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Female Standing Urinals

mark handler

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Shaanxi Normal University Tests Female Standing Urinals

Thursday, September 30, 2010

http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/pictures/shaanxi-normal-university-tests-female-standing-urinals.html

Shaanxi Normal University promotes female standing urination, women testers shy

September 26th, six women’s standing urinals officially being tested at Shaanxi Normal University public restrooms, the students using them to urinate while standing still a bit shy. Female standing urination has ushered in a tough practice in colleges and universities.

http://www.chinasmack.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/womens-standing-urinals-shaanxi-normal-university-china-01-560x351.jpg

Special signs were designed next to the urinals: “If every woman can urinate standing, Shaanxi Normal University can save 160 tons of water.” Around the urinals are specially designed partitions to avoid awkwardness while using the toilet; the partitions are decorated with pink patterns, with this kind of warm design mainly done to reduce women’s apprehension [of using these toilets]. Next to the urinals are specially placed funnels.

Seven college student union representatives from Shaanxi province arrived that day to participate in the ceremony for implementing the Shaanxi Normal University female urinal, all of them being female students. One student representative said that the experience was indeed very novel, having listened to the professors explain the significance of doing so, having the courage to try, yet not knowing what to do after entering the toilet. One female shyly entered the toilet and upon exiting said, “ was there for a 2-3 minutes, but couldn’t urinate.” A second year female graduate student said new things require everyone to gradually accept, the first time definitely going to be bad, and that one needs to practice a few times before they become accustomed.

As it is understood, one female urinal costs 2000 yuan, with the promoter of this innovation being National People’s Congress representative and Shaanxi Normal University Professor Qu Yajun. In April, Qu Yajun expressed to school president/chancellor for the first time his hope for installing female standing urinals on campus. The school afterward decided to places 3 standing urinals at newly built women’s toilets on two campuses

September 26th, Xi’an, Ye Ganlin explains her environmental protection philosophy at the standing urinal public toilet located on Taibai Road, the 72-year-old retired senior engineer being the country’s first person to practice female standing urination.

September 26th, Xi’an, the standing urinal public toilet located on Taibai Road is unisex but it is still mostly men who use the toilet. With regards to promoting [the practice], Qu Yajun says that it is not often the men who find it most difficult to accept but rather the women themselves. Because of physiological factors, standing urination [for women] requires a funnel. For a grown woman to hold such a thing to urinate is something that most females find difficult to accept.
 
RJJ,

LOL, you know me too well.

I have posted this before; probably on the old ICC BB. I saw these urinals being installed in a Country Western dance hall in Waco, Texas.

Texas A&M University; being touted as the Beer Drink Capital of Universities; and having a need for quick access for relief, also installed these fixtures in lady's facilities;

http://www.urinal.net/texas_am/

Here are some more;

(note the dates on the right)

http://www.urinal.net/archive/Womens.html

Ya'll have fun,

Uncle Bob
 
And note that they don't require the - ahm, paper appliances that the cheap Chinese models do. BTW, after my wife told me about them in the main San Francisco I. Magin store, I installed them in a bar/restaurant I was remodeling in Oakland back in the 70s. The owner complained that his women's restrooms were always "filthy" because some women wouldn't sit on the toilet seats, instead trying to squat, aim, and miss, so female urinals was my solution, it not only worked but provided quite a talking point for his business.
 
Women hover anyways. Which makes a mess as was pointed out above. Will urinals actually help them or this problem?
 
In Rome back in the day they had common baths and toilets. Some had seats of marble and others just a gutter! Just think the clevis hanger was invented to bring water to the baths and toilets.
 
conarb said:
Hover, like a helicopter hovers? I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around the visualizations, but the question is why? Gals?
I was told, and this is just rumor until some females post, that the seats are nasty (for whatever reason) in the womens bathrooms. So they don't want to sit directly on them. Thus the hover mode. Must be female biology.
 
Rkect said:
I was told, and this is just rumor until some females post, that the seats are nasty (for whatever reason) in the womens bathrooms.
Yeah, but if they all just sat down no-one would be ****ing on those seats making them nasty. We need a code requirement making them all sit down. A few years ago I made the rest rooms in a Catholic church accessible, of course we had to install low-flow flush-valve toilets. I went into the ladies room about 6 months later for something service related (I swear it was), there was a big sign on the wall saying: "Flush Three Times", now why can't they just install signs saying: "Sit Down"?
 
So, does the code allow female urinals to a part of the required number of fixtures for women? IPC Section 419.2 regarding substitution of urinals for water closets has no restriction for male only

419.2 Substitution for water closets.

In each bathroom or toilet room, urinals shall not be substituted for more than 67 percent of the required water closets in assembly and educational occupancies. Urinals shall not be substituted for more than 50 percent of the required water closets in all other occupancies.
 
But Peach, I think mandatory female urinals would be preferable to the green code mandated gray water systems with their attendant mosquito-breeding cisterns. There ars also problems with gray water systems polluting landscaping.



Uncle Bob said:
It is self evident if even a small percentage of over half the worlds population were to use a urinal water consumption would drop from around 8 litres per flush minimum (allowing a low 10% add on margin for women who flush more than once) to around 0.5 litres. We are talking of billions of billions of litres of potential drinking water being saved annually. And according to a World Bank Report, the next centuries wars will be fought mainly over water. In parts of Africa and in 37 countries they point out this has already begun. The Living Planet Report of 2 x 1998 issued by the Worldwide Fund for Nature, the New economics Foundation and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre at Cambridge highlights the need for water saving in very serious terms. It says "the rate of decline of freshwater eco-systems is 6% p.a. with water usage doubled since 1960". Water Wars - is the worlds water running out 35 published in 1999 analyses the problem and needs and problems and strife. His final words are a belief in human nature to invent something to solve the situation and the Standolet may just be that.

Potable water shortages are a much bigger worldwide concern than fossil fuel shortages, I've even read theories that the next world war will be fought over water, and with China's water problems I believe it.

In the new world order of totalitarian codes, you are the enforcers.

 
Thanks UB. I will have to read that article at home tonight. Apparantly, our firm's internet filters find articles on urinals "tasteless." Interesting for a firm that provides MEP design.
 
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