Project Gutenberg 2009-07-24 Public domain in the USA. 146 Leiber, Fritz 1910 1992 Leiber, Fritz Reuter Bowman What's He Doing in There? Produced from Galaxy Science Fiction December 1957. Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "What's He Doing in There?" by Fritz Leiber is a humorous science fiction short story written in the late 1950s. The narrative centers around a cultural anthropologist's encounter with the first Martian visitor to Earth, highlighting themes of miscommunication and cultural taboos. The story deftly explores the absurdity of human and alien interactions, particularly when reflecting on the mundane aspects of life like bathroom etiquette. The plot unfolds as the Martian, having landed on Earth, retreats to the bathroom for an extended period, prompting concern from the professor and his family about what he might be doing. Speculation runs wild as they consider the possible consequences of the Martian's actions, ranging from illness to cultural misunderstandings. The story builds tension and humor around the family's anxiety, revealing the alien's innocent intentions and misconceptions about terrestrial customs when he eventually emerges, blissfully unaware of the fuss he has caused. Ultimately, it serves as a delightful exploration of cross-cultural interactions, emphasizing the challenges and misunderstandings inherent in communications between vastly different beings. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 74.6 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Martians -- Fiction Human-alien encounters -- Fiction PS Text Science Fiction Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Humour 39025 2025-08-12T08:05:15.290871 text/html 34770 2009-07-24T06:04:10 text/html 185088 2025-08-12T08:05:20.170798 application/epub+zip 183417 2025-08-12T08:05:17.973840 application/epub+zip 74112 2025-08-12T08:05:16.854817 application/epub+zip 310652 2025-08-12T08:05:21.717829 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 302954 2025-08-12T08:05:19.460836 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 134342 2022-09-13T15:42:00.565079 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 32328 2025-08-12T08:05:15.043826 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 32164 2009-07-24T06:04:10 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19781 2025-08-12T08:05:22.027814 application/rdf+xml 13295 2025-08-12T08:05:17.356846 image/jpeg 3750 2025-08-12T08:05:17.104866 image/jpeg 111332 2009-07-24T06:04:12 application/octet-stream application/zip 12450 2009-07-24T06:04:12 application/octet-stream application/zip 182232 2025-08-12T08:05:15.302937 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia