud of his work... until [[BigEater Homer]] enters one of the toilets five seconds after he finished cleaning, prompting a despairing BigNo and instantly trying to make things right with Burns.
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* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': In "Roswell That Ends Well", Fry's grandfather Enos is introduced being ordered by his commanding officer to clean the latrines until they are clean enough to eat off of -- "Because I intend to!"

* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Baby Not On Board", Stewie was furious about having to clean the bathroom at his new job at Mc Burgertown and refused to clean it a second time. However, his disgust to go back was understandable. [[note]]It should be noted he was also working as a cashier and the fry station as well.[[/note]]

* ''Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive'': In "[[/Recap/PowerRangersOperationOverdriveS1E10LightsCameraDax Lights, Camera, Dax]]", Dax, encouraged by Rose, disobeys Mr. Hartford's orders by auditioning for (and accepting) a movie role. In the end, both are punished by being made to clean every toilet in the Hartford estate... of which there are over forty.

* ''Film/{{Jarhead}}'': In one scene, Swofford is assigned latrine duty at the base. It is showcased to be heavy and disgusting work, in the desert's incessant heat, with Swofford barely able to hold back a desire to puke from the smell even with the gas mask he?s wearing. The latrine's container for the feces also has "[[Literature/TheDivineComedy Abandon all Hope]]" written on the side.

* ''Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive'': In "Lights, Camera, Dax", Dax, encouraged by Rose, disobeys Mr. Hartford's orders by auditioning for (and accepting) a movie role. In the end, both are punished by being made to clean every toilet in the Hartford estate... of which there are over forty.

* Zig-zagged in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' in one episode: as a consequence of ticking off Mr. Burns, Smithers is ordered to clean the nuclear plant?s toilets. Being [[ProfessionalButtKisser Smithers]], he?s actually proud of his work... until [[BigEater Homer]] enters one of the toilets five seconds after he finished cleaning, prompting a despairing BigNo and instantly trying to make things right with Burns.

DisgustTropes, ImageSource.WesternAnimation, QuoteSource.WesternAnimation, CleanlinessTropes
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->'''Shadowhog''': As punishment, you must clean my filthy toilet of filthy piggy filth! It's over there!
->'''Dib''': "That's it? That isn't so bad!" (''looks inside'') "No! Nooo! Oooh! Naaa! Oooh! Oh!"