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Comment by cinntaile | Hacker News Reader

Paying for public toilets isn't unusual. You can pay or watch an ad.

They are basically totally extinct in the US, so from a US perspective they are very unusual.

In the US they fell out of favor during the 1970s because it was argued that they discriminate against women, as men could use urinals for free.

ahh funny fact. thanks. in NL here they had recent debates on this actually. now its i think mandatory for public events to include also proper toilets for women, rather than just the stand n piss buckets they got peppered around.

What's the state of public toilets in the US? Are they usable and clean? Because that's why you pay for them over here, to make sure someone keeps them clean.

They mostly don't exist.

That is one way to solve the issue I guess...

I wouldn't trust a blanket statement like that on a ciuntry the size of the US. They are common on the west coast at least.

Not in my part of the urbanized west coast. I'm not aware of any at all. They used to be fairly common, but were removed a long time ago.

They're pretty good where I live. Inner city toilets are often locked. Some stores will always have one clogged toilet (which probably reflects more on that specific establishment). But most of the time they're in good enough shape.

I get furious when payment is needed to pee at a train station... It's not the pennies it costs, I just find it unethical, at least where train stations are owned by the State.

Just jump over the barrier like everybody else.

In the event of being challenged by a security chap, it is traditional to offer to piss on the station concourse instead.

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