Let’s face it, friends.  People are animals. And by that I mean, men are pigs.

Take public urination. Women don’t. Unless they’re mentally disturbed. They’ve evolved either a 5 gallon bladder or the ability to plan ahead.

Men, though, are more apt to stop, drop and let loose in a corner or alley or behind a telephone pole.

Various societies address this differently. Some build coins operated stalls. Others, build more functional institutional facilities. In some areas, McDonalds is the default public restroom.

In Amsterdam, they’ve built rather elegant screens around a urinal that drains into a canal.

In Paris recently, in an effort to reduce the stench of urine, they erected a series of new public urinals or pissoir.  They’re installed in very public locations to prevent men from doing other piggie things like mating or dealing in illicit substances.  These boxes are filled with sawdust and straw and are supposed to create a compostable material that is switched out every three weeks. Flowers can be planted on top to add beauty to the city.  

Of course, just weeks after installation, they looked like this. No flowers. Beds full of trash and cigarette butts and leaking filth into the streets.

This is Thailand’s solution.  Or at least a solution near my house.  Nearby is a motorcycle taxi station. Another story for another time. But the drivers needed somewhere to relieve themselves so they rigged up this little contraption. The tube drains into a nearby storm drain.  There’s a small sheet metal screen for privacy.

The mannequin was added a few weeks ago. From the side it looks like a driver is in an amorous embrace.

In an era of #metoo, Mrs. S.A.M finds it disturbing. I’m not so sure. I think it is juvenile humor. While there may be a video recording somewhere of someone involved in some fetish, I don’t know that the data would support there being and increase in cases of men peeing down the legs of women. I may be wrong. I hope I’m not.