Slog - Comments on The Embarrassment of Splashes

Comment by Will in Seattle

Will in Seattle — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:26:24 -0800

At the UW most of the urinals are no-flow no-flush types. Saves a lot of water.

Comment by Josh

Josh — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:30:25 -0800

Urine isn't sterile if you have gonorrhea, or so I hear.

Comment by Jonathan Golob

Jonathan Golob — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:33:09 -0800

Yeah, urine is sterile if you're healthy--as it leaves your body.

Once it's outside the body, say sitting in a high surface area urinal mat, it's a pretty decent growth media for bacteria. Plenty of nitrogen (and sugar if you're diabetic.)

The first antibiotic drugs were discovered thanks to sweet smelling urinals at a German fabric dye plant, fyi.

Cheers!

Comment by brandon

brandon — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:34:26 -0800

no one is going to catch gonorrhea from a urinal. at least from peeing in one.

leptospirosis is spread through urine. but like gonorrhea, no one is going to catch it from peeing in a urinal. swimming in a urinal that has been peed in by woodland creatures, perhaps. but not peeing.

the only use i could see for such a product is keeping pubes from clogging the drain. but i'm not sure this is a huge problem.

Comment by adrian

adrian — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:42:31 -0800

i find this entire post impossibly erotic

Comment by T

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:43:45 -0800

The only thing that belongs in a urinal are those salty pink mints.

Comment by Fnarf

Fnarf — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:45:32 -0800

The purpose is in the friggin' NAME, peeps: anti-splash. I don't really care how sterile my urine is; I don't want it on my shoes or down the front of my pants.

A friend of mine lacquered one of his wedding invitations into a public urinal after the bitch left him. Beats a company logo any day. Though I can think of a few companies I'd like to piss on.

Could you make up Sonics ones, and sneak them into Key Arena? That would be funny. Or a Husky mat anywhere Husky-ish, of course, preferably someplace likely to attract a steroidal clientele.

Comment by Al

Al — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:48:31 -0800

@6: WHY, oh GOD WHY do you opine/know they're salty?

Comment by lostboy

lostboy — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:48:55 -0800

Marketing copy routinely lies, and hyping neglibible or non-existent public health risks is a time-tested classic.

On a related note, I once saw a sign above a urinal reading, "Do not eat the big mint."

Comment by Gidge

Gidge — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:58:49 -0800

According to one man who was in the 4th floor Pacific Place bathrooms at the same time as my husband, it "smells like pussy in (there)."

Comment by Ziggity

Ziggity — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 12:07:51 -0800

I've seen splash guards that have black rectangles on them that, when peed upon, magically disappear to reveal advertising. I usually stick around for a second round at any bars with those in them.

Comment by giffy

giffy — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 12:51:17 -0800

I feel like I must be the only person who hated No Country for Old Men. I found it a poorly edited tale of a dull man being chased by a bad actor.

It would have been the worst movie I watched in 2007 if not for 300.

Comment by violet_dagrinder

violet_dagrinder — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 13:39:16 -0800

So urine-soaked mats (atop the otherwise blissfully nonporous surface) are sanitary? Really?

One more reason to hate Pacific Place.

Comment by yearning

yearning — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 14:27:38 -0800

Speaking of public bathrooms and key arena, who the hell is that guy who always takes a dump in the mariners urinal trough, and when does he have time to do it?

Comment by Just Me

Just Me — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:19:32 -0800

You need to go out more; much much more if that freaks you out.

Comment by SDA in SEA

SDA in SEA — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:27:44 -0800

You might make an argument that these stupid mats minimally reduce splashes. But having a porous spongy surface in a urinal seems like an ideal petri dish for growing bacteria and all kinds of nasty stuff. Plus, I imagine it has the added bonus of trapping all those lovely urine odors too.

Brilliant.

Comment by a grinnellian

a grinnellian — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:35:43 -0800

Thanks for the most excellent reportage. But don't think that John Edwards resembles a younger Jon Andelson w/ a more expensive haircut?

Comment by lostboy

lostboy — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:38:23 -0800

SDA @16, come to think of it, the smell issue defeats one of the big purposes for having such water-intensive indoor plumbing in the first place.

Comment by Marko Constans

Marko Constans — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 17:37:30 -0800

I noticed the same mats, wondered as to their purpose, and determined it must be to limit splashback. I tried to pressurize my stream to really put it to the test. I detected several stray droplets and a diffuse spray making way to the outer limits. The damn things don't work is my point. More capital and energy should be put toward equipping every public urinal with a privacy barrier--stage fright is a crippling condition for many of us. How much urine gets on these is another matter for someone to clean--I have my own private bathroom to worry about.

Comment by EB

EB — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 18:07:45 -0800

"one wonders if anyone�s ever been embarrassed at a urinal before" - is the answer Larry Craig?

Comment by Natalie

Natalie — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:28:41 -0800

Did anyone else watch that expose of hotel bathroom cleaning? After seeing that, my opinion is that anything that increases the number of unsanitary objects cleaners must handle manually will NEVER improve the cleanliness of bathrooms. How many of you live in the dream world (or force yourself not to consider) where public urinal cleaners wash their rubber gloves after replacing the urinal cakes but before picking up a dirty rag to clean the dryer button, taps, door handles, etc? How much grosser would touching those wee diapers be?

Comment by RainMan

RainMan — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 21:11:16 -0800

I like the idea of corporate logos in the urinal. But they have to be placed strategically. My pee is much more splash-free when I have a target to aim for.

Comment by Jubilation T. Cornball

Jubilation T. Cornball — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 22:15:42 -0800

Herr Doktor Frizzelle,

With you enormous schwanzstuecke, I was wondering if that splash guard worked at all...