Toilets of the World

The toilet takes on a whole new dimension when it comes to outer space. This high-tech toilet is the prototype for the International Space Station. Years of meticulous research have gone into our astronauts’ facilities for what is no longer a mundane daily act – gravity has never been taken for granted more than when it comes to the toilet. Astronauts must strap onto the toilet, as sealing the seat is of utmost importance in a zero gravity environment. A complicated vacuum system is incorporated under the seat, where liquid and solid matter must be dealt with separately. Since no one is certain of the consequences of ejecting solid waste into space, it is compressed into round, flat discs, referred to by NASA’s toilet engineers as “people patties”. These are brought back to earth for two reasons: for the lucky lab technician whose job it is to analyse them, and to avoid the possibility of a solid-waste asteroid hurtling towards the earth.

New England Air Museum
Bradley International Airport
Windsor Locks
Connecticut

No Canadian campsite would be complete without its own pee tree. Usually found wherever a makeshift campsite is set up, pee trees can also occur in official campgrounds when the latrines are an uncomfortable distance away. The purpose of the pee tree is self-explanatory. Using the pee tree promotes the theory behind camping: to exist without the modern conveniences we take for granted in an effort to come closer to nature.

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L’urinette is one of the rare models of urinals designed for women. After the initial shock of this scary contraption, it proves to be as simple as the diagram on the wall. Pull down the handle, ladies, and turn it towards you. Take a paper cover from the dispenser and fit it over the cup. Use the handle to hold it in place and go. To finish, turn the handle back and release. The paper cover comes off, the handle snaps back into place and it all flushes away automatically. Just like the boys!

Whiskey Café
5800 Blvd. St. Laurent
Montréal
Québec

Photo from the book Toilets of the World by Morna E. Gregory and Sian James. Snowy A-frame outhouse in Canada.

Terratima Lodge

Rocky Mountain House

Alberta

One can contemplate the pristine Canadian wilderness while seated in this doorless A-frame outhouse on the edge of the Rocky Mountains. Do not contemplate too long – when temperatures drop to a frigid forty below (°C), bare skin freezes in less than thirty seconds. Common in snowy climates, the A-frame structure prevents accumulation of heavy snow that causes roofs to collapse.

Stickers from every punk and underground rock band that ever played this venue plaster the walls, tables and washrooms of this legendary bar. The toilet is mounted like a throne on a raised brick pedestal in a massive private stall. CBGB was the haunt of the 1970s New York punk scene and gradually made the transition to rock. It was a haven of artistic freedom and expression, launching legends like Blondie and the Ramones.

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