TIL occupied indicators are not standard in the rest of the world.
this post was submitted on 05 Nov 2023
225 points (93.8% liked)
Ask Lemmy
27225 readers
1572 users here now
A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions
Rules: (interactive)
1) Be nice and; have fun
Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them
2) All posts must end with a '?'
This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?
3) No spam
Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.
4) NSFW is okay, within reason
Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either [email protected] or [email protected].
NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].
5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions.
If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email [email protected]. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.
6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try [email protected] or [email protected]
Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.
Partnered Communities:
Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Exactly! I genuinely learnt something from this post. What a strange world we live in, something so basic for over a century is not used by the hegemon
I think it's uniquely US problem, along with weird gaps so you can always look at the person shiting
In the US just peer through the crack between the door and the wall. Ensure solid eye contact with the current occupant. Determine how much time they've left. Adjust plan accordingly.
I always reach under the stalls to grab their ankles. Scaring the shit out of them speeds things up
The most literal case of scaring the shit out of someone.
load more comments
(1 replies)
You shouldn't do that.
The doors are deliberately designed to have a large gap on the bottom, so you can poke your head through. This is the correct way of doing it.
We have these for years in Europe
Where is the 6 in gap between the door and stall??
I thought this is everywhere
And I've never been to Europe
I'm middle aged and I don't recall a time in my life when vacant/occupied indicators weren't on all public toilets.
They do. Or at least, here in Europe they do. Seems rather absurd there'd be a place where they don't.
Bear in mind the US also has massive gaps in their public toilet doors. They do seem to be struggling. Then again I'm from the UK, so... Yeah. Send help.
load more comments
(3 replies)
They do in the UK - where are you?
Yeah I don't think I've ever seen one without, but being red-green colour blind I wish most didn't only use those colours
load more comments
(1 replies)
Because in the US you can usually see the person shitting through the ridiculous gaps in the stalls.
This is why we can't have nice things.
Yeah here in Japan most places have a red and blue indicator that moves with the lock. Bidets and toilet seat sanitizers are also pretty standard in any decently modernized areas. We kinda win when it comes to bathrooms.
Just got back from Japan. I'm always surprised when I'm in the middle of nowhere and the public restrooms have heated sitting, deodorizer, bidet, background sounds. Like... Wtf? That's better than my toilet at home. And I'm not even from the US 🙃
They do...
Cost. The gaps in most NA stalls are so big you will know whether it's occupied anyway just by walking past.
Was a bit of a shock when I went to Japan and all the stalls are just small rooms within the restroom. It was nice. Bidet game is on point too.
The way it should be 😔
load more comments
(1 replies)
Americans, isn't it?
Next they realise that toilets shouldn't have massive gaps around and under the doors.
Y'all are living with prison toilets.
I've never seen one without.
In 'merica, we love to grab the door and shake it or look through the 2 inch gap to check if it's occupied 🇺🇲
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(1 replies)
Uh, like if the door’s closed it’s more than likely occupied.
Useless if the door swings shut by default, likely from poor horizontal alignment.
load more comments
(9 replies)
You guys don't have an indicator near the door handle?? It's super common in the Netherlands. Almost every toilet has a small indicator, except for maybe some old doors the owners didn't replace, but all else always shows if it's occupied or not (not that people won't try anyway even if red for occupied).
I'm genuinely curious to know where in the world you live. I would be horrified if someone was peeking under the stalls or bothering people by knocking on the doors.
‘murica
Land of freedom.
Freedom to poop with a giant gap between the door.
Freedom to piss in a urinal with no divider.
Freedom to wipe with toilet paper so thin, so dainty, that it's practically see through.
When I frequented small cafés before the epidemic lockdown, it was typical in San Francisco to get frequent impatient door-knockers.
Part of the problem is the lack of publicly available restroom facilities. Shopping malls often might have two restroom pairs, usually at the food court and by the movie theater, and then one each at thr major department stores, typically hidden by the changing rooms.
I cannot say how this compares to other towns or other nations, but designing public lots in The Sims 2, I quickly learned to make sure there were facilities a short walk from everywhere. (Also skip the sinks and install showers, since sims dress and undress with a quick spin)
load more comments
(2 replies)
load more comments
(2 replies)
I just leave the door open, that way everyone knows I'm in there. I even wave at the kids.
load more comments
(2 replies)
All the ones I've seen stand open when they're not locked.
TIl us North Americans apparently are the only ones with this problem...
They do.
Some do. Most are too cheap to bother.
In my experience most do? Maybe the US is different from everywhere else?
Probably.
Most stalls are bolted together pieces of cheap metal with the most basic latch you can imagine. If an indicator adds 10 cents to the cost it’s not going to happen.
The US is cheap. We even famously have large gaps between the door/stall panels. I can only imagine it is to accommodate temperature/humidity changes so that they don't jam.
Nicer places sometimes have actual deadbolt locks connected to a vacant/occupied indicator on the exterior. But it is rare. Usually it's just a gapped stall with a sliding lock that will often not even line up correctly without wiggling the door.
In some instances I have had to use my gym key fob in place of the missing sliding mechanism to secure the door.
load more comments
(2 replies)
load more comments
(1 replies)
Basically they skimp like mad on this basic infrastructure because they don't care. Whatever companies make the standard shitty metal toilet cubicles in the US have a lot to answer for.
How else am I supposed to make new friends?
view more: next ›