I was telling a colleague (sociologist) of mine about the recent 'toilet
talk'... she mentioned what looks to be a delightful source. It is a
historical sociological work originally published in 1936 about all
matters of manners (Many sources are etiquette guides, I think). Important
tips are how to cover a fart at the mediaeval dinner table with a cough,
and to please not foul the staircases, corridors, or closets with urine or
filth before or after meals.  I hope all of us checked our seats before we
sat down, that they were not "fouled". I'm not sure what time period this
study covers, I only have a photocopied chapter.

The History of Manners [The Civilizing Process: Volume I] by Norbert
Elias. Translated by Edmund Jephcott, 1978. New York: Pantheon Books.

And one more tip: whatever you do, "Do not touch yourself under your
clothes with your bare hands" (129)

Kristi

(Apologies if this reference was already suggested)