Boys and men by the millions for decades have memories, maybe repressed, of wedging between other Metrodome visitors, standing silent before a stainless-steel trough with eyes straight ahead and doing what had to be done.

Now six of these many urinal troughs from the dearly departed Metrodome will live on in someone's man cave or maybe a sports bar, thanks to a popular auction.

Bids on k-bid.com for the stainless-steel keepsakes came in from coast to coast and at an increasingly furious pace ahead of the virtual gavel coming down Thursday evening, said P.J. Fanberg, operator of the Maple Plain auction house.

Bidding climbed to $375 for the items where men sought relief while Twins, Vikings and Gophers teams played on.

"Work great for livestock feeders or beverage coolers," read the Savage seller's auction Web page for the troughs, which range in length from 8 to 12 feet and have two drains in them.

"Condition of units vary," the description continues. "Some have minor dents and dings from the removal process." Bidding began May 11 at $5 and drew barely a trickle. But once reddit.com, deadspin.com and other aggregate news websites got wind of the auction this week, bidding took off.

Dennis McGrath, Star Tribune
Urinal troughs from the Metrodome are being auctioned off.

"I saw these, and I was hoping they'd stay quiet, because I was hoping to get one," he said. "Fifty percent of our traffic is going to that one auction."

When bidding closed Thursday, the six trough prices ranged from $260 to $375. Bids came in from as far away as Los Angeles, Omaha, Florida, Texas, Boston, New York and Washington, D.C., Fanberg said.

The winners pay a 10 percent premium to K-Bid on top of the sale price. K-Bid charges sellers a commission of anywhere from 5 to 25 percent, with the percentage being lower for bigger-ticket items.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482