I come into this thread to mention Steven Anderson, but I see that it has already been done–in 2015.
I don’t remember the details, but there was a different case where the court found against the renter.
Problem: the central heating unit right next to the toilet in the bathroom was corroded/ rusted after x years of use by renter. Owner said this was due to splashback from renter peeing standing up, and urine being corrosive.
Court agreed with that argument and told renter to pay repair.
I don’t remember if part of the argument was that the bathroom was so small the renter should have noticed or considered possible damage from spraying when peeing standing up, and properly cleaned or peed sitting down in these circumstances, as opposed to Düsseldorf court going with general custom.
…draaaaaiiiinnssss
I live in Sweden in the north part of Europe and I have travelled a lot in ALL european countries the latest 40 years and as far as I have seen ALL european men is urinating standing. What men from arab countries (muslims) and africans do I don’t know.
A friend from the Philippines told me this story from when he was a little boy, age 4 or 5. He was the only boy in the family, had 3 older sisters and had seen them sit down to pee. So he would sit down as well. One day his father saw him sitting down and had a huge fit–“what kind of boy are you, you’re acting like a girl” and so on. The father was about to beat him but fortunately the mom intervened in time. For weeks after that the father had him watched so that he wouldn’t pee sitting down.
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The Change occured only in the past two decades - probably coupled with the court cases and financial damages getting more into the Headlines than “just” the complaints of women having to clean up the mess.
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In public toilets, Urinals can be seen, but stalls are closed, so how do you know whether men are sitting or Standing?
In private homes, putting up a sign is unusual, so again, unless your Hosts explicitly adress the issue because they know cultural norms differ - unusual, AFAIK - how would you know you should sit/ you’re Standing, but your Hosts are sitting?
Women can also urinate while standing up.
Whatever your gender and whatever your preferred “technique,” the polite thing to do is not make a mess, and to clean up after yourself if you do. Don’t forget to wash your hands…
As to the German case, WHY would a person floor the area around a toilet with expensive material that could be damaged by urine? As bad as carpet in a bathroom.
Some reasons without hard data:
During the rebuilding after WWII, many Apartments didn’t have seperate bathrooms, but one on the common floor or stair case.
Later, when the Apartments were upgraded, a bathroom was added into every flat, in many cases, a bathtub squeezed in no matter how cramped this ended up, because Renters didn’t want to use a shared bathroom. (Now there’s another renovation Phase where all those cramped, unpractical bathtubs are thrown out and a shower stall put in instead - saves water, easier for elderly People to use with seat, and makes the bathroom bigger).
Also, especially in big cities where rent is high, owners like to “upgrade” a normal Apartment to expensive by putting in unneccessary luxury so they can double or triple the rent. (What’s needed are affordable, plain Apartments - but that’s less margin).
And “marble” sounds very expensive, but often is artifical marble (glued together from scraps). Also, marble sounds expensive, but is really delicate - acid cleaner damages it. I, too, wonder at the overabundance of (fake) marble where granite or sturdier materials would be smarter…
As for carpet: a tiled bathroom, especially on the ground floor, is bitching cold on the feet, if you’re Walking barefoot or just in Slippers. So a loose small rug is laid down (and washed).