What if 2 people have to use it. for example a child having to be escorted into the bathroom b/c he doesn’t have the motor skills required to wipe his own ass and needs daddy to do it for him? would the charge then be twice as much?
What if 2 people have to use it. for example a child having to be escorted into the bathroom b/c he doesn’t have the motor skills required to wipe his own ass and needs daddy to do it for him? would the charge then be twice as much?
yeah, the last reply was a little error in my part, screen froze and i sort hit th button after i already sent it, but it just helps to ensure that you see the post without skipping it
One kind of self cleaning toilet. Here’s another.
Shampoop, as far as taking a child into a pay toilet or facility, as long as it’s a small child I don’t think anyone would charge extra, and I can’t think of a pay toilet I’ve seen which could physically prevent this*.
[sub]Which in Straight Dope terms means that someone should be along in five minutes to prove me wrong![/sub]
ok, a small child i can understand, but what about a grown adult retarded citizen who still lacks the necessary coordination to wipe themself. wouldn’t such a person also require a chaperon? and another thing, what if the person escorting the other decideds to take care of some business while in there? is that considered stealing by getting a 2-for-1 deal?
The pay loos in the UK, especially at seaside holiday resorts, are staffed and the charge to go in is fairly small.
This fee just about covers the staff wages, and deters vandals, who is going to pay to smash up a public loo.
In return the premises are generally clean and being staffed they are safer places to be, at one time and in certain places they were bad places for robbery and assault.
Apparently J.C. Decaux (which supplies pay toilets to cities all over the world) doesn’t have a web page describing their “public furniture” as they prefer to call it. But the basic idea is that the entire lavatory is like one of those prefabricated tool sheds you can buy. It’s oval shaped, made of metal, and has a sliding door operated by inserting a quarter. Inside there is a toilet and a sink. After each use, once the door is closed the entire internal area is doused with soap and water, so that it is left fresh and clean for the next user.
Here’s a picture of one in San Jose, California.
When I was in London, I had to take a piss whilst visiting Harrod’s, and it was a full freaking pound to use their crummy “pee on the wall” style urinal. With a guy there to collect the cash. Basically, I dispute the “small nominal fee” premise. Although i guess this wasn’t at a seaside resort. If I hadn’t gone and bought a cup of coffee (so I had a receipt, so I could pee for free), I would still be upset about that pound… ($1.50 in “real money” 
)
Tenebras
**Tenebrasp/b]
The reason it cost £1 to pee in Harrods as opposed to say 10pence or so at the seaside is that Harrods is a private business, it has no public service ethos and will charge what it thinks it can get away with without seriously offending its customer base, the seaside type loos are run by municipal councils who do consider public service, or get voted out, it’s also better that folk (men, lets face it) pee in a loo than in shop doorway etc stinking them out.
Oh, god, I hope Bloomies and Macy’s don’t get an idea from Harrod’s. NYC is so notorious for its lack of public facilities that there used to be guide called “Where to Go in New York.” I keep track of department stores, hotels, and Barnes & Nobles (large, cush bookstores) for when the need arises.
Years ago, you could always stop in the subway. But in the 80s the MTA closed almost all of them down as they cost too much to maintain and monitor, besides attracting prostitution, crime and public sex. A few parks have toilets, but there aren’t many of them and again, they’re not well monitored. For almost ten years the city’s debated French self-cleaning models, with the discussion mired between disability activist types (who insist that every blessed toilet be an enormous wheelchair stall), government finance types (who insist that the toilets should pay for themselves through fees and - kicker - advertising), and preservationists (who are horrified by the - 3m high? 4m high? - advertising kiosks the finance types want).
Many MOONS ago? God, I haven’t laughed this hard in days. You lost me right there !!! 
Geez, didn’t catch that one. Good catch, Cartooniverse.
Let me buy you dinner for that. How about some pressed ham?
Zap!
Hey SpoilerVirgin, I did not know the pay toilets were made by J.C. Decaux!
I lived 18 years in the city he is from (Plaisir, next to Versailles). He made his fortune setting up bus stop shelters for free and having advertisments on it, like what you describe for the toilets ads. Good idea, and I appreciated the Decaux shelters waiting ( in the rain) for the shool bus as a kid! 
Very intersting…
Whoever never went into those self cleaning toilets ought to try them, it is fun, stuff moves around when the door opens!! Everything gets cleaned floor to ceiling.