In British Royal Naval ships, the loos are called ‘heads.’ The reason is, I gather, that in the days of the old sailing ships the Captain’s quarters were always in the stern, so they put the loos at the other end to isolate him from the smell.
What this bit of intelligence doesn’t say is whether the Captain had to walk the length of the vessel to contribute to the undesirable pong, or whether he had his own facilities and only himself to blame.
During my short stint before the mast, I spent the whole of the entrance into New York harbour in the heads, just to avoid having to line up on the foc’sle wearing best togs and looking like a poncy penguin. I was hoping to see the Statue of Liberty on the way back out again, but it was too foggy. I’ve never got over that missed opportunity.
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