this post was submitted on 05 Nov 2023
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I hate peaking under the stalls or knocking doors to figure it out. The answer is so simple.

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[–] [email protected] 162 points 1 year ago (2 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

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

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

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

[–] [email protected] 124 points 1 year ago (2 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 40 points 1 year ago (2 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

The most literal case of scaring the shit out of someone.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 80 points 1 year ago (3 children)

We have these for years in Europe

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)
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[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago

I thought this is everywhere

And I've never been to Europe

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

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

[–] [email protected] 61 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago (3 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 58 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

They do in the UK - where are you?

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago

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

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[–] [email protected] 40 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

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 🙃

[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Australia checking in, those are definitely a thing here

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 year ago (2 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

The way it should be 😔

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I've never seen one without.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Don't forget to also knock loudly and yell "IS ANYBODY IN THERE???"

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (9 children)

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

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago

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).

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (4 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

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)

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago (2 children)

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

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

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

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

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

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Do your toilets not have these things:

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Some do. Most are too cheap to bother.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (3 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

How else am I supposed to make new friends?

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