Caro Was Here
An exploration on why humans feel the need to leave messages with permanent markers on bar bathrooms.
Souce: Caro Barrenechea Cobos
Since the beginning of time, humans have felt the need to leave a record—to prove that they existed. From cave paintings to extensive journals, a big chunk of our lives is spent documenting our experiences.
Even though today we use these records as a way to learn history, the original purpose of the creator was simply to leave their mark. To prove to themselves and to others that they were alive, that they were doing something.
In a society where everything is recorded and saved on the cloud, has bar graffiti become the new tester of time?
Double Down Saloon
Strangelove
Double Down Saloon
It might not be the full truth, but there is a little voice subconsciously telling us that if we do not leave something behind, it will make our death insignificant and our life unmemorable. The cavemen knew it, and we know it as well.
That is why every night, thousands of New Yorkers head to the bathroom stool—after their fourth beer of the night—pull out a sharpie or a pen, and write something along the lines, “Caro Was Here.”
In this article, I am going to display some of my favorite bars and the souvenirs people have left behind. To enhance your experience, you can listen to this audio of one of my go-to bars in Midtown, while you read—it will transport you to the scene I am trying to illustrate.
Peculiar bar
A bar is nothing if it weren’t for the people it hosts. An empty bar is nothing, but a room with sticky floors and a desperate need for electric help. The atmosphere of a bar can fully be created or destroyed by the characters it holds. Humans are messy; they break things, they leave gum under the table, they request songs in the jukebox, and sometimes they write things on the walls.
In a world where technology alienates communities, print media has become essential for building connections. In addition to graffiti, it is easy to spot pictures of customers and invitations to events all over bathroom walls. Photobooths are popping up on the dustiest corners of the city, inviting people to document their nights.
Double Down Saloon Photobooth
Double Down Saloon Photobooth
Double Down Saloon Photobooth
Double Down Saloon
Double Down Saloon is one of the most recognizable punk bars in Manhattan. Their walls are covered with memories from their most trusted customers: autographed dollar bills, made-up drinks written on cardboard signs, inappropriate drawings graffiti-ed on the surface, protest statements, and photobooth strips portraying their regulars.
Protesting on bathroom walls is one of the most satisfying ways to demonstrate one's political frustrations. When feeling hopeless about the current state of the world, people feel the need to express their concerns, and writing on bar bathrooms is a productive way of showing their social activism and expressing the issues to more people. Bathroom walls are a reflection of society and the necessity to inform people about social causes.
Bossa Nova Civic Club
It might seem silly, or a fun hobby at first sight, but bathroom bar graffiti holds a deeper meaning—rooted all the way back to the caveman period. Humans are constantly chasing a sense of community and belonging, and writing on bathroom bars is an unexpected way to find it—at least for New Yorkers.
Everyone wants to leave their unique mark on the world; some might find it by becoming famous, or inventing a new piece of technology, but some find it in the poorly-lit, deep corners of Manhattan's stinger bathrooms.
After visiting many (many) bars in New York City—for research purposes, obviously—here is a compilation of my favorite messages and bathrooms:
