5 ms·

Public restrooms are hard to find in America but even harder in most other countries. Yes this is a problem we should solve but it's kind of ridiculous to impl

Public restrooms are hard to find in America but even harder in most other countries. Yes this is a problem we should solve but it's kind of ridiculous to imply it's an issue only in America. In the vast majority of countries on earth, you must either pay or purchase something to use the restroom.

dcminter 3y ago
"Spend a penny" is a common euphemism in the UK for using a toilet precisely because that used to be a typical fee on a public one; well before my day though (and I'm middle-aged). Free public ones do exist but they're not common (and the ones with a charge are a lot more than a penny).
- floodedburner 3y ago
  The outright paying to pee blew my mind. Especially when you don't know that the UK has different money than the EU.
  - okeuro49 3y ago
    I found paying to use the convenience to be much more common in Germany than in the UK. It was especially annoying at railway stations and shopping centres, both places which usually have free conveniences in the UK.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
throwawaymaths 3y ago
Came here to post this. If you think the US is bad, try Paris.
- haunter 3y ago
  >try Paris Literally the worst example. There are +400 automated self-cleaning toilets (accessible to people with disabilities) https://capgeo.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Media/index.html?appid=5cfe04ec1774425393fbd8a5dbd47ce0 https://capgeo.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Media/index.html?appid=5... https://www.paris.fr/pages/les-sanisettes-2396 https://www.paris.fr/pages/les-sanisettes-2396
  - vladvasiliu 3y ago
    Just make sure you don't need to go at night, since many (most?) are only open during daytime.
    - croisillon 3y ago
      according to the link, a third of them is open 24/24
  - msla 3y ago
    Are they free to use?
    - vladvasiliu 3y ago
      The rounded ones in GP's link are free to use, yes. There are some public restrooms which aren't, mainly around tourist areas, but there's usually a sign and an attendant. The ones in GP's post are fully automated.
  - throwawaymaths 3y ago
    Ok, that's not been my experience, perhaps I just don't know how to find toilets en français
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
zzzeek 3y ago
> Public restrooms are hard to find in America but even harder in most other countries. the third graphic in this article refutes this directly.
rufus_foreman 3y ago
Pay toilets used to be common in the US, they were banned in many US states after lawsuits alleging sexism and lobbying by the "Committee to End Pay Toilets in America", not making this up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_to_End_Pay_Toilets_in_America https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_to_End_Pay_Toilets_i... See also https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2018/11/make-pay-toilets-legal.html https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2018/11/ma...
- anotheruser13 3y ago
  When I was a kid, pay toilets used to cost 10 cents. My mom would put one dime in and have my sisters and me hold the door so she wouldn't have to pay again.

dcminter 3y ago

"Spend a penny" is a common euphemism in the UK for using a toilet precisely because that used to be a typical fee on a public one; well before my day though (and I'm middle-aged). Free public ones do exist but they're not common (and the ones with a charge are a lot more than a penny).

floodedburner 3y ago
The outright paying to pee blew my mind. Especially when you don't know that the UK has different money than the EU.
- okeuro49 3y ago
  I found paying to use the convenience to be much more common in Germany than in the UK. It was especially annoying at railway stations and shopping centres, both places which usually have free conveniences in the UK.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

throwawaymaths 3y ago

Came here to post this. If you think the US is bad, try Paris.

haunter 3y ago
>try Paris Literally the worst example. There are +400 automated self-cleaning toilets (accessible to people with disabilities) https://capgeo.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Media/index.html?appid=5cfe04ec1774425393fbd8a5dbd47ce0 https://capgeo.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Media/index.html?appid=5... https://www.paris.fr/pages/les-sanisettes-2396 https://www.paris.fr/pages/les-sanisettes-2396
- vladvasiliu 3y ago
  Just make sure you don't need to go at night, since many (most?) are only open during daytime.
  - croisillon 3y ago
    according to the link, a third of them is open 24/24
- msla 3y ago
  Are they free to use?
  - vladvasiliu 3y ago
    The rounded ones in GP's link are free to use, yes. There are some public restrooms which aren't, mainly around tourist areas, but there's usually a sign and an attendant. The ones in GP's post are fully automated.
- throwawaymaths 3y ago
  Ok, that's not been my experience, perhaps I just don't know how to find toilets en français
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

zzzeek 3y ago

> Public restrooms are hard to find in America but even harder in most other countries. the third graphic in this article refutes this directly.

rufus_foreman 3y ago

Pay toilets used to be common in the US, they were banned in many US states after lawsuits alleging sexism and lobbying by the "Committee to End Pay Toilets in America", not making this up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_to_End_Pay_Toilets_in_America https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_to_End_Pay_Toilets_i... See also https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2018/11/make-pay-toilets-legal.html https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2018/11/ma...

anotheruser13 3y ago
When I was a kid, pay toilets used to cost 10 cents. My mom would put one dime in and have my sisters and me hold the door so she wouldn't have to pay again.