5 ms·

Toilet paper is only available if you scan the train station QR code

sly010 7y ago
Toilet paper is generally not provided in public toilets in China. You should carry your own. So in a way, this is positive.
- mc32 7y ago
  Quite true. People can be very disingenuous when they want to. So while requiring QR codes is ridiculous, they should note that normally you’re expected to have your own toilet paper because toilets aren’t stocked with it.
  - baot 7y ago
    A reporter in China tweets to people who choose to follow a reporter in China and you accuse her of being disingenuous for failing to accommodate it being posted on an international website, out of context. That's quite self-centred.
    - qxnqd 7y ago
      She was looking for outrage, it's not like she's got the high moral ground here.
      - baot 7y ago
        That's an extraordinary level of understanding of someone's motivations and morality that I would characterise as 'baseless'.
    - mc32 7y ago
      Obviously she was looking to engage locals by writing in English (which has very low penetration) on a platform that’s normally inaccessible to locals... I think context is owed the reader.
      - baot 7y ago
        Well firstly, you as a reader did actually know the context. That's why you could tell everyone else. Secondly, giving that context requires the writer to know that it's not normal. If it's not normal. Yet you've failed to give that context. Your comment could just as easily be linked to in a forum mainly used by Hong Kongers or Singaporeans. Obviously, you have no reason to accommodate them because you shouldn't expect them to be your audience.
  - UncleEntity 7y ago
    If people were required to give the full back story of every trivial absurdity they encountered "in the wild" the world would turn into a very boring place.
    - parennoob 7y ago
      This isn't entirely a trivial absurdity. One of the biggest things I hear about traveling in China (and Japan) is that you're expected to carry your own toilet paper everywhere. An analogy would be – someone from a non-tipping country complains about the fact that some restaurants in the US have a "compulsory gratuity" of 20% for larger parties. Sure, somewhat outrageous, but less so if you consider that tipping 15-20% is the norm in the US anyway.
      - craftinator 7y ago
        I lived in Japan for 2 years, and only came across no TP three or four times. I've heard that it used to be like that 10 or 20 years ago, but now even in more rural areas it is provided. There are often toilets equipped with bidets... Was a bit of a shock when my first day there I used a toilet in a 7-11, went to flush, and accidentally hit the bidet controls...
- ekianjo 7y ago
  > You should carry your own. Why don't they make paying toilets where you can have such services without the hassle of carrying stuff?
  - robbrown451 7y ago
    Probably they don't consider it a hassle, because they are just used to it. Pay toilets sounds like an expensive, complicated solution. It's not a terrible idea to carry around tissues anyway.
  - analyst74 7y ago
    There used to be paid toilet back in the day, but disappeared somehow, maybe because nobody wants to be manning those toilets.
    - pgrote 7y ago
      In the United States many areas passed laws banning them: https://psmag.com/economics/dont-pay-toilets-america-bathroom-restroom-free-market-90683 https://psmag.com/economics/dont-pay-toilets-america-bathroo...
mthoodlum 7y ago
China typically does not provide toilet paper in public restrooms. In some of the international tourist spots, they tried giving away toilet paper and locals would steal it. So they put in facial recognition and QR codes to dispense it. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np4OwQaJItY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np4OwQaJItY
- natmaka 7y ago
  In rich & populated cities public restrooms are numerous, clean, more often than not 'occidental' (non-squat), and toilet paper is often provided w/o any special dispenser. Source: I live in Shanghai.
  - tomxor 7y ago
    I've traveled around China a few times and while my purpose was not to complete a comprehensive toilet census, I only ever found toilet paper in public restrooms in Shanghai (excluding restrooms of nice restaurants). Shanghai also felt like the most expensive city.
- brianwawok 7y ago
  Same in Mexico. A person standing outside will sell you some though. The right to free TP is not entirely universal
ivanhoe 7y ago
Isn't this just the high-tech version of for-customers-only restrooms, which is not such an uncommon thing AFAIK? For instance in McDonalds in Belgrade, Serbia you have to scan the barcode from the receipt to open the door of the toilet, which I always thought was a very neat solution.
- Ayesh 7y ago
  I happen to be in Belgrade right now, and the McDonalds I've been today didn't have any barrier at the restroom. There was a keypad to enter a PIN, but the door opened without a PIN. In Munich, there were human staff at the gate collecting 50 cents to use the toilet, and that's the weirdest McDonalds restroom I've been to so far.
- Nextgrid 7y ago
  The difference is that the McDonalds only makes sure you've actually paid, and doesn't try to stalk your toilet habits nor links them to your social media accounts.
parennoob 7y ago
As an aside: Toilet paper is an ancient, inefficient, and doubtfully hygienic way of cleaning your backside in the modern world. Start using bidets instead of this nonsense. The TP can still be used for drying purposes.
- RawaHorse 7y ago
  I have bidets/washlets installed in my home, and the only problem has been that I now can't go back. Whenever I travel I now have to carry around wet wipes or I don't feel clean. But wet wipes are apparently horrible for the environment. I can't win.
  - mistersquid 7y ago
    > Whenever I travel I now have to carry around wet wipes or I don't feel clean. But wet wipes are apparently horrible for the environment. Before wiping, wet the dry toilet paper with saliva. Note to (potential) downvoter(s): I made this suggestion in all seriousness, especially as a way to avoid flushing wet wipes which besides containing non-compostable materials also frequently damage plumbing.
  - kuschku 7y ago
    I don’t actually like bidets or similar solutions, as they don’t clean as thoroughly as wet wipes IMO. Personally I just always carry wet wipes, and always use them, and always have. Can’t live without them, and can’t imagine how others can tbh.
    - parennoob 7y ago
      > as they don’t clean as thoroughly as wet wipes IMO Once you have a bidet, your regular TP is equivalent to a wet wipe. If you're using the ones that are almost cloth-like strength, those really shouldn't be flushed down most sewage systems, even if they're marked as supposedly "flushable": https://www.today.com/series/one-small-thing/are-flushable-wipes-really-flushable-t151945 https://www.today.com/series/one-small-thing/are-flushable-w...
tinus_hn 7y ago
Do the Twitter TOS allow mandatory follows like this?

Toilet paper is generally not provided in public toilets in China. You should carry your own. So in a way, this is positive.

mc32 7y ago
Quite true. People can be very disingenuous when they want to. So while requiring QR codes is ridiculous, they should note that normally you’re expected to have your own toilet paper because toilets aren’t stocked with it.
- baot 7y ago
  A reporter in China tweets to people who choose to follow a reporter in China and you accuse her of being disingenuous for failing to accommodate it being posted on an international website, out of context. That's quite self-centred.
  - qxnqd 7y ago
    She was looking for outrage, it's not like she's got the high moral ground here.
    - baot 7y ago
      That's an extraordinary level of understanding of someone's motivations and morality that I would characterise as 'baseless'.
  - mc32 7y ago
    Obviously she was looking to engage locals by writing in English (which has very low penetration) on a platform that’s normally inaccessible to locals... I think context is owed the reader.
    - baot 7y ago
      Well firstly, you as a reader did actually know the context. That's why you could tell everyone else. Secondly, giving that context requires the writer to know that it's not normal. If it's not normal. Yet you've failed to give that context. Your comment could just as easily be linked to in a forum mainly used by Hong Kongers or Singaporeans. Obviously, you have no reason to accommodate them because you shouldn't expect them to be your audience.
- UncleEntity 7y ago
  If people were required to give the full back story of every trivial absurdity they encountered "in the wild" the world would turn into a very boring place.
  - parennoob 7y ago
    This isn't entirely a trivial absurdity. One of the biggest things I hear about traveling in China (and Japan) is that you're expected to carry your own toilet paper everywhere. An analogy would be – someone from a non-tipping country complains about the fact that some restaurants in the US have a "compulsory gratuity" of 20% for larger parties. Sure, somewhat outrageous, but less so if you consider that tipping 15-20% is the norm in the US anyway.
    - craftinator 7y ago
      I lived in Japan for 2 years, and only came across no TP three or four times. I've heard that it used to be like that 10 or 20 years ago, but now even in more rural areas it is provided. There are often toilets equipped with bidets... Was a bit of a shock when my first day there I used a toilet in a 7-11, went to flush, and accidentally hit the bidet controls...
ekianjo 7y ago
> You should carry your own. Why don't they make paying toilets where you can have such services without the hassle of carrying stuff?
- robbrown451 7y ago
  Probably they don't consider it a hassle, because they are just used to it. Pay toilets sounds like an expensive, complicated solution. It's not a terrible idea to carry around tissues anyway.
- analyst74 7y ago
  There used to be paid toilet back in the day, but disappeared somehow, maybe because nobody wants to be manning those toilets.
  - pgrote 7y ago
    In the United States many areas passed laws banning them: https://psmag.com/economics/dont-pay-toilets-america-bathroom-restroom-free-market-90683 https://psmag.com/economics/dont-pay-toilets-america-bathroo...

mthoodlum 7y ago

China typically does not provide toilet paper in public restrooms. In some of the international tourist spots, they tried giving away toilet paper and locals would steal it. So they put in facial recognition and QR codes to dispense it. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np4OwQaJItY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np4OwQaJItY

natmaka 7y ago
In rich & populated cities public restrooms are numerous, clean, more often than not 'occidental' (non-squat), and toilet paper is often provided w/o any special dispenser. Source: I live in Shanghai.
- tomxor 7y ago
  I've traveled around China a few times and while my purpose was not to complete a comprehensive toilet census, I only ever found toilet paper in public restrooms in Shanghai (excluding restrooms of nice restaurants). Shanghai also felt like the most expensive city.
brianwawok 7y ago
Same in Mexico. A person standing outside will sell you some though. The right to free TP is not entirely universal

ivanhoe 7y ago

Isn't this just the high-tech version of for-customers-only restrooms, which is not such an uncommon thing AFAIK? For instance in McDonalds in Belgrade, Serbia you have to scan the barcode from the receipt to open the door of the toilet, which I always thought was a very neat solution.

Ayesh 7y ago
I happen to be in Belgrade right now, and the McDonalds I've been today didn't have any barrier at the restroom. There was a keypad to enter a PIN, but the door opened without a PIN. In Munich, there were human staff at the gate collecting 50 cents to use the toilet, and that's the weirdest McDonalds restroom I've been to so far.
Nextgrid 7y ago
The difference is that the McDonalds only makes sure you've actually paid, and doesn't try to stalk your toilet habits nor links them to your social media accounts.

parennoob 7y ago

As an aside: Toilet paper is an ancient, inefficient, and doubtfully hygienic way of cleaning your backside in the modern world. Start using bidets instead of this nonsense. The TP can still be used for drying purposes.

RawaHorse 7y ago
I have bidets/washlets installed in my home, and the only problem has been that I now can't go back. Whenever I travel I now have to carry around wet wipes or I don't feel clean. But wet wipes are apparently horrible for the environment. I can't win.
- mistersquid 7y ago
  > Whenever I travel I now have to carry around wet wipes or I don't feel clean. But wet wipes are apparently horrible for the environment. Before wiping, wet the dry toilet paper with saliva. Note to (potential) downvoter(s): I made this suggestion in all seriousness, especially as a way to avoid flushing wet wipes which besides containing non-compostable materials also frequently damage plumbing.
- kuschku 7y ago
  I don’t actually like bidets or similar solutions, as they don’t clean as thoroughly as wet wipes IMO. Personally I just always carry wet wipes, and always use them, and always have. Can’t live without them, and can’t imagine how others can tbh.
  - parennoob 7y ago
    > as they don’t clean as thoroughly as wet wipes IMO Once you have a bidet, your regular TP is equivalent to a wet wipe. If you're using the ones that are almost cloth-like strength, those really shouldn't be flushed down most sewage systems, even if they're marked as supposedly "flushable": https://www.today.com/series/one-small-thing/are-flushable-wipes-really-flushable-t151945 https://www.today.com/series/one-small-thing/are-flushable-w...

tinus_hn 7y ago

Do the Twitter TOS allow mandatory follows like this?