Amtrak Oakland

The Amtrak Station in Oakland and the bathroom in one of the trains.

In and out

Going Camping?

This Toilet - the Pett- is designed for outdoor use, complete with all of the enviromental friendliness you could ask for.

The website spells out the Petts benefits. They are not even trying to be funny - just helpful...

Lightweight and portable dry toilet system; weighs 7 pounds, 19" x 14" x 5" (folded down) overall dimensions.

Stable, three-leg design adapts to uneven terrain.

Entire system is quickly deployed.

Same Height and Size as a Standard Toliet.

Normal operating temperatures are -40 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

None of the emptying or clean out tasks required by chemical toilets. With the disposable bags, each person cleans up after him/herself. (Bags can be used more than once - powder will gel 60oz.)

Designed/optimized utilizing solid modeling/finite element analysis.

Made from Hi-Impact, U.V. (sunlight) stabilized thermoplastic, in compliance with Q.S. 9000 International Quality Manufacturing Standards.

From Phillips Environmental Products, Inc.



Rating: 4.9 T.P. Squares.
Extra Points for the following phrases: Entire system is quickly deployed, Normal operating temperatures, & Bags can be used more than once .

Are YOU Prepared?

As a courtesy to small animals...

No need to comment.

How it works

From How Stuff Works


The toilet. The commode. The john. The loo. The porcelain throne. No matter what you call it, it is inevitable that we come to discuss this device, because every home has at least one. But more important, we'll discuss the toilet because it is a technological marvel -- a fascinating water-handling system!

Read the whole story...

Kayaking on the Oakland Estuary

I went Kayaking with a small group of Ladies today on the Oakland Estuary. We rented Kayaks from California Canoe & Kayak [The picture above is from their website.] at Jack London Square in Oakland.

On Sundays there is a Farmers Market in Jack London Square in front of the Barnes and Noble, which incidently has a nice clean bathroom and a Starbucks. Under the Barnes and Noble there is a giant Parking Garage with Bathrooms on each end. The ladies room has four stalls and was surprisigly clean. I did not take my camera since I was planning to spend the day on a kayak.

There were a lot of cool things about the Kayaking trip. We were supposed to go to the first Alameda Bridge. I did not make it quite that far since I could not go more than 10 or 15 feet with out my Kayak turning on me. It took a while to figure out that my rudder was down and though I was not able to pull it out of the water, I did figure out how to turn it to the straight position. I made it just past the big boat (Ship?) at Coast Guard Island before turning around to head back. The water go really choppy and harder to row in but It was a lot of fun.

Along the way...

I got to see the Estuary from the water level and I was covered with Salt water.

I watched a group of teenagers training for sail boat racing. (Maybe I will try that, too.)

I was about 20 feet from a Harbor Seal until he ducked under the water.

I got to see the factories and piers from the water side for the first time.

And I got to end the day with a cup of Tea and a nice conversation...

A good day for the beach....

Today is a good day for the beach....

This is one of the nicest OutHouses I have seen. It has a toilet that actually FLUSHES and the room did not smell that bad.

The lock was unusual but secure. The only thing weird was that I could hear the people outside the outhouse talking.

Rating: 3.7 squares.

toilet pubilca

The Toilet Museum

I knew I was not the ony one with this wierd obsession. The guys at the Toilet Museum are way ahead of me.

A Message from Arthur Frommer...

Where to Stop and Where to Go written by the Arthur Frommer is "A Guide to Traveling with Overactive Bladder in the United States." The book is availible for free on their website. There is also information for people with OAB (See Below).

It begins...
If you are one of the 33 million Americans with Overactive Bladder (OAB) — a condition marked by the strong, immediate need to go to the bathroom (urgency), desire to go to the bathroom quite often (frequency), and involuntary loss of bladder control (incontinence) — a new, free travel guide written by travel expert Arthur Frommer may help ease your travel fears and put you on the road again.

Many people with OAB limit their daily activities — including travel, social, and even work activities to avoid potentially embarrassing situations. Does your OAB keep you from making simple day trips in your home city or taking longer cross-country vacations due to anxiety about finding accessible restrooms? This free travel guide created especially for people with OAB, Where to Stop & Where to Go, may help you travel with ease.

Jenny?

The Curtain...Why?

The Toilet of a Boeing 747

From Wikipedia

A toilet is a plumbing fixture and a disposal system primarily intended for the disposal of the bodily wastes; urine, fecal matter, vomit and menses. Toilets additionally accept a paper product known as toilet paper.

The Throne

Print it out and color it.

What is the internet for?

Write your own message in the snow!

Even George has to go...

From Y Net News

Reuters photographer Rick Wilkins captured this kind of moment during the opening session of the United Nations 60th anniversary assembly.

The photo shows the hand of a person described by Reuters as U.S. President George W. Bush scribbling with a pencil on a piece of paper which already bears the message “I think I may need a bathroom break…”

The busiest room in the house...

The oldest BathRooms in the world

Admit it! You have used one of these.

Teen Girl Narrowly Avoids Tree That Crashed Into Bathroom

From WFTV

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. -- Thunderstorms Thursday night and early Friday morning may have been a welcome sight for many, but the storms rained down damage on some people.
Lightning shot from the sky in downtown Orlando and, in Altamonte Springs, wind blew towering trees right into people's houses.
At the Moran's San Sebastian home, a massive pine tree fell, causing tremendous damage. Part of the tree ended up in a bathroom.
The 15-year-old who lives there had just stepped out of the shower. The glass door to the shower is now lying in the tub she was standing in.
The pine stood through the hurricanes of 2004, but was toppled by Thursday night's wind gusts.
Still, the residents in the area Eyewitness News talked to are grateful that all they're doing Friday is cleaning up the damage.
Eyewitness News also spotted two other houses in San Sebastian with roof damage.
The Morans said they’re not taking any chances; at least on of the pines in the front yard is going to be removed before it gets a chance to fall.

BathRoom News

From the Tallahassee Democrat

Artist takes 'Comix' from bathroom to art room.

Tallahassee, Florida Artist Dede Harter hung BathRoom related cartoon posters in public BathRooms around town with blank bubbles for community members to fill in.

“Community Comix" was not just an exercise in encouraging smutty messages written by strangers (and not all the comments were R-rated, by the way). "I was interested in deflating the elitist viewpoint of art," said Harter, a painter, sculptor and fiber artist who holds art degrees from Florida State and Vermont College. "I wanted to get the common man involved in an interactive project."

The results of her work will be on display at The Tallahassee Progressive Center, through May 28 Opening reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday Show runs.

Rating: honorary 5 squares.

What are you looking at?

I realize men don't crave privacy quite the way women do, but this may be a little to revealing?

B-Room spokesmodel Kelley chuckles at the situation. This BathRoom gets high marks for accessibility, but low marks for lack of privacy. We did'nt notice any unpleasant oders eminating from the room, but we did not really stick around that long.

Average Rating: 3 squares.

The sign would raise the rating to 3.2 squares. [IF THE SIGN WERE COMPLETELY REAL]

Beer has vitamin P!

I went out to my local taqueria for dinner with my friend, Heather then we drove over to the old navy base to catch the sunset. It was a beautiful evening. Heather spent the entire sunset taking shots like this one - while I kicked back and enjoyed the sun setting over the city.

Eventually the drinks I had at dinner began to set in and I had to go on the usual quest. I walked over toward the U.S.S. Hornet because I remembered that they had a few outhouses and I hoped one would be accessible, since I was sure the Hornet would be closed.

Not only were they available, there was no waiting, which is always a good thing. And as a special bonus - they were clean and not the least bit smelly, as one might expect. The Navy, it seems, knows how to take care of its sh**, ...uh stuff.

The best thing perhaps is the new knowledge that the Navy not only knows how to take care of things, but really knows how to use space well, as evidenced by the sign on the outside of the smaller outhouse. It reads "Capacity 10 People." Go Navy!?!

Rating: 5 [near emegency] square.

If you gotta go...

...go find the wizard - the Wizard of Ooze.

The logo links to his website. If you are one of the lucky folks who live in Northwest Washington the wizard can take care of you. I can't wait until his website is complete. I might have to make a trip to Washington state this summer so I can rate him in person. For now,just based on the cleverness of his name and logo I give the Wizard an honorary 5 squares rating.

If you know the wizard tell him I think he's cute.

Rating: honorary 5 squares.

Just down the road...

A room not so fit...for royalty, but complete with its own Spokesmodel and Princess.

Introducing the B-Room Spokesmodel Kelley (not k-e-l-l-y, but k-e-l-l-E-Y,though you may call her Princess Kelley.)

This outhouse was one of several performing its duty (yes I recognize the Irony of this statement) at the Napa Valley Tour De Cure at Veterans Home of CA in Yountville. I went there to suport my brother and his wifey as they attempted the 25 mile ride to benefit the American Diabetes Association and to help fund the search for a cure. Diabetes has a grip on 20.8 million Americans. Some stats can be found here.

So basically while we study toilets in all of their splendor we will learn something about everything else. And now for the rating... This room gets a low rating for smell, but a high rating for having a Princess inside and standing up (o.k. sitting) for good cause. Average rating 3 squares (of T.P.)

An Upscale Room?

..."in wine country," no less.

They know how to treat a queen - with an entrance worthy of her throne room...

And they had the best PORT, I tasted all day at the V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena. This BathRoom was located above the coolest wine cellar I had ever seen.[Truth in advertising: I have only seen a few wine cellars.] It made me want to go into the wine business just to have a giant cellar of my own. Perhaps, one day!

As for the B-Room with the spectacular entrance the inside was not so shiny and pretty, but indeed it was functional and clean. It loses points in my extremely complicated rating system for having a line and only two stalls, but gains points for its entry way, tiled walls and proximity to great wine. Some points were also lost for lack of paper towels with only a hot air dryer as a hand drying option. Average rating 3.4 squares (of T.P.)

McDonald's Bathroom Attendant

Important News: in the world of BathRooms and comedic improvisational theater.

Improvs Everywhere is a NYC based improv/theater group who does public ‘shows’ in which most people don’t even know they are participating. On February 13th, 2005, Improvs Everywhere took over a McDonald's in NYC and installed a Bathroom Attendant complete with all of the flare needed to create “Five Star Fast Food”. The used a professional BathRoom attendant, a hidden video camera and tray full of everything one might need (or want) in a men’s restroom. They served the customers for nearly an hour before being asked to leave.

Read the whole story and see the pictures from the hidden camera.

Action Rating: 5 Squares.

The Bathroom of the DAY

This is the first BathRoom of the day. I will attempt to choose a daily winner at least three times a week. which is not really daily, but in my experience and that of those I have spoken to on the subject, BathRoom use and availability is not always predictible, so the daily pick does not have to be either. [How is that for a run-on-sentance?]

The interior was neat and clean and did not smell like anything - which is good. There was no crap - er uh- toilet paper or other garbage on the ground and there was no waiting. I did not even have to look for this B-Room - it was there in plain site. Great!

I give it a rating of 4 [out of 5] squares [of toilet paper].

The shot to the right is a different b-room at the same location. Notice the window for natural lighting, while you take care of business. They really know how to treat you in wine country.