Other Tangents
Adventures in Strange Toilets
Whether you talk about it or not, toilets play a really big role in our daily lives. And sometimes, we come across some truly bizarre choices... not always bad. Here are a few that Jeff came across in his travels.
October 24, 2011
Aaaah toilets, the workhorse of our bathrooms. The thing that we all rely upon more than we'd really care to talk about and something that becomes a constant annoyance if it isn't in the right spot or designed correctly. I don't quite know why but when I am out and about I tend to focus on bathroom designs a lot. I think that a well-designed and comfortable bathroom tends to make or break a travel experience.
I was recently in a fantastic forest trail / provincial park in British Columbia, The Cathedral of the Gods on Vancouver Island. It is a truly breathtaking place in the middle of the island with huge Douglas Fir trees that really remind you of the power of nature. What really stood out to me, though, was the absolutely nasty bathroom. Now, THAT was an actual breathtaking experience.
Don't worry, no pictures were taken of this toilet.
Luckily, I took a few pictures of other things so I could remember more than the near vomiting and lack of privacy. Forget the toilet, remember this. Forget the toilet, remember this. Forget the toilet, remember this.
Recently, two toilets struck me for two very different reasons. Let's start with one that had me going: "HUH?" This is a toilet in a restaurant bathroom. It's a big room in a new building with plenty of space. This could be anywhere, I've seen slightly less strange versions of this over the years.
What. The. Hell.
This just makes no sense. In a bathroom, you typically want as much knee space in front of a toilet as possible. And you want, if possible, a wall on the right side of the toilet for your toilet paper dispenser. Having it on the left side isn't a deal breaker but right is preferred. And you want it to feel comfortable in the space.
This layout is just weird! While it probably meets codes (I wasn't going to grab my tape measure), turning it towards the sink is just STRANGE. It felt so crammed against the wall. I can only imagine the conversation with the contractor when this thing went in.
"Um, the toilet looked better slammed against the wall at a weird angle so I turned it".
"Huh? Why?"
"Changing it will be a $500 change order as you didn't specifically tell me NOT to do this"
"Leave it."
Sadness. This bathroom is sadness and I'll largely forget the really good food I had there. But in case I don't want to, here's a photo of a yummy broiled oyster with salmon bacon and a tofu pocket with mushrooms. Don't ruin my dinner, strange toilet!
Here's a very different toilet situation that leaves me pretty impressed. While in downtown Victoria, B.C., we came across this public toilet adjacent to a public plaza filled with protesters, homeless people, and the usual mix of downtown life. Public toilets throughout North America have been a challenge. Seattle infamously installed some high tech self-cleaning toilets a few years back only to rip them out and sell them on eBay less than a year later. They become unfortunate places for people to engage in behavior that shouldn't be so close to the street.
This toilet, however, lets men (or a really desperate and brave woman) deal with the need to urinate when they don't have a readily accessible bathroom. The space is screened slightly but open enough that nothing inappropriate can happen behind the screen. The urinal itself had deep sides to protect the modesty of the user (that was a very gracious sentence by the way) and a simple spiral floor plan allowed someone a bit more sense of privacy. Certainly not a perfect solution but one that helps address male public urination in what I thought was a very creative way. Good job Victoria. And here's a gratuitous Victoria photo as well to keep up the pattern even though this toilet didn't scar my memory.
