Free Republic

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the wake of Hurricane Idalia making landfall in Florida, President Joe Biden offered suffering victims in the Sunshine State comfort by telling them about the time he was in the bathroom and the urinal splashed back on him a little bit. "I've been in the same situation, folks," Biden said as he made remarks to the media regarding ongoing disaster relief efforts in Hawaii and Florida. "These hurricanes and storms flooding everything remind me of my own challenges. There was this one time, at a state dinner with the Pope, and I had to go see...

A man has been crushed to death by a hydraulic urinal while working on the device in London's West End this afternoon. Emergency services tried to save the man, who has not been named, but he died at the scene at Cambridge Circus on the junction between Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road - outside the Palace Theatre, where the Harry Potter play is being shown. The victim was performing maintenance on the pop-up urinal which rises from the pavement for those out in London at night. The theatre is uncertain whether tonight's performance of the stage show at 7pm...

Urine diversion could be the future of loos. Posh Swiss toilet manufacturer Laufen has a toilet called Save. You use it as you would any other toilet, with one gender caveat. Before the flush, the urine runs down the front of the gleaming ceramic bowl to be diverted to a separate pipe. So men and boys have to sit down to pee. A greener loo with less mess. What’s not to love? Urine diversion is being trialled around the world. Sanitation codes are being rewritten to turn a pollutant into a resource. Environmental consultant Feidhlim Harty ends his book Septic...

The casket for President George H.W. Bush, who died on Nov. 30, lies in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda until Wednesday morning, where the public may pay their respects to the 41st president of the United States.

An attempt by officials in Paris to tackle public urination by installing open-air urinals, or "uritrottoirs," has outraged some residents of the French capital. The new urinals, housed in flower boxes, aren't subtle -- they're fully exposed on street corners, are painted bright red and have nearby signs advertising their presence. Officials say the urinals are eco-friendly -- they will harness nutrients in waste to produce compost for parks and gardens. According to the statement, one year of a person's urine holds enough nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium to fertilize 400 square meters of wheat. However, these features have done little...

Amid all its upgrades and advances, the US Navy's newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, is lacking one feature: urinals. Every bathroom on the Ford is, for the first time, gender-neutral, equipped with flush toilets and stalls, according to Navy Times. Bathroom-design experts have said sit-down toilets are less sanitary and take up more space, and most of the Ford's crew members are men. (Women are only about 18% of the Navy.) But the Navy has said getting rid of urinals has advantages for current and future operations. Making every bathroom accessible to all of the ship's sailors...

There is no a conspiracy to put Brady urinal filters in the urinals at gun culture events.  Just because they were at the Gun Rights Policy Conference held at the Sheraton Crescent Center in Glendale, Arizona in September, 2015, and at the Shot Show in Las Vegas in January, 2016, does not mean it is a conspiracy.  This year, in January, 2017, the Brady urinal screens were still in the bathrooms for the Shot Show.  The screens probably last for more than a year. It seems a bit ironic that the Brady brand is what the many thousands of...

A religious organization is suing the city San Francisco to remove an open-air urinal it calls unsanitary and indecent from a popular park. The Chinese Christian Union of San Francisco filed a civil complaint last week demanding the city remove the concrete circular urinal from the iconic Dolores Park. The group says the urinal, which is out in the open and screened only through plants for privacy, “emanates offensive odors,” “has no hand-washing facilities” and “it’s offensive to manners and morals.” …

SAN FRANCISCO — An attorney representing a group of civic organizations has sent a legal claim letter to the city of San Francisco threatening to sue if an open-air urinal in Dolores Park is not removed in 20 days. The concrete circular urinal, which is out in the open and screened only through plants for privacy, was installed in the iconic park last month to the approval of some. They said the park's meager three toilets led some to relieve themselves in bushes and on buildings. But the backlash has already started with six civic groups teaming up in a...

There is no a conspiracy to put Brady urinal filters in the urinals at gun culture events.  Just because they were at the Gun Rights Policy Conference held at the Sheraton Crescent Center in Glendale, Arizona in September, 2015, and at the Shot Show in Las Vegas in January, 2016, does not mean it is a conspiracy. The urinal screens at both events were all Bradys!  No, not the disarmist Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, but the legitimate Brady company that produces urinal bathroom products! I am certain that some waggish member of the hotel staff did not...

When Viggo Hansen, a county counselor from the Left Party in Sormland, Sweden, tried passing a law that required that men sit down to pee when using the public bathrooms, his motion caused a flood of reactions. Hansen argued when men sit down to pee it is better for public health because it reduces the splatter around the toilets and stops the spread of disease. Hansen is one of many—including the head of the environmental protection agency in Taiwan, Stephen Shen, who also tried mandating such an order—that believe errant urine is bad for public health. They argue that droplets...

Updated at 6:17 p.m. ET] The U.S. Navy's new class of carriers will be the first to go without urinals, a decision made in part to give the service flexibility in accommodating female sailors, the Navy says. The change heralded by the Gerald R. Ford class of carriers – starting with the namesake carrier due in late 2015 – is one of a number of new features meant to improve sailors' quality of life and reduce maintenance costs, Capt. Chris Meyer said Wednesday. Omitting urinals lets the Navy easily switch the designation of any restroom – or head, in naval...

A big splash occurred on Monday morning at the House Press Gallery in the U.S. Capitol. No, this wasn’t one of those unexpected guest appearances for celebrities to talk to reporters about some favorite cause. This splash came from an exploding urinal. More specifically, something suddenly broke in the piping of the third-floor urinal, and water began spewing from beneath the men’s room door. As the water flowed, it first surrounded the Associated Press’s working area, then spread toward both ends of the gallery, which was occupied by fewer than usual reporters and staffers, because the House is out of...

President Barack Obama on Wednesday met with Congressional Republicans to discuss the path forward in order to avoid default, and ultimately raise the debt ceiling. The meeting went as expected, with both sides basically blaming the other for the impasse. The most interesting exchange came when House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan said that leaders can either exacerbate the problem of demagoguery or tone it down. In his words, he thought they were having a year of cooperation with the White House and House Republicans able to work together on preventing the Bush tax cuts from expiring, and a budget...

The George W. Bush Urinal Reported by CBS News and MSNBC By Noel Sheppard Created 03/13/2010 - 10:04 A sculptor in San Francisco makes urinals in the likeness of former President George W. Bush, and two American media outlets actually reported it last week. This disgusting story appears to have first surfaced Monday on CBS's San Francisco affiliate KPIX. The following day, CBS News felt it necessary to share this vulgar farce with Americans from coast to coast by publishing [1] the segment at its website (video embedded below the fold): The folks at MSNBC couldn't resist this story, for...

LONDON,- A London art expert said four replicas of a urinal famously submitted as a sculpture in 1917 have recently been discovered, bringing the total to 19. Sarah Thornton, an art expert and contributor for The Economist, said four previously unknown copies of Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain," a urinal submitted as a piece of art, have recently been confirmed as authentic copies of the same urinal, The Times of London reported Monday. Thornton said one of urinals is in the possession of Arturo Schwarz, 86, a friend of Duchamp. Schwarz said he may attempt to sell the item for about $2.5...

Our mission here at the International Center for Bathroom Etiquette is to improve the bathroom going experience for everyone by educating people about proper bathroom etiquette. Every day across the world millions of people are unsatisfied with the way their trip to the bathroom turned out, and we believe that it doesn’t have to be that way.

Thought this was funny.

A two way mirrored toilet outside Tate Museum in London. Below is a view from the outside, and below that is a view from the inside. Stage fright anyone? The Sao Joao da Madeira shopping center in the Northern part of Portugal has a bathroom decorated with female mannequins who lurk eerily behind the urinals. I wonder what the bathroom stalls are like.

Had a few too many at the clubhouse before hitting the first nine…? The fountain continually fluidly flowing near the green making you somewhat cross-legged…? Drank a few too many beers and now you’re playing golf with a popped collar while hitting on the refreshments chick and trying not to piss yourself…? Have you ran way too often to the “concealed” protection of the nearby woods only to find the pair behind you thinking you’re strangely signaling them to play through…? Meet the UroClub (THIS IS NOT A JOKE). “The only club in your bag guaranteed to keep you out...