RANT: Architects & Contractors: Stop building dumb bathrooms!

[Fenris]

At the LA County Fairgrounds, in the Horse Racing stadium, the men's room doesn't have a trough. It has a WALL. That's right a wall. It's angled a bit and at the bottom is a small trough on th floor with drains. So imagine a highsided trough set on the floor, but with no lip between your shoes and the trough.

Yeap, just a big black wall to shoot for.

 

[kenobi65]

Yeap, just a big black wall to shoot for.

And yet, I am sure that there are guys who can't even hit the wall.

 

[werk]

And yet, I am sure that there are guys who can't even hit the wall.

The bathrooms here at work! C'mon guys, hit the big porcelan thing, it's not that hard.

And you know that a guy that can't even hit the urinal is not washing his hands...no way!

 

[frankthedm]

I just hate the troughs. More than once I've encountered people trying to "squeeze in" at busy venues.

Reflex save!

 

[frankthedm]

Don't blame the contractors, they only build whats on the drawn page. Most of the time we're all laughing at how stupid the architect is that drew that dreck.

You are accepting thier idiocy as your own when you choose to craft it.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Looking for other bad design, examples, I found this example of (literal) social engineering...

ROFL!

At the LA County Fairgrounds, in the Horse Racing stadium, the men's room doesn't have a trough. It has a WALL. That's right a wall. It's angled a bit and at the bottom is a small trough on th floor with drains. So imagine a highsided trough set on the floor, but with no lip between your shoes and the trough.

Yeap, just a big black wall to shoot for.

I think it was in the old Foxboro Stadium (where the New England Patriots used to play) where they had an ordinary tile wall to pee on and just a trench about 3 inches deep and maybe 12-18 inches across running the length of the wall at the base. One shove from behind and you end up stepping right into the trench.

 

[Desdichado]

I don't have a problem with bathrooms; I've been known to use a handy tree, with leaves for toilet paper from time to time (hint: pine needles are not good toilet paper.)

But I've seen a few weird things. In Prague they had a bunch of restrooms with a women inside you had to pay before you could use it. And there was a restroom in Toronto where a woman came in and started cleaning while me and a few other gentlemen were still standing at the urinals.

I'm not fond of people who use me to get off on weird urination voyeur fetishes.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I lived in Germany for 3 years...I'm used to the cleaning ladies in the bathroom.

However, I must say that on my trip to Russia, I noticed something else...those people are TALL.

I don't know what the average height of a Moscovite is, but I'm 5'7", and I ran into urinals that made me feel like an 8 year old without a kiddie urinal available- some had lips so high I almost had to stand on tiptoes to use...or drape myself into it...

Seriously- some were almost waist high on me! (And no, there weren't any kiddie ones either!)

 

[kenobi65]

In Prague they had a bunch of restrooms with a women inside you had to pay before you could use it.

Ah, yes, I recall those from my visit there. I also recall:

- For your payment of a few kopeks, you were also given some bathroom tissue...IIRC, three sheets of paper of the same approximate grade that they used to print "Thor" on. Our tour guide *strongly* suggested we bring along those little packs of Kleenex for just such emergencies.

- The smell...ooooh, gods, the smell...

 

[kenobi65]

And you know that a guy that can't even hit the urinal is not washing his hands...no way!

Definitely not. It's also probably the same kind of guy who uses the toilet in the men's room for #1 without flipping up the seat, and making a mess all over that, too.

(I'm reminded of Sean K Reynolds noting that he tries to not shake hands with people at conventions because way too many of them don't wash their hands after using the bathroom, and he's come home from too many cons sick as a dog as a result...)