Why don't public restroom stalls have OPEN/OCCUPIED indicators like porta potties do?

TIL occupied indicators are not standard in the rest of the world.

158

Exactly! I genuinely learnt something from this post. What a strange world we live in, something so basic for over a century is not used by the hegemon

15
I think it's uniquely US problem, along with weird gaps so you can always look at the person shiting

6

In the US just peer through the crack between the door and the wall. Ensure solid eye contact with the current occupant. Determine how much time they've left. Adjust plan accordingly.

122

I always reach under the stalls to grab their ankles. Scaring the shit out of them speeds things up

39
- The most literal case of scaring the shit out of someone.
  
  8
- I'm pretty sure that would show me down. I'd have to spend half an hour wiping after pinching it off with that clench.
  
  2
You shouldn't do that.

The doors are deliberately designed to have a large gap on the bottom, so you can poke your head through. This is the correct way of doing it.

19

We have these for years in Europe

79

Where is the 6 in gap between the door and stall??

24
- America
  
  31
I thought this is everywhere

And I've never been to Europe

22
I'm middle aged and I don't recall a time in my life when vacant/occupied indicators weren't on all public toilets.

7

They do. Or at least, here in Europe they do. Seems rather absurd there'd be a place where they don't.

59

Bear in mind the US also has massive gaps in their public toilet doors. They do seem to be struggling. Then again I'm from the UK, so... Yeah. Send help.

22
- We’re all about the transparency over here in the States. We believe in the free flow of information.
  
  6

They do in the UK - where are you?

58

Yeah I don't think I've ever seen one without, but being red-green colour blind I wish most didn't only use those colours

28
Often but not always in Germany too

4

Because in the US you can usually see the person shitting through the ridiculous gaps in the stalls.

This is why we can't have nice things.

39

Yeah here in Japan most places have a red and blue indicator that moves with the lock. Bidets and toilet seat sanitizers are also pretty standard in any decently modernized areas. We kinda win when it comes to bathrooms.

37

Just got back from Japan. I'm always surprised when I'm in the middle of nowhere and the public restrooms have heated sitting, deodorizer, bidet, background sounds. Like... Wtf? That's better than my toilet at home. And I'm not even from the US 🙃

6

They do...

31

Cost. The gaps in most NA stalls are so big you will know whether it's occupied anyway just by walking past.

27

Was a bit of a shock when I went to Japan and all the stalls are just small rooms within the restroom. It was nice. Bidet game is on point too.

23
- The way it should be 😔
  
  10
Wait till you see Kansas City airport they have lights outside showing you how many occupied, and lights inside showing you red or green for what's empty full

6

Australia checking in, those are definitely a thing here

26

Its super awkward when youre too busy unlatching your ground harness to connect your toilet harness that you forget to lock the door, and some cobber walks in and sees you hanging there with your dick and balls out, pooping into the void of space.

2

Americans, isn't it?

Next they realise that toilets shouldn't have massive gaps around and under the doors.

Y'all are living with prison toilets.

25

Uh, like if the door’s closed it’s more than likely occupied.

21

Useless if the door swings shut by default, likely from poor horizontal alignment.

25
- Try to open it. If it doesn't open it's in use.
  
  0

I've never seen one without.

21

In 'merica, we love to grab the door and shake it or look through the 2 inch gap to check if it's occupied 🇺🇲

12
- Don't forget to also knock loudly and yell "IS ANYBODY IN THERE???"
  
  9
- As a kangaroo wrestling Australian I respect the hustle.
  
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Where I'm at, the majority of them have the lock with indicator but that lock is broken and above it is a shitty non indicating lock.

1

I'm genuinely curious to know where in the world you live. I would be horrified if someone was peeking under the stalls or bothering people by knocking on the doors.

18

‘murica

9
- Land of freedom.
  
  Freedom to poop with a giant gap between the door.
  
  Freedom to piss in a urinal with no divider.
  
  Freedom to wipe with toilet paper so thin, so dainty, that it's practically see through.
  
  11
When I frequented small cafés before the epidemic lockdown, it was typical in San Francisco to get frequent impatient door-knockers.

Part of the problem is the lack of publicly available restroom facilities. Shopping malls often might have two restroom pairs, usually at the food court and by the movie theater, and then one each at thr major department stores, typically hidden by the changing rooms.

I cannot say how this compares to other towns or other nations, but designing public lots in The Sims 2, I quickly learned to make sure there were facilities a short walk from everywhere. (Also skip the sinks and install showers, since sims dress and undress with a quick spin)

6
- I've never played The Sims. Do they have bidets?
  
  1
Wait till you get a load of the accommodations in much of the developing world. I've had some real adventures during my travels over the years.

2
Idk about OP but where I live most public stalls do have indicators but not all of them. Often custom bathrooms for places like restaurants tend to be missing them since they're to some degree custom designed to match a certain aesthetic and I'm guessing in those cases indicators are easily forgotten or just left out of more niche bathroom stall door designs.

I wouldn't be surprised if this is also an issue in older bathrooms with older stall designs because I remember indicators being less common when I was a kid. But I usually knock if I'm checking a stall like that and don't try to look underneath until I've tried less invasive measures. Honestly usually you can tell just by looking at the shadows on the floor and seeing if there's any movement or not, without having to bend over to check for feet.

2

I just leave the door open, that way everyone knows I'm in there. I even wave at the kids.

17

Dad, is that you?

3
We need a cursed comments for lemmy

1

TIl us North Americans apparently are the only ones with this problem...

16

All the ones I've seen stand open when they're not locked.

16

You guys don't have an indicator near the door handle?? It's super common in the Netherlands. Almost every toilet has a small indicator, except for maybe some old doors the owners didn't replace, but all else always shows if it's occupied or not (not that people won't try anyway even if red for occupied).

16

They do.

12

Do your toilets not have these things:

12

I absolutely hate the ones with those lines (I don't remember what you call them) that allow anyone with a long flat object to twist the locks open from the outside

1

Some do. Most are too cheap to bother.

12

In my experience most do? Maybe the US is different from everywhere else?

14
- Probably.
  
  Most stalls are bolted together pieces of cheap metal with the most basic latch you can imagine. If an indicator adds 10 cents to the cost it’s not going to happen.
  
  15
- The US is cheap. We even famously have large gaps between the door/stall panels. I can only imagine it is to accommodate temperature/humidity changes so that they don't jam.
  
  Nicer places sometimes have actual deadbolt locks connected to a vacant/occupied indicator on the exterior. But it is rare. Usually it's just a gapped stall with a sliding lock that will often not even line up correctly without wiggling the door.
  
  In some instances I have had to use my gym key fob in place of the missing sliding mechanism to secure the door.
  
  8
- Never seen one in the US. Also in the US, 10% or so don’t even close right. Plus a 30 cm gap on the bottom and a half cm gap on both sides of the door.
  
  It’s only an illusion of privacy; anyone can look through the door or under the stall.
  
  6

Basically they skimp like mad on this basic infrastructure because they don't care. Whatever companies make the standard shitty metal toilet cubicles in the US have a lot to answer for.

9

How else am I supposed to make new friends?

7

What do you think we live in, the future?

5

I was using a public toilet that had one.

Turned out, you also had to lock the door!

Edit: now that I think about it, it said occupied, but a lady still just walked right in...

5

I did this to someone once because the signage didn't quite match the locking mechanism, and it was not a secure lock.... like at all. If it makes you feel any better, the shame was horrific and immediate, and I still feel the aftershocks today, so that lady probably does too.

4

Porta potty doors swing closed automatically, so they need the indicator. In public bathrooms, the doors stay open, so if it's closed it's occupied.

4

My apartment bathroom has it

3

$

3

That's why I just leave the door open like any normal person, duh.

3

The mega travel center in the South Eastern US, called Buc-ee's, does have these indicators. However the last time my family was there, my wife encountered a Karen who was concerned she couldn't tell which stalls were open and my wife pointed out the red occupied/green unoccupied indicator on the locks and she was like, "No, I don't know, I'll wait for someone to leave."

2

Some of them do.

In any case, typically, the ones that aren't occupied are always slightly ajar, so there's no need for an "occupied" indicator.

2

Most countries have the indicators

2

A lot do. Just not all of them.

2

To make sure you peek through the gap so you can see someone grundle a dense foshoomp while you try to figure if it's occupied.

1

How hard is it to press on the stall door and if it doesn't open, just move on to the next?

0