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Comment by klez | Hacker News Reader

I've never visited the US, so I'm curious about what you mean. Is it the fact that they are thin and have nothing above and under? Because that's how they are here in Italy as well, at least in certain train stations, on highways and other high usage places.

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Most toilets in Italy are NOT that way (source: I am Italian), but rather they go floor to ceiling. I live in San Francisco now, and most toilets in the US cover only the middle space (open at the floor and ceiling).

I think he's taking about how the stall door doesn't overlap the walls. Instead it is next to the walls and there is a significant (5 mm maybe) gap that lets you see into the stall. No it makes no sense.

I think it's just like that because that's just how it has been traditionally done in America. Their toilets are also a different shape - much wider, lower and shallower. And urinals always have flush handles.

> And urinals always have flush handles.

I haven't actually seen many newer urinals with flush handles. Pretty much anywhere with a recent install is sensor based. There's plenty of old equipment around, of course.

Toilets are more hit or miss, though I'd hazard a guess that the majority of new installs are also all motion / sensor based. I can't speak to the bowl differences, though I'd suspect they're due to water efficiency, disabilities compliance and / or our heftier girth.

> I've never visited the US, so I'm curious about what you mean.

Google image search gives good examples:

https://www.google.com/search?q=us+toilet+stall+gaps&tbm=isc...

I've never visited the US, so I'm curious about what you mean.

The vertical gap between the floor and where the cubicle wall starts is huge. Like, knee height. So weird.

Knee height? I live in the US and have never seen this. I would say closer to ankle height.

i think the train station in Newark, NJ has them. Something about people ODing on the floor and no one finding out.

I wonder why ODing is not a problem in rest of the world. If I were to guess it's to save money and not becuase they were concerned about some random dude ODing.

Not sure about the super-high gap ones, but I'd bet the normal-gap (mid shin, maybe?) ones make cleaning a lot easier. A semi-permanent pre-fab wall especially is probably gonna have a lot of gross little nooks & crannies at floor level. Also means you don't need to match the walls to the room height, which probably makes them a lot cheaper.

I mean, imagine mopping one of those rooms. Bet you'd immediately be glad the partitions didn't reach the floor.

either way, you need to scrub the floors, unfortunately!

source: i am a cleaner.

If those knees belong to Peter Dinklage, maybe.

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