Replies

1. 
   oak | May 25, 2004 09:45pm | #1

   can't give you any tips... but maybe some laughs..

   http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_898119.html

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2. 
   caseyr | May 26, 2004 12:10am | #2

   Not sure that all the wet spots are from poor aim.  At least on some, much of the wetness seems to come from overspray from the flush.

   Some attempts at an anti-splashback urinal:

   http://www.marketlaunchers.com/wilkins.html

   Article on home urinals:

   http://www.realestatejournal.com/housegarden/indoorliving/20031112-morse.html

   A website for showing urinals of the world - you can list yours once you install it...

   http://www.urinal.net/

   A waterless model:

   http://www.sloanvalve.com/new/waterfree/waterfreeindex.htm

   How does a $1436 model fit your budget?

   http://www.homeclick.com/showpage.asp?subcategory=Bath/Toilets_and_Bidets/Urinal/Duravit/Philippe_Starck_Edition_1&i=prodlst&manufid=

   There used to be a small home urinal that folded into the wall when not in use. It seems to have disappeared from the Internet.

   From the webite The Straight Dope (it has recently become a subscription only site, so don't know if you can access this at http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030509.html

   Here's most of it:

   For a view from the trenches, as it were, I spoke to Gary Uhl, director of design for American Standard, one of the leading makers of toilet fixtures. Gary told me that considerable thought has gone into the design of the modern urinal in order to eliminate splashback. The rear wall of the typical urinal is parabolic in cross section when viewed from above, and the porcelain finish is conducive to laminar flow. The principles of fluid dynamics tell us that a fluid striking a smooth surface at an oblique angle will tend to flow along that surface. Assuming the source of the fluid is near the focal point of the parabola--and modesty makes it unlikely he'll stray too far--the fluid will run straight down the urinal wall with little or no splashing.

   I asked Gary if there were a "sweet spot" at which users should aim to minimize splashback. He said no. Clearly, however, certain assumptions are being made, the foremost of which is that the user is going to aim for the back wall. (Actually, assumption number one is that the user is going to aim, period.) But some men, such as you, Mathias, wonder whether they should "splash into the water." You'd think the answer would be obvious. Since it isn't, let me put the matter plainly: If you splash into the water, you knucklehead, the water is going to splash on you.

   But men don't listen. What then to do? Several approaches have been advanced:

   (1) Build a splashproof urinal. See for example http://www.marketlaunchers.com/wilkins.html. Part of the idea with this design is to make the urinal deeper and more concave. I'm sure it's an improvement. The only problem is that it looks like a huge white . . . well, let's just say you feel like you ought to cover it with a giant fig leaf. You're not getting me to use this thing in public.

   (2) Try to make the best of a bad situation. A number of vendors offer urinal drain screens with ribbed designs said to reduce splashback. These mitigate the negative consequences when the lads aim for the deodorant cakes. But to my mind, such screens are a halfway measure at best.

   (3) Give men something higher to shoot for. Now we're talking. Gary tells me that management at the international terminal of New York's Kennedy airport specified that the image of a black fly be printed on the porcelain at the center of the back wall of every urinal. When given a target, it seems, men instinctively aim at it. The fly was originally introduced at the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, where it supposedly reduced spillage by 80 percent. Side benefit: Folks who've seen these urinals never again utter the cliche, "I wish I were a fly on the wall."

   One final note: It has nothing to do with urinals, but you did mention "auditory embarrassment." (What, you want me to believe you're visiting people who've got urinals in their homes?) If you ever have occasion to build or renovate a bathroom, and the plumber asks you if you want the soil stack (the main drainpipe for the toilets) made out of plastic instead of the traditional cast iron, say no. Cast iron muffles sound; plastic, also known as polyvinyl chloride or PVC, amplifies it. Oh, ga-ross, you say. But someday you may be glad to know.

   --CECIL ADAMS