A case has been reported of a nine-year-old with an 18-month history of itchy, semicircular, eczema-like eruptions on the back of her thighs (BMJ 2007; 33[7624]: 832). Dermatologists at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge concluded that she had a contact dermatitis caused by the wood or varnish on the wooden toilet seats in her home. She had been spending long periods sitting on the loo, reading. It seems that contact dermatitis from this cause was common in the 1960s and may be making a comeback with the modern fashion for wooden toilet seats.