Of course, if you live as far out in the country as we do, it’s rarely an issue. We guys have 360 acres of urinal, and I’ve had a few female visitors who didn’t mind going out behind the house, either.

Karen – Thanks! Boy, those are a lot more fun than that stupid “Piss Christ” installation that created such a furor a few years back. I wonder, though, how a fully functioning installation of the art urinals would work as far as giving equal opportunity to both sexes? I like the artist’s statement:

“Many have asked where the idea for these pieces came from. Well, quite obviously from the bathroom! I had the idea while standing over a urinal many times a day and letting the shape inspire me. I saw a shoe, a mouth, a shovel, a cup, etc. The flower became the shape I finally chose partly because I love flowers and partly because it is the perfect contradiction – taking a mundane, even ugly object and transforming it into something different, even something beautiful.”

…and then pissing on it.

Re: the hazards faced by women from an upturned seat, if I’ve bestirred myself and am aware enough to make my way to a bathroom, despite Zhoen’s #1 hypothesis I’m not too rushed to flip a light on and a seat down as needed.

Dave, thanks for directing me via Via this morning to what was a great string of comments!

Re: seat covers, actually, I was thinking about lid covers. Those are O.K.

I was wondering why no one had mentioned the peeing standing up thing – then I was delighted to read the links about it. I discovered this tactic while living without indoor plumbing and not wanting to a) find my shoes in the dark, or b) get my socks wet in the grass – I discovered that I too could pee off the deck just like the men. I have never tried it while out and about it in “civilization” because accidentally pissing on yourself in a public restroom is generally frowned upon.

As a teacher of young children, I share a bathroom with many who are still mastering the art of getting all the pee into the right place at the right time. It requires cleaning up a lot and seat-up, seat-down, it makes no difference if you don’t make it into the bathroom in time.

It occurs to me to add that, in point of fact, urine doesn’t really carry the huge threat of infection that certain other bodily substances do. It’s just gross.