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Comment by juhq | Hacker News Reader

"WhatsApp also negotiated for nicer bathrooms, with doors that reach the floor."

This is not a norm in silicon valley/states?

The times I have visited the US I have always been disturbed by how little privacy I feel like I have in a stall. I am sure I have made eye contact with dozens of people in US airports at a time that is not appropriate for either of us.

Europeans just need to stop being so terrified of the human body and being such prudes. /s

It's funny how Americans get endlessly bashed for being prudes about the human body, and then somehow on this topic they get bashed for not being big enough prudes about the human body.

Here's why that is: Americans simply get bashed no matter what direction they go on any subject. It's done solely to make the person doing the bashing or mocking feel good.

If the stalls went all the way to the floor, it would be decided by elitist snobs in Europe that that is prudish behavior and ridiculous because there's nothing shameful about going to the bathroom and it's a natural function of the glorious human body. It would go like this: ah those stupid Americans with their fear of the human body, and their overly private bathroom stalls. Dumb Americans are afraid to even know that there's another human in the next stall, even a 12 inch floor gap is too much, because there might be a foot over there somewhere. It's silly how uncomfortable Americans are about normal functions of the human body, they can't even tolerate a small gap in the bottom of the stalls.

Chill out, I also hate the squat stalls in remote train stations in Italy that are three times the size they need to be leaving you feeling super exposed while trying to balance but that wasn’t the question the original commenter asked.

What a strange thing to get angry about.

I have never understood why North American bathroom stalls don’t just go to the floor. Jesus Christ how much would it really cost to enable some damn privacy.

I always assumed it was to make it easier to mop/clean.

The rest of the planet mostly does ok.

But maybe it is a ... wait for it... moptimization!

Blame the people who spend all their time worrying about what your doing in private.

I'm torn on this one. One the one hand I would love that extra privacy.

On the other, I really value knowing if someone is in the stall next to me and how many people are in the bathroom. If the stalls extend to the ground how am I supposed to scan for legs? Someone could be hiding in there waiting to frighten me! I cannot use the bathroom until everyone has left it. Just how am I supposed to verify that some quick-footed coworker hasn't made their way in during someone's loud flush?

I cannot stomach this game of chance.

use an accessible bathroom that usually exist in the public spaces?

How do you use the bathroom on a plane?

I don't use the bathroom on a plane. I'm at a young enough age that holding it isn't too complicated. Though it has been some time since I did a 6+ hour flight.

> how am I supposed to verify that some quick-footed coworker hasn't made their way in during someone's loud flush

Most places with full-coverage stall doors also have occupancy indicators on the outside - if you go in and lock the door, it changes from green to red.

I'm going to need an internal panel indicating the occupation of each stall.

The norm is stalls with walls having ~12-18 inch gaps between the bottom and the floor,and 1/4-1/2 inch gaps between the edges of the door and the posts the door is hinged to. It's trivial to see someone doing their business without even trying or intending it.

I had no idea this was a thing until a french coworker mentioned it as one of the stranger things he noticed when he moved to the US. I've been to France and other countries in Europe/Asia/SAmerica but never noticed that the stall doors reached the floor.

I think it's partly practical and partly cost savings.

Shorter walls are cheaper, but it also makes it easier to clean, easier to help someone in case of an emergency, and easier to tell if the stall is occupied.

They're a $500bn company. I think that can afford an extra foot of door.

Sure, but the default is going to be for shorter doors.

Someone needs to ask for long doors in order to have them built in the US.

For some reason american bathroom stall doors don't reach the floor.

It is very weird the first time you see them coming from Europe but it seems to be the norm here

I think its to prevent people having sex in them.

is that a serious answer ??

Most US bathroom doors do not reach the floor. It is much more common in Europe. As an American, that line did come off as a somewhat exotic request.

It's not a norm in the states, no. Typical restroom stalls in the US have about 10" (25 cm) of clearance between the bottom of the door and the floor.

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