Apparently, people nowadays are less concerned than they have ever been with bathroom privacy. Increasingly, cutting-edge bathrooms are designed behind thin glass screens instead of opaque walls, and they’re plopped right in the middle of living rooms and bedrooms instead of tucked discretely in a corner. In these new bathrooms, you can see naked silhouettes and hear what’s going on in the bathroom from public living areas.
Forget about doing your business, cleaning up and getting out. Today’s bathrooms are becoming peaceful, upscale retreats—sort of like an in-home spa for busy couples…
In some households, the bathroom is the only room in the house where, once you’re in, nobody will try to come in to bother you. Sometimes it’s the only room with a lock. It’s possible that busy parents have been using the bathroom as a refuge for years—and increasing trends toward luxury fixtures are only making the bathroom’s retreat status more solid.
The bidet is a staple in European and British homes, but it hasn’t caught on in America. Japanese bidet manufacturer Toto is bravely making inroads into American markets with the Toto Washlet, a bidet toilet seat that attaches to traditional seats. The Washlet offers jets set to specific temperatures and an air-dry feature.
The New York Times reported that when he was locked out of his private bathroom, world chess championship contender Vladimir Kramnik of Russia refused to play his fifth match—bringing the entire competition to a halt.
According to reports, the Bulgarian team noticed Kramnik was taking frequent bathroom breaks and suspected him of cheating…
They reported him to the World Chess Federation, which responded by locking the private bathrooms for both teams. Players could still use the bathrooms, but competing teams would have to share facilities.
According to the New York Times this month, a Hell’s Kitchen woman went to the women’s bathroom in a New York restaurant with unfortunate results. Moments after the woman entered the bathroom, a bouncer burst into the room and insisted she leave because he believed she was really a man.
Builder Jeff Howell gave us the low-down on aerated shower heads in a piece for the Telegraph.
If you’re unfamiliar with these products, the basic concept is that aerated shower heads force air through the faucet along with water, allowing you to use less water while still feeling like you’re standing under a heavy stream. The main selling point is savings—according to advertisers, you could save a lot of water and up to £200 per year in water costs. But do they really work?
According to Howell, who’s tested a few of these products, the shower heads do work—although they don’t save you as much water as the ads claim. £30 to £60 per year is a more realistic figure. You can test an aerated shower head by gauging the length of time it takes to fill a bucket with your old shower head and the new one—and comparing the results.
So what are your experiences with aerated shower heads? Do they really save water, and do they really feel like a heavy stream of water? Have you noticed significant cost savings with these shower heads, or are advertisers’ claims nothing but hot air?
According to xatal.com, it’s a really bad idea to shower in bare feet at the college showers.
The reasons are obvious. The shower is a moist, warm environment—perfect for growing molds and fungus. And if just one person has a case of toe fungus or athlete’s foot, it can easily be passed from person to person in the bathroom.
But that’s not all—your college shower is public, and you never know what gross things people do in showers. It’s not like your shower at home, where only you and your family are using the facilities. People urinate in showers, throw up in showers, and more—and you don’t want to be walking around in that mess in your bare feet.
So when you go to university, buy a pair of flip-flops for shower use and never enter the showers or bathrooms without them. When you’re not using them, keep them in a dry place. If you let your flip flops stay wet, mold and fungus could grow on them. Flip flops are a cheap and easy way of preventing skin diseases—and if you buy a pair, your feet will thank you.
NBC News recently reported that a Florida man is suing his city for violation of privacy because of cameras in bathrooms at Colohatchee Park.
The man believed the bathroom cameras violated his privacy, and believes local police were watching him use the restrooms. According to the man’s lawyer, the city initially installed the cameras because it wanted to prevent sexual contact in the bathrooms. The man believes the city has gone too far.
According to a report in Komo News, a woman was arrested for second-degree assault in an argument with her boyfriend. The reason for the argument? Whether or not the dog could enter the bathroom while the couple was taking a shower…
A North Carolina woman returned home after attending church services to find her neighbour lurking in her bathroom, in the North Carolina Piedmont Triad.
The man claimed that he was using the woman’s bathroom because his own was broken. He claimed the woman’s husband, who was ill and bed-ridden, had given him permission to enter.