Fortress of Solitude

I made a serendipitous discovery today. The bathroom on the 2nd floor where I work was ocupado so I went up to the 3rd floor. As I walked in I was taken aback by this sight:



I don't think I've ever seen stalls that extend to the floor. I'm not as bathroom observant as the Elder Statesman, but I think I would have noticed and remember something like this. Has anyone else seen this?

At first I thought it looked claustrophobic, and I wondered if there would be enough ventilation - that's kind of important sometimes. But as I settled in to do my business I realized I liked the extra isolation.

I now dub this bathroom the Fortress of Solitude.

And the stall doors had this appropriate latch to indicated occupancy (since you can't peek under):



I feel like I just experienced the bathroom of the future. Well, at least 5 years from now.

Now my curiosity is piqued, do the bathrooms get better as the floors go up? I must know, or get used to disappointment.

Update: The 4th floor also has Fortress of Solitude stalls, but the 5th floor does not (Sorry Brannen).

5 comments:

Kevin Vigor said...

Kris, I never knew you had this obsession with bathrooms.

When we first moved in to this building, those stalls did *not* have latches which indicated state. Better yet, the doors are self-closing. So there was literally no way to tell if a stall was in use except rattling the handle or yelling. This did not meet with general approval.

Naturally they then added red-green color coding to tell state. Guess what flavor of colorblind I am?

Hint: there's a secret bathroom on the third floor...

PS: do the cursed auto-faucets work for you? I hate those damn things with a mighty, mighty hatred. I stand there for minutes flapping my hands about like a demented pterodactyl and no damn water.

Jenn said...

Those occupancy latches are the ONLY lesson that an American bathroom can learn from a European one. Those are the norm here, which is really nice. Don't get me started on the toilets, though. I think just about every ill on this continent could be solved by an international field trip to Home Depot.

Jenn said...

Oh...and the full-length doors are pretty common here, too. Which makes sense, I guess, since with the latches you don't really need to peer under to look for feet. Hm. Perhaps the 'wide stance' excuse has lead to full-door popularity catching on Stateside?

KanyonKris said...

Kevin - Obsession? I prefer "interest". I blame dug (http://suncrestdug.wordpress.com/). The funny thing is, once you start noticing the differences and varieties of bathrooms, you can't stop. Bathrooms represent how people deal with certain bodily functions, and I find that sociology fascinating.

I'm glad to hear the latch situation was addressed, even though color is not a universal solution. Adding X and O symbols would be an improvement.

Thanks for the hint, I'll start the hunt Tuesday.

The auto-facets work fine for me. Perhaps your cold-blooded pterodactyl hands are the problem.

KanyonKris said...

Jenn - Thank you for the international perspective. I'm tempted to ask about the ills you've encountered, but it seems I already have a bad rep as toilet-obsessed so I probably shouldn't (hint, hint).

I don't want to think about the wide stance issue. I've never encountered someone breaking the stall plane, but if I did I'd be a little freaked out.