# Public "toilets" - you have got to be kidding! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 26, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585 "2010-02-26T23:40:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/1 "2010-02-26T23:40:54Z")
Where in god’s name do they have public toilets (or washrooms or lavatories or whatever you call them) like [these](http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=47533)\*\*? And I am rather curious what the female equivalent looks like. I _might_ be able to pee in one of these if it was located in a quiet, relatively private spot, away from everything else. But the one in the picture looks like it’s right in the middle of some tourist spot (?maybe an old fort or church). Now, this _is_ GQ and my question was serious - where in the world are you expected to pee in the middle of a crowd like that? And what about the ladies "facilities? \*\*the pic in the link is SFW. The parent site is as well, but might conceivably raise an eyebrow nevertheless. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/2 "2010-02-26T23:52:13Z")
South America is the guess. Relative to how people relieve themselves in all corners of the world, that’s nothin’ ! Your shock makes me wonder where you are from and where you have traveled. How you relieve yourself is not the standard against which the rest of the world is judged. Relieving yourself as you described just might make you the one who deviates from the norm. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/3 "2010-02-26T23:57:25Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > South America is the guess. > > Relative to how people relieve themselves in all corners of the world, that’s nothin’ ! > > Your shock makes me wonder where you are from and where you have traveled. How you relieve yourself is not the standard against which the rest of the world is judged. Relieving yourself as you described just might make you the one who deviates from the norm. “Deviates from the norm”? Sure, literally. But the tone of your answer seems rather hostile. Hey, I said “I” would have trouble peeing there. I wasn’t being critical, just surprised. And, yes, I guess it was pretty obvious that I lead a sheltered life (as you so astutely pointed out). So thanks for your snarky response. ETA: Do you want to know why I can’t travel? Hint - it’s the same reason I have a special sign on my car’s windshield. ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/4 "2010-02-27T00:09:57Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > ETA: Do you want to know why I can’t travel? Hint - it’s the same reason I have a special sign on my car’s windshield. Because you’ve gotten a bunch of tickets for double parking? 😛 I have no idea _where_ that is, but I prefer to use the restroom privately. I guess I would use that, if I needed to pee and it was all that was around, but I have a preference to private restroom usage. ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/5 "2010-02-27T00:20:54Z")
Looks like Rio de Janeiro: [Made in Brazil: These Are The New Public Urinals In Rio](http://madeinbrazil.typepad.com/madeinbrazil/2010/02/these-are-the-new-street-urinals-in-rio.html) I think these are set up specifically to accommodate the large crowds at Carnival, so it may not be an everyday thing. Can’t say for certain, though, never having visited Rio (the pavement in the picture looks like the famous Ipanema pavement mosaics–that’s what tipped me off). ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/6 "2010-02-27T00:23:54Z")
As you might guess, Wikipedia has an article on [urinals](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urinal_%28restroom%29). It includes a photo of a portable one used in the Netherlands and a older one from Paris. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/7 "2010-02-27T00:31:32Z")
It’s probably to prevent people from vandalizing them. Makes sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/8 "2010-02-27T00:44:50Z")
Yikes - not for people with bashful kidneys. I wonder what the pooper looks like. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/9 "2010-02-27T00:46:42Z")
> [@Gotterfunken](#): > > Looks like Rio de Janeiro: [http://madeinbrazil.typepad.com/madeinbrazil/2010/02/these-are-the-new-street-urinals-in-rio.html](http://madeinbrazil.typepad.com/madeinbrazil/2010/02/these-are-the-new-street-urinals-in-rio.html) > > I think these are set up specifically to accommodate the large crowds at Carnival, so it may not be an everyday thing. Can’t say for certain, though, never having visited Rio (the pavement in the picture looks like the famous Ipanema pavement mosaics–that’s what tipped me off). In this link, the target area seems awfully small. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/10 "2010-02-27T00:51:36Z")
Every public spectacle in the Netherlands has those. Except that I’ve never seen any with those “butt gates” on them. Either pee in them or duck into some alley somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![kevlaw](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kevlaw/32/2281_2.png) [@kevlaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevlaw)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/11 "2010-02-27T00:56:15Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > As you might guess, Wikipedia has an article on [urinals](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urinal_%28restroom%29). It includes a photo of a portable one used in the Netherlands and a older one from Paris. Took me a while to figure out how that female urinal might work. Turns out you have to kind of back in to it. Handy that they have the instructions on the wall! ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/12 "2010-02-27T00:57:34Z")
Also, in the Netherlands, the pooping or women portable toilets look like this: > **[DIXI - uw partner voor toiletcabines, douchecabines en toiletwagens - DIXI...](https://www.dixi.nl/nl/)** > > DIXI Sanitary Services BV uw partner voor mobiele toiletten, mobiele douches, toiletcabines, toiletwagens en mobiele badkamers. or like a container with a bunch of toilets inside. ---
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/13 "2010-02-27T01:05:10Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > It’s probably to prevent people from vandalizing them. Makes sense to me. Actually I was thinking more along the lines of keeping the stench down to a minimum. I don’t know about you, but every time I have to use a port-o-potty, all I can think about is how much I _don’t_ want to be in there. The last thing on my mind would be to stay inside just to write on the wall and I would imagine that would apply to your average vandalizer. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/14 "2010-02-27T01:11:52Z")
Those have been around in some form since time began. They are really just an artificial version of the closest large tree to a large outdoor party. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/15 "2010-02-27T01:12:59Z")
they’ve had those (without the barrier around the butt) at every festival in the UK I went to over laast five or six years. If you’re shy wait in line for the closed off portaloo’s, no one’s forcing you to use them. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/16 "2010-02-27T01:38:25Z")
I used one like that (without the butt guard) in the late 90s in New Zealand - during a public concert. Yeah, its a hinky feeling peeing in the middle of a mixed crowd, and ladies walking past thought it was a great joke. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/17 "2010-02-27T01:44:15Z")
> [@vandal](#): > > Actually I was thinking more along the lines of keeping the stench down to a minimum. > > I don’t know about you, but every time I have to use a port-o-potty, all I can think about is how much I _don’t_ want to be in there. The last thing on my mind would be to stay inside just to write on the wall and I would imagine that would apply to your average vandalizer. That was what I was thinking too, and along those lines, the heat the enclosed porta potties accumulate in Summer temperatures makes them even more unbearable to be in…and increases the stench factor. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/18 "2010-02-27T01:55:12Z")
That’s actually more private than some public (enclosed) restrooms I’ve seen. There are dividers between each stall so no one can actually see anyone else’s junk, even if they look over. Many men’s restrooms are just rows of urinals with no dividers or even just a trough, where anyone could see your cock if they happened to glance over. I mean, unless you get especially shy that the womenfolk might be around, it’s not really any less private than any other restroom. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/19 "2010-02-27T01:59:45Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > That was what I was thinking too, and along those lines, the heat the enclosed porta potties accumulate in Summer temperatures makes them even more unbearable to be in…and increases the stench factor. I guess heat is relative but the portable toilets I’ve seen have vented stacks plus chemical toilets. the nicer ones have antiseptic gel dispensers and paper towels. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585/20 "2010-02-27T02:14:04Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I guess heat is relative but the portable toilets I’ve seen have vented stacks plus chemical toilets. the nicer ones have antiseptic gel dispensers and paper towels. Are “vent stacks” the same as those small rectangular-shaped vents that go around the very top of the porta-potty? If so…they don’t work very well at letting air flow in OR smell flow out. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-toilets-you-have-got-to-be-kidding/530585.md?page=2)