We're talking public toilets and why it's so hard to go to the bathroom when you're not at your house. We explore it all: ToiletTok, New York's attempt in the 90s, comfort stations at the turn of the century, and some of the beautiful bathrooms seen in Perfect Days. The larger conversation here is about maintenance and what it takes to keep bathrooms nice.
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Sources:
Bathroom focused TikTok accounts
https://www.tiktok.com/@sinkreviews
https://www.tiktok.com/@abbeywwwww
https://www.tiktok.com/@got2gonyc
Got2GoNYC Google Map
https://www.google.com/maps/@/data=!3m1!4b1!4m3!11m2!2sIZoVmpI2QC2wfG7fUDiSSA!4sj8ikxthee74
NYTimes opinion - If New York Is So Great, Why Isn’t There Anywhere to Pee?
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/15/opinion/new-york-public-toilets.html
NYTimes article - Pay Toilets a Success, but They're Still Closing
https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/30/nyregion/pay-toilets-a-success-but-they-re-still-closing.html
NYTimes article - Public Toilets in New York: Maybe This Time
https://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/20/nyregion/public-toilets-in-new-york-maybe-this-time.html
SF Public Works
https://sfpublicworks.org/services/public-toilets
The Gate - Public Toilets: Which Countries and Cities Have the Most
https://thegatewithbriancohen.com/public-toilets-which-countries-and-cities-have-the-most-and-which-ones-have-the-fewest/
Discomfort Stations - The Conditions and Availability of NYC Parks Bathrooms
https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/discomfort-stations-the-conditions-and-availability-of-nyc-parks-bathrooms/
NYTimes opinion- A Modest Proposal
https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/05/opinion/a-modest-proposal.html
Urban Omnibus - Where Are the Public Bathrooms in New York City?
https://urbanomnibus.net/2020/02/where-are-the-public-bathrooms-in-nyc/
ABC 7 NY - New York City officials urge MTA to raise awareness about bathrooms in subway system
https://abc7ny.com/nyc-subway-bathrooms-manhattan-borough-president-urges-mta-to-raise-awareness-about-restrooms/14682879/
Peter C. Baldwin - Public Privacy: Restrooms in American Cities,1869–1932.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/43306014
The Nation - Where Did Our Public Toilets Go?
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/urban-planning-public-services-socialism/
AP News - Lost history: How 4 Ohio kids ended pay toilets in US
https://apnews.com/general-news-3b2787ac6c32405e8cd7aafe8789cd8e
Heather McGhee - The Sum of Us
https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/DLhPEAAAQBAJ
Justia - Palmer v. Thompson, 403 U.S. 217 (1971)
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/403/217/
The Frisc - Where Are All Of San Francisco’s Public Bathrooms? No One Really Knows
https://thefrisc.com/where-are-all-of-san-franciscos-public-bathrooms-no-one-really-knows-f3d247b18bb4/
Tokyo Toilet
https://tokyotoilet.jp/
The Guardian - Tokyo offers toilet tours amid flush of excitement over Wim Wenders’s Oscar hopeful
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/09/tokyo-toilet-tour-japan-wim-wenders-film-perfect-days