“One thing we have looked at in the past and are looking at again is the possibility of maybe putting a coin slot on the toilet door so that people might actually have to spend a pound to spend a penny in future,” he told BBC television.

He said this would not inconvenience passengers travelling without cash. “I don’t think there is anybody in history that has got on board a Ryanair aircraft with less than a pound.”

O’Leary has a reputation as a cost cutter, expanding Ryanair by offering low headline fares and charging extra for items such as additional luggage.

Last week, Ryanair announced it was to shut all check-in desks at airports and have passengers check in online instead.

“We’re all about finding ways of raising discretionary revenue so we can keep lowering the cost of air travel,” he said.

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The Toilet-Shaped House has a very unique design, and was built by Sim Jae-duck, the chairman of the organizing committee of the Inaugural General Assembly of the World Toilet Association, and he hopes his toilet house will

The Toilet-shape house

highlight the global need for better sanitation.. The Toilet-Shaped house is in fact named Haewoojae, which signifies in Korean “a place of sanctuary where one can solve one’s worries“. Sim Jae-duck opened what is billed as the world’s one and only toilet house on November 11, 2007 to mark the launch of his World Toilet Association.

The steel, white concrete and glass house, with a symbolic opening in the roof, is ready to receive visitors, said the World Toilet Association in a statement. The house is a 419sq m structure with two bedrooms, two guestrooms and other rooms, the two-storey house of course features three deluxe toilets. Unlike the giant “toilet” in which they are located, they will not be see-through affairs. If you would like to visit this house you can go to Sim Jae-duck native city of Suweon, 40km south of Seoul.

Since 2007, the World Toilet Association’s showpiece has been open for your business, so to speak. Actually the private home of Korean parliamentarian, businessman, and toilet proponent Sim Jae-Duck, the house has four toilets, including an outhouse in the center courtyard:

The centre toilet is transparent and everything can be seen from the living room. But as soon as a special sensor detects movement in the toilet, the glass encasement immediately fogs up so that the user can enjoy his or her privacy.

Spending a night will set you back $50,000. The money goes toward improving global toilet sanitation.

See the toilet house for yourself in the video below.

Posted by:  Michael at Freshhome and  Mark Ashley at Upgradebettertravel

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Mr Timo Uustal introducing the topic to the audience

Meeting started and ended with a special toilet-energiser, to empower the participants of the session to get into the theme.  The main discussion was on the possible implementation of unisex, gender-equal toilets in the countries represented during the session (EE, MK, IT, DE, UK, RO, BG, TR, ES, FR).  Participants came to understanding that in this field it is necessary to differentiate public toilets from other semi-public toilets (for example such as toilets in offices or other working environments, where the same group is sharing common facilities).  People also admitted that pioneering in toilet-equality are toilets for disabled, which are unisex.

Also the importance of design was brought up. Among the participants of the session, also survey was conducted to see the possibilities of the implementation of equality toilets in their local realities.

The results:

The participants of the session also mentioned the current frequent inequalities at the concerts, which need to be addressed as women tend to have remarkably longer toilet queues compared to men.  It was also concluded that equal toilets would provide equal opportunities for lesbians, gays and transsexuals.

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Toilet humor is most popular among children and teenagers, is often seen as a rejection of taboos, and is a part of modern culture.

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How they are made
Pottery is made by a blend of clays, fillers and fluxes being fused together during the firing process. A white or coloured glaze is applied and is fused chemically and physically to the clay body during the same firing process. The finished product (vitreous china) has a very hard surface and is resistant to fading, staining, burning, scratching and acid attack. Due to the firing process and natural clays used, it is normal for the product to vary in size and shape, and +/- 5mm is normal.

Prison cell toilet with built-in washbasin

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Graffiti
Public toilets have been associated with graffiti, often of a transgressive, gossippy, or low-brow humorous nature (cf. toilet humour). The word latrinalia –from latrine ‘toilet’ and -alia, signifying a worthless collection–was coined to describe this kind of graffiti. A famous example of such artwork, was featured on the album cover of the satirical Tony-award Broadway musical Urinetown, using felt tip pen scribblings.

Popular culture
In November, 2007, the twelfth restaurant in a toilet-themed chain opened in Taipei.  Read more…

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All 100 seats in the crowded diner are made from toilet bowls, not chairs. Sink faucets and gender-coded “WC” signs appear throughout the three-storey facility, one of 12 in an island-wide chain of eateries with a toilet theme.

Customers eat from mini plastic toilet bowls. They wipe their hands and mouths using toilet rolls hung above their tables, which may be glass-topped jumbo bathtubs.

“Most customers will bring their cameras in because the place is quite special,” said Yang Chung-chi, a manager at the restaurant in north Taipei.

Owner Wang Tzi-wei opened his first Modern Toilet in 2004 after being inspired by a Japanese cartoon featuring restroom images and the toilet themes run through the food and drinks menus.

Modern Toilet draws on people ages 15 to 35, especially students from the three universities near Yang’s facilities because they’re “easily excited,” Yang said. He said older people just wouldn’t get it.

“It’s really unusual, so special that it doesn’t gross me out,” said Betty Tsai, 16, a Taipei high school sophomore trying Modern Toilet for the first time on a friend’s recommendation.

But for a few customers, the toilet humor is too much.

“My son thought it was disgusting and didn’t know if he could finish his food,” said Taipei mother Lin Li-ju.

Managers say the restaurant’s popularity shows that Taipei customers, who have a choice of theme-eateries that resemble jailhouses and hospitals, appreciate creative dining.

“In the evenings, we easily fill up,” Yang said. “Our headquarters is still looking at expansion.”

Article by Ralph Jennings - Reuters - November 14, 2007

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