Hacker News Reader

Comment by lkjhdcba | Hacker News Reader

I've always wondered why so many toilets in the US seem to have see-through holes: you can be seen below the knees, between the hinges and if you're tall enough, above your neck. I've been told that this anti-privacy design was on purpose and made to avoid people doing drugs or having sex in toilets. Is it true?

View on HN

The answer is the same for why US houses are built with wood and appear "flimsy" compared to other countries'; cost.

Do wood houses just appear flimsy ? Or do they last significantly shorten than concrete ?

Depends on upkeep and environment. Some wood structures in very dry locales can and do last ages without any real upkeep. There's some very, very old wood houses at the Romanian house museum, which is a great place to visit.

As a German owning a house in the Pacific Northwest: it's true, American homes are flimsier. At least in rainy climate the outside needs constant upkeep. You need to paint and caulk every few years. I frequently hear from people discovering dry rot in their homes. Stuff like this never happens to my parents concrete home build in the 80s in comparable climate in Germany and hasn't happened (yet) to the 300 year old timbered home we remodeled in the early 00s mostly following traditional building methods. Even oak beams, clay brigs and lime paint seem to hold up better than US homes.

It may not be entirely the case, but wooden homes are generally build in high risk earthquake area. Other regions of the US use different building materials ( e.g. adobe in New Mexico, bricks in the south).

I don't buy that for the bathroom doors. All you need is a tiny section that overlaps. You can even buy cheap plastic flaps to retro fit.

Other reasons too, depending on location: https://csengineermag.com/article/wood-frame-construction-ad...

That’s why one person stands in a paper grocery bag.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com