There’s never a bathroom when you need one. Or at least there’s never one when you’re bursting with cheap pitcher swill at 2 in the morning, and there’s not a single acceptable urine receptacle in sight. But what’s this? That urinal wasn’t here earlier today! It’s like it popped out of the ground overnight as part of a warlock’s command! No, you’re not encountering the dark arts. It’s the newest bit of technology in our never-ending war of trying not to pee on things that shouldn’t have pee on them.
Northbridge, a suburb of the Australian city of Perth, has introduced the country’s first-ever pop-up urinal. If you’re wondering what these contraptions are, they are exactly what they sound like. On Friday and Saturday nights, a retractable public toilet is hydraulically lifted into view after the sunlight hours of being stored underground. These self-cleaning wonders don’t come cheap, mind you. The one installed in Australia cost about $125,000 and presumably did not include Simpsons-style tweaks to appeal to American travelers.
If everything goes according to plan, the sneaky urinal set-up in Northbridge should reduce public peeing, be able to handle a reasonable amount of vandalism, and trim down the amount of nefarious doings that might come from a regular permanent public washroom. Although the arrival of this style of bathroom is new to Australia, it’s not new to other places. England, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands have already experienced the wonder of the Urilift in one form or another. Has someone from one of these countries ever peed on the back of a Urilift on general principle? Who’s to say?
For a full video breakdown of how the Urilift works, how it looks, and how it’s making Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi feel, be sure to check out our video guide located at the top of the post. Once you’re done, don’t be shy to weigh in with your thoughts on if this idea would be great, gross or both if it ever popped up in your town’s local entertainment district.
