Don’t lie. During Sen. Rand Paul’s filibuster last night on NSA surveillance, you couldn’t help but wonder how he controls his bladder for hours on end during his lengthy speeches. Although Rand has never peed on the Senate floor, there are others who have urinated while filibustering. Here are some tricks for how some have learned to filibuster without flushing:
1. Wear an Astronaut Bag
In 1977, Senator Bill Meier (R- Texas) staged a 43-hour filibuster about a bill he believed to be an attack on the state’s open records laws. Beneath his suit, he wore an astronaut bag on the Senate floor. Every time he filled the tank, former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby would arrange to take a message from the house, and Meier ran to the women’s restroom, since it was closest, to empty the bag. On each trip, two sergeants-at-arms came with him to ensure he never sat down. Poor guy.
2. Grab a bucket
Former United States Senator Strom Thurmond (R-South Carolina) flawlessly completed a 24 hour and 18 minute long filibuster in 1957. Thurmond took the minimalist route and stood beside a bucket. His aides set it up in the cloakroom so that Thurmond could pee while keeping one foot on the Senate floor.
3. Use a catheter
In 2013, Texas Senator Wendy Davis (D) had class enough to ditch the bucket idea and use a catheter during her 11 hour filibuster on a bill that would close nearly all abortion clinics in her state; in a dress, mind you.
4. Take a steam bath
In the days before Thurmond’s pee bucket filibuster, he took daily steam baths to prepare for the epic speech. Once he was dehydrated from the baths, it was easier for his body to absorb, rather than expel, fluid. Gross.
5. Bring the bathroom to you
In 2001, Irene Smith, former St. Louis Alderwoman staged a filibuster during a City Hall debate to protest a redistricting plan that she believed would have hurt the city’s black communities. Irene refused to yield the floor, and when denied restroom privileges, her aides surrounded Smith with a sheet, quilt, and tablecloth, as she relieved herself into a trashcan.