Parisians Are P****d Off About Outdoor Urinals
Picture this: You’re walking through uptown Charlotte on your way to work, or lunch, or an event, and you notice a man standing in a way that looks an awful lot like he’s urinating on the sidewalk. Disgusting, right? Except he’s not urinating on the sidewalk but into an outdoor urinal instead. Is that better or still disgusting? This is what’s happening in cities across Europe.
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Public urination has become such a big problem in Paris that outdoor urinals have been installed all over the city, and they aren’t exactly hidden. While the “uritrottoirs” are housed in flower boxes, they are bright red and have huge signs indicating their purpose. One positive is that these urinals are eco-friendly and help produce compost for parks and gardens, but residents are still writing letters of protest to government officials.
Parisians may be stuck with the open-air urinals. They seem to have taken hold in the Netherlands and China. Cities in Belgium and Australia are giving them a go out as well. Do you think we’ll ever see permanent outdoor urinals in the U.S., or do Americans draw the line at tinkling al fresco?
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