United Airlines Passenger Says She Had to Pee in Cup

United Airlines, home of recent controversies involving the removal of a passenger and the death of a giant rabbit, has a new case on its hands – err, in a cup.

Nicole Harper of Kansas City, Missouri says she had to pee in a cup on her flight home from Houston after she wasn't allowed to get out of her seat.

Harper, who has an overactive bladder, told KCTV that a flight attendant told her to sit down when she needed to use the restroom. Flight attendants warned turbulence was afoot, but she insisted she had to go.

When that didn't work, she decided to squat atop the seat (while wearing a dress) and pee in a cup – she needed two.

"I was thinking I was on Candid Camera or being punked at this point," Harper told KCTV. A flight attendant then asked her to go to the bathroom to empty the cups of pee.

"She was basically reprimanding me and talking down to me through the aisle with other people listening," Harper continued.

For its part, United said in a statement, "Customer safety is always our first priority. Initial reports from the Mesa Airlines flight attendants indicate that Ms. Harper attempted to visit the lavatory on descent and was instructed to remain seated with the seat belt fastened per FAA regulations. At no point during the flight did flight attendants suggest that Ms. Harper use cups instead of the lavatory. We have reached out to Ms. Harper to better understand what occurred."

This does beg the question, though: What do you do when you have to go?

Experts say there isn't just one "normal" amount people pee each day. People who have healthy kidneys make 2 liters of urine (68 ounces), every day, which means they're peeing about five times per day. This is because typical bladder capacity is 300 to 400 cubic centimeters, Brigham and Women's Hospital's Dr. Michael O'Leary told U.S. News last year.

And holding your pee in may not necessarily be a problem, though chronically doing so will make it a habit for your body. "I don't think you should hold it in for the whole day … but you're not gonna hurt yourself by holding your urine," Dr. Benjamin Davies, of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Shadyside/Hillman Cancer Center also told U.S. News last year.

Peeing too much could be a larger health issue, i.e. a sign of diabetes.