Clearly designed by someone taking the piss…
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That’s odd - I’ve generally found the US to be pretty terrible when it comes to public loos, with Europe at least as bad. But I guess it mostly comes down to familiarity - here I know where to find them, the kinds of places they’ll be, and how they’re indicated. In other countries I don’t have that subconscious knowledge.
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Local knowledge is undoubtedly an important part of this. Do you also know where not to go in the U.K.?
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Well, it can’t be all that bad; it dispenses free drugs!
It’s the plexiglass models that I have problems with.
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As i was scrolling down, I was thinking of posting this.
Most of the French are not neurotic about their bodily functions or other people’s bodily functions. Some people will complain - but they will be more offended by the redness of the plastic than terrified that they might catch a glimpse of a stranger’s penis. It’s just pissing, we all do it several times a day, what’s the problem?
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Oddly enough, in my experience many would.
Some places pay people to clean their public conveniences.
It’s an amazing new concept I know.
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See, if piss was still a valuable commodity like it was in the past, there’d still be people dedicated to running around with buckets for the public to piss into and this whole lack of public toilets and people just pissing on the sidewalk would be a non-issue.
Indeed. I’ve been in several restaurants in France where the urinal is visible to those entering the ladies’ loo - nobody bats an eyelid.
And as for “facing tourist boats” this is a total red herring. Like anyone on a boat is going to see anything other than the head and shoulders of a bloke standing in front of a metal box.
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It seems to be an issue in Europe generally that they don’t have enough public toilets, and you have to pay to use them when they exist at all.
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Yeah, I’m having trouble squaring the facts that street harassment is now considered a criminal offense but men are being encouraged to whip out their dicks in public. Also, f the gender bias - if I were there, I’d bring my little folding step stool, climb on up and pop a squat - if only to point out the ridiculousness of these boxes.
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There seems to have been a … errr … movement in the U.S. that didn’t occur in Europe.
https://psmag.com/economics/dont-pay-toilets-america-bathroom-restroom-free-market-90683
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Based on experience, I don’t think that’s an idea most French men can get their head around.
Also, f the gender bias - if I were there, I’d bring my little folding step stool, climb on up and pop a squat
I’ve seen women do just that. Particularly brave was the lass who strolled into the urinal on her own and proceeded to have a piss in front of about five or six guys. Some of whom were deeply embarrassed and basically ran as soon as they could. Me and her just had a chat though.
As other have said, we all piss several times a day, it’s entirely normal. If you spend time around small children you get to see more than the average public loo.
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“Dead leaves in the winter pissoir
J’aime ces types vicieux
Qu’ici montrent la bite…”
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That’s a great article, and taught me an under-appreciated part of American history.
There’s plenty wrong in our country but we’ve got to take pride where we can. I’m reminded of this great anecdote from one of David Sedaris’ books:
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Uh, no. Most people aren’t willing to drop their pants to their knees in public and wipe in mixed company.- and that’s if you manage to keep it from running down the side of your legs. I guarantee a large amount of men wouldn’t be willing to do the same.
Elimination is normal, but urinals don’t serve men and women equally unless both male and female varieties are available.
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Would you like to carry a used one of these in your pocket?
