17 votes

Nope, those aren't mailboxes: Paris rolls out sidewalk urinals

19 comments

  1. [12]
    demifiend
    Link
    OK, so men can easily use these to piss, but what about women?

    OK, so men can easily use these to piss, but what about women?

    12 votes
    1. [8]
      euphoria066
      Link Parent
      They're to stem the flow (so to speak) of the people already peeing on the walls, etc. I guess since women have a much harder time peeing on a wall to start with, we probably weren't the main...

      They're to stem the flow (so to speak) of the people already peeing on the walls, etc. I guess since women have a much harder time peeing on a wall to start with, we probably weren't the main group of perpetrators so we don't really need to be included in the solution?

      16 votes
      1. Gaywallet
        Link Parent
        Solution? Start peeing on the walls. Show those sexist male pigs that they were wrong!

        Solution? Start peeing on the walls. Show those sexist male pigs that they were wrong!

        11 votes
      2. [6]
        demifiend
        Link Parent
        Fair enough, but why are men pissing on the walls to begin with? Are they marking territory, or is it because they don't want to have to find a public toilet? If it's the latter, aren't women...

        I guess since women have a much harder time peeing on a wall to start with, we probably weren't the main group of perpetrators so we don't really need to be included in the solution?

        Fair enough, but why are men pissing on the walls to begin with? Are they marking territory, or is it because they don't want to have to find a public toilet? If it's the latter, aren't women still stuck having to find a public toilet?

        1 vote
        1. [3]
          Celeo
          Link Parent
          It's stated a bit crudely, but the answer is at the very end of the article: In 2005, Germany started painting walls with a paint that "bounces back" the urine onto the person's shoes as a...

          It's stated a bit crudely, but the answer is at the very end of the article:

          Still, "drunk blokes just keep pissing," he said

          In 2005, Germany started painting walls with a paint that "bounces back" the urine onto the person's shoes as a deterrent.

          Peeing on walls, regardless of intoxication levels, is ridiculous.

          7 votes
          1. [2]
            Synth
            Link Parent
            It is ridiculous. But I don't think that there's a band-aid solution here. We need to educate the population and rehabilitate the criminals. These uritrottoirs are just that, a band-aid, and to me...

            It is ridiculous. But I don't think that there's a band-aid solution here. We need to educate the population and rehabilitate the criminals.
            These uritrottoirs are just that, a band-aid, and to me at least, makes the problem seem less serious than it is.

            1 vote
            1. Celeo
              Link Parent
              Yeah, agreed. These solutions have a bit of silliness to them, especially the paint: "haha, they'll pee on their shoes!" Sure, they might soil their shoes, but if they're drunk enough to urinate...

              Yeah, agreed. These solutions have a bit of silliness to them, especially the paint: "haha, they'll pee on their shoes!" Sure, they might soil their shoes, but if they're drunk enough to urinate on a wall in a public space, I don't think it's an effective deterrent.

              1 vote
        2. [2]
          PsychoPitcher
          Link Parent
          "marking their territory" do you really believe this? It's the latter obviously. have u never seen a guy a a soccer/baseball game or when your on a hike go over to the woods and piss? it's kinda a...

          "marking their territory" do you really believe this? It's the latter obviously. have u never seen a guy a a soccer/baseball game or when your on a hike go over to the woods and piss? it's kinda a socially acceptable thing to do and the perk of having the ability to aim our piss. Now doing it on a sidewalk is just gross and dumb but again these are drunk people, so dumb and gross kinda come with the territory.

          4 votes
          1. demifiend
            Link Parent
            Next time I'll try to remember to be more obvious about my sarcasm, since you seem to need a little help.

            "marking their territory" do you really believe this?

            Next time I'll try to remember to be more obvious about my sarcasm, since you seem to need a little help.

    2. [2]
      Gaywallet
      Link Parent
      In a roundabout way it's decreasing traffic to unisex bathrooms by males, thereby increasing availability to women.

      In a roundabout way it's decreasing traffic to unisex bathrooms by males, thereby increasing availability to women.

      10 votes
    3. cwl
      Link Parent
      There are other public toilets in Paris that let women pee sitting down. This is, in total, too heavily slanted to men, but women do have options.

      There are other public toilets in Paris that let women pee sitting down. This is, in total, too heavily slanted to men, but women do have options.

      1 vote
  2. [6]
    ThisIsMyTildesLogin
    Link
    I had no idea Paris was such a shit hole.

    I had no idea Paris was such a shit hole.

    3 votes
    1. [5]
      thisonemakesyouthink
      Link Parent
      Not sure if you're making a joke or not, but if you aren't, think you're taking this a bit far?

      Not sure if you're making a joke or not, but if you aren't, think you're taking this a bit far?

      12 votes
      1. [4]
        ThisIsMyTildesLogin
        Link Parent
        Wasn't there a story last week about a Parisian woman who got punched by a man who wolf whistled her and she didn't like it? Apparently this happens quite frequently (the harassing of women in...

        Wasn't there a story last week about a Parisian woman who got punched by a man who wolf whistled her and she didn't like it? Apparently this happens quite frequently (the harassing of women in Paris). And then there are the frequent riots/protests in Paris, terrorist attacks, etc.

        And now I'm reading about Parisian men who piss all over the place to the extent that there are now public urinals. Sorry, but Paris sounds like a shithole filled with badly behaved men who literally can't control any of their urges.

        2 votes
        1. thisonemakesyouthink
          Link Parent
          It's not that people in Paris piss in public more, Paris is jut the only city doing something about it.

          It's not that people in Paris piss in public more, Paris is jut the only city doing something about it.

          4 votes
  3. Tenar
    Link
    We've had similar issues in Amsterdam with public urination. Still do. The thing is, as @Celeo mentioned elsewhere in this discussion, nothing will help. I've seen people pee into the canals with...

    We've had similar issues in Amsterdam with public urination. Still do. The thing is, as @Celeo mentioned elsewhere in this discussion, nothing will help. I've seen people pee into the canals with a public urinal just twenty meters away. I've seen people pee onto trees, doorways, peoples' parked bikes, etc. People—and in my experience this is usually drunk tourists—feel like since they're not in their home country/city they are allowed to break the rules and do whatever. I don't think there's a good solution. There's currently some pressure from the legal side to do something about it here, and one "solution" has been to warn more about fines, and fine people for public urination. The thing is, we get a lot of tourists (quick googling suggests ~5 million a year) on a population of ~800,000. Touristy areas, especially at night, will have tens of thousands of people walk through. There's really not any amount of police you could throw at that to fine them or something

    2 votes